Leaching by water and acids
Pure water dissolves lime and, to some extent, alumina from the compounds in the cement matrix resulting in increased permeability […]
Durability of concrete and cement composites
The purpose of this book is to bring together a series of reviews on topics of current relevance to the durability of concrete and cement-based composites. One might reasonably ask why such a book is now believed to be needed as concrete and related materials have been used with outstanding success in major construction projects for well over two thousand years. Indeed numerous ancient concrete structures, such as the Pantheon in Rome, and masonry structures with mortar joints, such as the Pont du Gard Aqueduct near NõÃmes in southern France (see Fig. 1.1), have survived to the present day in excellent states of preserva- tion. These and other examples of Roman construction works incorporating hydraulic cements made from lime and volcanic earth (or similar vitrified alumino-silicates, known collectively as pozzolanas, after Pozzuoli near Naples where a natural source of such material exists) have shown remarkable dur- ability even where they have been exposed to damp, aggressive environments. An impressive illustration was provided by Davey (1974) whose photograph of part of a Roman breakwater that had been exposed to the sea near Naples for two millennia (reproduced in Fig. 1.2), demonstrates that the mortar joints had endured far more successfully than the now heavily eroded stone blocks which they had been connecting.
Introduction Dimensional stability and cracking processes in concrete
To calculate the long-term deformation and deflection of structural concrete members for their design life, the relations between stress, strain,
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Introduction Corrosion and protection of reinforcing steel in concrete
The use of embedded steel reinforcing bars to overcome the weakness of con- crete in tension was first proposed about
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Introduction Measurement of permeation capacity-related parameters in archetypical concretes
The general notion of permeation capacity and its importance with respect to concrete durability has been introduced previously. In this
Introduction Alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR)
Alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) is a reaction between the alkali hydroxides present in the pore solution of concrete and certain constituents of
Internal restraint
Figure 3.21 illustrates the stress induced when concrete is subjected to early-age temperature history. After placing a large mass of
Identification of frost-susceptible aggregates
A key step in designing durable concrete in cold weather applications is to identify whether an aggregate of interest may
Hybrid composites
Many researchers have attempted to use mixed fibres to produce a synergy of mechanical properties, processing properties and/or cost, often
Hydration modes and their consequences for pore structures
SEM examinations reveal that two distinct patterns of cement hydration may occur simultaneously in different cement grains near each other
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