Véronique Baroghel-Bouny’s research while affiliated with Gustave Eiffel University and other places

This study aims to investigate the influence of exposure conditions on the behavior of mortar subjected to an external sulfate attack (ESA). Three different exposure conditions (full immersion, semi-immersion, and drying/wetting cycles) were tested on mortar prisms made with Portland cement and two w/c ratios (0.45 and 0.6). To monitor degradation, it was necessary to evaluate variations in length (expansion), mass changes, compressive and tensile strengths, changes in the total porosity measured using water accessible porosity tests, and changes in the macroscopic behavior of the samples. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) was used to determine the size distribution of the pores. It was demonstrated that mixing mortar with the lower w/c ratio of 0.45 results in improved performance against an ESA. This study also demonstrates that the type of exposure to an ESA has no significant effect on the kinetics of sulfate penetration during the exposure period. However, the sample’s surface becomes more cracked when subjected to repeated drying and wetting cycles. For all the considered exposure conditions, expansion occurred in three stages. In stage 1, the reaction product (ettringite) precipitated in large voids, without causing significant expansion (the expansion remained low and stable). During the second stage, the reaction products generated growing internal stress. The final stage of expansion resulted in microcracks, strength losses, and the formation of macropores, which ultimately lead to material failure. The MIP results indicate that major changes in the porosity and pore volume distribution occur at the surface layer in regard to the gel and capillary pore ranges.

This paper presents two original methods for monitoring and evaluating concrete specimens/structures affected by external sulfate attack (ESA). The first is a drying method developed to assess the penetration depth of sulfate ions in a concrete structure, as this parameter is a relevant indicator of the progress of the ESA. This method has been specifically designed for on-site investigations. The second experimental method involves the use of optical fibers capable of measuring the swelling response of specimens to ESA in real time. According to the results obtained, these two new methods seem likely to be used to complement or replace traditional methods such as inductively coupled plasma (ICP) for determining the penetration depth of sulfate ions or as extensometers for measuring swelling. These traditional methods (ICP and extensometers) are generally considered painful and time-consuming, whereas, because of its simplicity, the proposed drying method will enable experts to regularly inspect concrete structures and make informed decisions on the measures to be taken to repair or prevent further damage induced by ESA, while the second method appears promising for experimental studies involving the monitoring of a large number of ESA-affected specimens.

External sulfate attack (ESA) of cementitious materials has been studied worldwide for a very long time. This physical/chemical interaction between sulfate ions and the cement hardened elements affects the long-term durability of concrete structures: cracking, spalling or strength loss of concrete structures. To study these damaging phenomena, some standardized and non-standardized accelerated aging tests are used to evaluate the performance of cements in sulfate-rich environments. However, these existing methods do not adequately predict field performance and some shortcomings or deficiencies still exist: change of degradation mechanisms when using high concentrations of sulfate, variable boundary conditions and small specimens compared to the real concrete structures. In this work, a critical review of some existing test methods and foreign national standard methods for ESA are presented, analyzed, and discussed. This results in some proposed recommendations for improving these methods to meet the needs of structure managers.

This paper reviews the technical aspects related to the long-term field exposure practice in marine environments, based on the return of experiences of major marine exposure sites in world-wide scope. The long-term exposure practice helps both the research on durability mechanisms of structural concretes under real environments and the calibration of durability models to support the life-cycle management of concrete structures. The presentation of the field exposure data can be categorized into the information relevant to exposure sites, the data related to the exposed materials and specimens, the information of environmental actions, and the data related to the performance of materials. A standardized presentation of these data can help the efficiency of data sharing and exploitation. The exploitation of exposure data employs various models to represent the chloride ingress and the induced corrosion risk of the embedded steel bars. There are needs for models addressing the strong environment-material interactions, and simple yet reliable durability indicators for engineering use. The design and operation of exposure stations need the careful choice of exposure sites and specimens, the appropriate scheme for monitoring and inspection of exposed specimens, the systematic recording and management of exposure data, and the regular maintenance of exposure facilities. The support of exposure data for life-cycle management is demonstrated through the durability planning of a real project case. The good practice of long-term field exposure is summarized in the end.

There is much debate on the expression used for the critical chloride threshold as well as on its value for breakdown of the protective layer of steel for reinforced concrete. In fact, this concept suggests that the breakdown is only driven by dissolution of the protective layer. A reactive transport model including dissolution and precipitation of solid species with their kinetics is then used in order to simulate the ingress deleterious substances in a concrete exposed to seawater and the chemical degradation of the oxides and hydroxides present in the protective layers covering a steel rebar. The numerical results confirm that most of the oxides are thermodynamically very stable even after a long period of exposure, especially in the inner layer. This finding suggests that corrosion initiation depends on protective layer thickness and history. These results also provide a sound explanation why a wide scatter of values of critical chloride threshold values is reported in literature.

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) are increasingly used in concrete for economical and environmental reasons. However, the durability of reinforced concretes against, for example, corrosion induced by carbonation varies. Here, the phase assemblage of various cement pastes with/without SCM (slag, fly ash and metakaolin), carbonated in accelerated conditions (1.5% CO2 and 65% RH) or not, has been investigated by various technics (XRD, TGA/DTA and ²⁹Si as well as ²⁷Al nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and compared. Results show that, after carbonation, anhydrous phases are less decalcified than hydrated phases. In cement pastes with slag, most of the calcium remains in the non-hydrated part of the slag. In contrast, the C-A,S-H phase is deeply modified and results show a coupling between C-A,S-H and hydrated aluminate phases during carbonation. In all carbonated materials, these phases tend to become an aluminosilicate gel, a very amorphous/disordered phase, containing less water than the original hydrates.

This volume gathers contributions from the final workshop of the RILEM TC-251-SRT "Sulfate Resistance Testing" on External Sulfate Attack (TESA 2018), held on May 24-25, 2018 at IETcc-CSIC, Madrid, Spain. One of the Technical Committee’s main events, it addressed various aspects of external sulfate attack in concrete structures and test methods. The workshop promoted technical discussions and debates on ideas on these topics, with a focus on evaluating the resistance of concrete exposed to ESA. It also provided a forum for participants from around the globe to share their experiences and research on concrete structures affected by external sulfate attack and on test methods. The book discusses the latest advances in research related to ESA and new developments in test methods, and features real-world case studies of concrete structures affected by external sulfate attack in various countries. It also presents new studies linking field cases and lab tests, including 12 contributions on 3 main themes: mechanisms of alteration in external sulfate attack; field aspects of external sulfate attack; and testing to evaluate the resistance of concrete to external sulfate attack.