Construction

and Building

Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 10401045

MATERIALS
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The inuence of compaction pores on sorptivity and

carbonation of concrete
Tahir Gonen *, Salih Yazicioglu
Department of Construction Education, Firat University, Elazig 23119, Turkey

Received 1 March 2005; received in revised form 15 February 2006; accepted 18 February 2006
Available online 28 August 2006

Abstract

Concrete itself is a porous composite material consisting of mineral aggregates and the cement matrix that form a durable structure. The
transport of aggressive species may follow dierent mechanisms, depending on the pore structure of the concrete, the exposure conditions
and the characteristics of the diusing substances. According to their origin and characteristics, the pores are classied as compaction pores,
air pores and capillary pores (which aect durability) and gel pores. The present study was carried out to investigate the inuence of
compaction pores on the sorptivity and the carbonation of concrete. To create various levels of compaction porosity (poor, medium and
high) dierent techniques of compaction were used on concrete specimens at casting stage. Compressive strength, porosity, sorptivity coef-
cient, mass change due to carbonation and carbonation were tested in order to estimate the properties of concrete with various compaction
pores. Test results showed that change in the compaction pores may signicantly aect the carbonation rate and the sorptivity coecient.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Compaction pore; Carbonation; Sorptivity coecient; Porosity

1. Introduction include the type and amount of cement, porosity of the

Durability is a major concern for concrete structures
exposed to aggressive environments. Many environmental
phenomena are known to signicantly inuence the dura-
bility of reinforced concrete structures [14]. Carbonation
is one of the major factors to cause structure deterioration.
This process is the reaction of the hydration products dis-
solved in the pore water with the carbon dioxide (CO2) in
the air which reduces the pH of concrete pore solution
from 12.6 to less than 9. As a consequence, the steel passive
oxide lm may be destroyed and uniform accelerated cor-
rosion may occur [5,6].
The basic factor inuencing carbonation is the diusiv-
ity of the hardened cement paste. Carbonation rate is
controlled by the ingress of CO2 into concrete pore sys-
tem by diusion with a concentration gradient of CO2
acting as the driving force. Factors aecting diusion rate
*
Corresponding author. Fax: +90 424 236 7064.
E-mail address: tgonen@rat.edu.tr (T. Gonen).
material, time of curing, type and quantity of pozzolanic
additions [7]. Concrete itself is a porous composite mate-
rial consisting of mineral aggregates and the cement
matrix that form a durable structure. The porosity of
the concrete allows movement and retention of water
and other substances [8]. The transport of aggressive spe-
cies may follow dierent mechanisms, depending on the
pore structure of the concrete, the exposure conditions
and the characteristic of the diusing substances [9].
The pore size distribution particularly inuences the rate
of transport. The size of pores in the cement paste ranges
over several orders of magnitude. According to their ori-
gin and characteristics, the pores are classied as compac-
tion pores, air pores and capillary pores (which aect
durability) and gel pores [10,11].
This study was performed to investigate porosity,
sorptivity, accelerated carbonation in accelerated carbon-
ation apparatus and carbonation in normal atmosphere
to ascertain the inuence of compaction pores on the sorp-
tivity and the carbonation of concrete.

0950-0618/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.02.010
 T. Gonen, S. Yazicioglu / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 10401045 1041

2. Materials and experiment Table 2

Grading, water absorption and density values of aggregate
2.1. Materials used Percentage passing
Sieve size (mm)
The chemical compositions expressed in percentage by 8 4 2 1 0.50 0.25
mass of the constituent oxides, and the mechanical and 100 63 47 30 18 8
some physical properties of the Portland cement are shown Specic gravity (g/cm3) Water absorption (%)
in Table 1. Concerning the aggregate, good quality river
2.75 3.5
gravel and sand commonly used in concrete production
were adopted (max. grain size of aggregate = 8 mm). Grad-
ing, water absorption and density values of aggregate are
shown in Table 2.

2.2. Mix design and specimen geometry

In all mixes, cement at 415 kg/m3, 220 kg/m3 water,

770 kg/m3 48 mm gravel and 810 kg/m3 04 mm sand
were kept constant. Concrete specimens in all experiments
were 100 mm cubes.
To create various levels of compaction porosity (poor,
medium, high), dierent compaction techniques were used
at the casting stage of concrete. These techniques involved
vibration or 25 times by spading for poor of compaction
pores (PCP1 and PCP2, respectively), 15 times by spading
for medium compaction pores (MCP) and non-compacted
for high compaction pores (HCP).
2.3. Porosity tests
The porosity measurements were conducted on slices of
68 mm diameter cores that were cut out of the centre of
100 mm cubes (parallel to the casting direction). The slices
were dried at 100 5 C until constant weight achieved
and were then placed for at last 3 h in a desiccators under
vacuum, which was nally lled with de-aired, distilled
water. The porosity was calculated using Eq. (1). This
method for measuring the porosity has previously been
reported [1214].
W sat  W dry
P 100
W sat  W wat
where P = vacuum saturation porosity (%); Wsat = weight
in air of saturated sample; Wwat = weight in water of satu-
rated sample; and Wdry = weight of oven-dried sample.
Fig. 1. The measurement of sorptivity.
2.4. Sorptivity tests
The concrete specimens with various compaction pores
were cooled down to room temperature for 6 h after they
had been dried in the oven at about 105 C until constant
mass. As shown in Fig. 1, test specimens were exposed to
the water on one face by placing it on a pan. The water
on the pan was maintained at about 5 mm above the base
of the specimens during this experiment. The lower areas
on the sides of the specimens were coated with paran to
achieve unidirectional ow. At certain times (0, 5, 10, 20,
30, 60, 180, 360, 1440 min), the mass of the specimens
was measured using a balance, then the amount of water
absorbed was calculated and normalized with respect to
1 the cross-section area of the specimens.
The sorptivity coecient [1518] was obtained by using
the following expression:
Q p
k t 2
A

Table 1
Physical and chemical properties of the OPC 32.5
Chemical analysis (% by mass)
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 Ignition loss Insoluble residue Cl
26.86 8.09 5.18 45.88 3.64 2.41 2.95 4.99 0.01
Physical analysis
45 l (%) Blaine Initial Final Specic Density Increase in Compressive strength
(cm2/g) setting setting gravity (g/cm3) volume (%) 2 days 7 days 28 days
(h) (h) (g/cm3)
(N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2)
1.9 4326 02:35 03:45 2.98 2.92 4 16.9 28.4 39.0
1042 T. Gonen, S. Yazicioglu / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 10401045

where Q = the amount of water absorbed in (cm3); A = the

cross section of specimen that was in contact with water
(cm2); t = time (s); k = the sorptivity coecient of the spec-
imen (cm/s1/2). To determine the sorptivity coecient,
p Q/A
was plotted against the square root of time ( t), then, k
was calculated
p from the slope of the linear relation between
(Q/A) and t.

2.5. Carbonation tests

Both accelerated carbonation and normal carbonation

tests carried out on the specimens with various compaction
pores. As shown in Fig. 2, the accelerated carbonation tests
were carried out in accelerated carbonation apparatus,
whose usability has been evaluated in previous studies
[19,20]. Dierent relative humidity values (35%, 55% and
80%) were considered in accelerated carbonation test. As
for normal carbonation test, only 35% relative humidity
was considered in our study.
For each relative humidity group in accelerated carbon-
ation experiments, 24 concrete specimens were cast. After
casting, the specimens were kept in mould for 1 day, and
cured in chamber (95% relative humidity at 20 C) for 28
days. These specimens were placed inside the tank and
the lid of the tank was tightly closed. In each experiment,
eight samples were exposed to 40% of CO2 during periods
of 0.25, 1 and 3 days. Furthermore, to compare the results
of the accelerated carbonation tests with normal atmo-
sphere, the whole set of experiments was repeated with a
concentration of 0.03% CO2 in laboratory. Specimens hav-
ing four dierent compactions were stored at the labora-
tory during period of 210, 275 and 575 days. The relative
humidity in the laboratory was measured every day and
this value was about 35%.
After testing period, the specimens were taken from the
chamber and their compression strength was measured
according to TS EN 12390-3 (Turkish standard code) [21]
in a hydraulic press on three samples (100 mm cubes). The
carbonation depth of the specimens was determined by the
Fig. 3. Measuring of the carbonation depth.
phenolphthalein method recommended by RILEM CPC-
18 on a vertical section of the specimen, after being removed
from the corrosive environment. Each result reported is the
average depth carbonation D measured at two points per-
pendicularly to three faces of the broken concrete cube and
repeated on three specimens. The depth of penetration of the
towelled face was ignored due to the inuence of trowelling.
The mean value of the depth carbonation D is shown in
Fig. 3. This method for measuring the depth of carbonation
was reported elsewhere [2225].
3. Results and discussion
In this study, dierent porosity degrees were obtained by
employing variations of the compacting technique. A sim-
ilar method was used by Kumar and Bhattacharjee [26].
Porosities of the specimens were, on average, 9% and
12% for PCP1 and PCP2, respectively, 17% for MCP and
20% for HCP. Table 3 shows the changes in compressive

Fig. 2. Longitudinal and cross section of the accelerated carbonation test apparatus.
 T. Gonen, S. Yazicioglu / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 10401045 1043

Table 3 The results of sorptivity tests are summarized in Table 3.

Compressive strength and porosities of concrete specimens
Mixture code
Porosities (%)
Compressive strength (N/mm2)
Sorptivity coecient 103 (cm/s0.5)
strength and porosity of these specimens. PCP1, PCP2 and
MCP (porosity levels) in the same compound did not sig-
nicantly aect the compressive strength. The strength val-
ues of PCP1 and PCP2 were found to be very close. A
decreasing was occurred about 6% in series MCP, which
was less compacted than PCP1 and PCP2. The compressive
strength of HCP was considerably decreased about 34%. A
number of relationship relating strength of concrete with
porosity are available in the literature. But in this study,
Since there is a good relationship between porosity and
strength of the specimens in the conditions of medium
and poorly compacted, it appears that the relationship is
poor between porosity and strength of the highly com-
pacted specimens (compacted by vibration and 25 times
by spading). Possibility of such a nding has previously
been observed and reported by Kumar and Bhattacharjee
[26]. Therefore, it may be concluded that this relationship
may result from statistical distribution.
17
.
Carbonation coefficient *
It is indicated that PCP1 gave the lover sorptivity values
PCP1 PCP2 MCP HCP followed by PCP2, MCP and then HCP. It can be con-
9 12 17 20 cluded that there is a strong relationship between sorptivity
47.30 47.53 45.53 31.83 coecient and porosity.
1.03 1.23 1.31 1.61 Under a specic environment, the carbonation coe-
cient, which is obtained from the slope of a plot of carbon-
ation depth against square root of exposure duration,
would indicate the rate of carbonation and the perfor-
mance level of a mix. The eect of porosity on the rate of
accelerated carbonation and carbonation in normal atmo-
sphere is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. Since carbonation in
CO2 enriched environment has rapidly developed in com-
parison to in normal atmosphere, its unit was considered
as mm/day0.5. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the carbon-
ation rate increases with an increase of porosity. Moreover,
there is a relationship porosity and carbonation under all
conditions.
The rate of carbonation depends also on the moisture
content of the concrete and the relative humidity of the
ambient media [27]. The eect of relative humidity on the
depth of carbonation is shown in Fig. 5. The depths of car-
bonation were aected signicantly by both the amount of
compacted pores and the relative humidity. The rate of car-
bonation declined with time. In addition, the dierence
among depths of carbonation of the samples was decreased
at 24 h (time of exposure). This decreasing eect may be
caused by saturation of the pores by the diusion of CO2
55% RH 40% CO2 80% RH 40% CO2 into the paste. The most velocity carbonation was obtained

15 35% RH 40% CO2 35% RH 0.03% CO2 at relative humidity 55%. This nding is in agreement with
13 the study reported by Papadakis et al. [28], Wierig [29] and
De Ceuklaire and Nieuwenburg [30].
11
De Ceuklaire and Nieuwenburg [30] indicate that there
9 is a solid volume increase of around 11% in the conversion
7 of Ca(OH)2 to CaCO3. In addition, based on the molecular
5
weights, there would be a 35% increase of weight as well. In
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 the present study, we also investigated the relationship
Porosity (%) between carbonation depth and change of weight due to
Fig. 4. Porosity versus carbonation coecient for normal atmosphere and carbonation. The specimens were measured using a balance
CO2 enriched environment *carbonation coecient is mm/day0.5 and mm/ before and after carbonation experiments. Regression anal-
year0.5 for environment with 40% CO2 and 0.03% CO2, respectively. yses were also carried out on the experimental data for

20 35% RH 55% RH 80% RH

20 35% RH 55% RH 80% RH
18
18
Carbonation depth (mm)

16
Carbonation depth (mm)

16
14 14
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2
2
0
0 PCP1 PCP2 MCP HCP
PCP1 PCP2 MCP HCP
a Accelerated test for 6 hours b Accelerated test for 24 hours

Fig. 5. Carbonation depth of concrete with dierent porosity.

1044 T. Gonen, S. Yazicioglu / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 10401045
21
HCP R=0,99
Carbonation depth (mm)
20
19
18
17
MCP R=0,94
16
PCP2 R=0,90
15
14 PCP1 R=0,91
13
12
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Change of weight (g)
Fig. 6. The depth of carbonation versus change of weight for normal
atmosphere experiment.
carbonation in normal atmosphere in Fig. 6. The eects of
compaction pores on carbonation depth and change of
weight due to carbonation are shown in Fig. 6. There is a
proportion between the carbonation depth and change of
weight on same specimens. However, specimens with vari-
ous properties indicated dierent carbonation behavior.
For instance, the carbonation depths changed between
13.5 and 19 mm although, the changes of weight were very
close (2025 g) at PCP1, PCP2, MCP and HCP. It is shown
that the CO2 could penetrate to dierent depth at speci-
mens with various porosity. Perhaps, this occurrence may
be related to pore size and structure since the highest
porosity level in this test was obtained with HCP. In sam-
ples with large gaps, CO2 was able to penetrate deeply and
caused occurrence of the reaction at a larger area (probably
with poor density).
4. Conclusions
In this study, the compaction pores seem to have a
very important eect on carbonation and sorptivity. The
maximum carbonation and sorptivity coecient were
observed on non-compacted specimens. The minimum
carbonation and sorptivity coecient were obtained on
specimens compacted by vibration. From this study, it
can also be seen that there is proportionality between
the carbonation depth and change of weight due to car-
bonation on the same specimen. However, this relation-
ship does not apply to having dierent pore structure
and amount. The carbonation depth of concrete depends
on the amount of absorbed CO2. However, a simple rela-
tionship cannot be recognized because of dierent pore
size and structure of concrete. Compressive strength of
specimens has dierent compacted pores close to each
other. Increase of porosities (9%, 12% and 17%) caused
an insignicant decrease at compressive strength, how-
ever, compressive strength of non-compacted concrete
with 20% porosity decreased about 34%. This result indi-
cates that even if a few compact of the fresh concrete is
help compressive strength. Compacting of the fresh con-
crete is the more important in terms of the durability.
Although perfect concrete manufacturing can theoret-
ically be designed, pouring, compacting and maintenance
conditions and application can signicantly inuence
the permeability and carbonation of concrete. In this
respect, it is important that technical personal should
carefully apply the optimal conditions at manufacturing
PCP1
stage.
PCP2
MCP
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