Study of water movement in concrete

Abstract

An investigation on the movement of water in 100% Portland cement concretes is presented. The water diffusion and sorptivity tests, together with the accelerated water permeability test, are performed to determine the transport parameters that characterise the mechanisms of water diffusion, sorptivity and permeability in concrete respectively. The effects of pore humidity, ambient temperature, environmental relative humidity, applied hydrostatic pressure gradient and water-cement ratio are also explored. The results obtained from the tests on water diffusion, sorptivity and permeability show good agreement with those reported in the literature. The study of water movement has practical implications on the prediction of transport and distribution of aggressive chemical agents in concrete, as well as on the development of rational and quantitative durability assessment for concrete structures exposed to different climatic and environmental conditions.