Abstract
The microstructure characteristics and meso-defect volume changes of hardened cement paste before and after carbonation were investigated by three-dimensional (3D) X-ray computed tomography (XCT), where three types water-to-cement ratio of 0.53, 0.35 and 0.23 were considered. The high-resolution 3D images of microstructure and filtered defects were reconstructed by an XCT VG Studio MAX 2.0 software. The mesodefect volume fractions and size distribution were analyzed based on 3D images through add-on modules of 3D defect analysis. The 3D meso-defects volume fractions before carbonation were 0.79%, 0.38% and 0.05% corresponding to w/c ratio=0.53, 0.35 and 0.23, respectively. The 3D meso-defects volume fractions after carbonation were 2.44%, 0.91% and 0.14% corresponding to w/c ratio=0.53, 0.35 and 0.23, respectively. The experimental results suggest that 3D meso-defects volume fractions after carbonation for above three w/c ratio increased significantly. At the same time, meso-cracks distribution of the carbonation shrinkage and gray values changes of the different w/c ratio and carbonation reactions were also investigated.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Papadakis V G, Vayenas C G and Fardis M N. Fundamental Modeling and Experimental Investigation of Concrete Carbonation [J]. ACI Materials Journal, 1991, 88(4): 363–373
Papadakis V G, Vayenas C G and Fardis M N. Experimental Investigation and Mathematical Modeling of the Concrete Carbonation Problems [J]. Chemical Engineering Science, 1991, 46(5–6): 1 333–1 338
Rattanasak U, Kendall K. Pore Structure of Cement / Pozzolan Composites by X-Ray Microtomography [J]. Cement and Concrete Research, 2005, 35(4): 637–640
Gallucci E, Scrivener K, Groso A, et al. 3D Experimental Investigation of the Microstructure of Cement Pastes Using Synchrotron X-Ray Microtomography (uCT) [J]. Cement and Concrete Research, 2007, 37(3): 360–368
Rougelot T, Burlion N, Bernard D, et al. About Microcracking due to Leaching in Cementitious Composites: X-Ray Microtomography Description and Numerical Approach [J]. Cement and Concrete Research, 2010, 40(2): 271–283
Landis E N, Nagy E N and Keane D T. Microstructure and Fracture in Three Dimensions [J]. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 2003, 70(7): 911–925
Stock S R, Naik N K and Wilkinson A P. X-Ray Microtomography (Micro CT) of the Progression of Sulfate Attack of Cement Paste [J]. Cement and Concrete Research, 2002, 32(10): 1673–1675
Bentz D P, Mizell S, Satterfield S, et al. The Visible Cement Data Set [J]. Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2002, 107(2): 137–148
Gommes C J, Bons A J, Blacher S, et al. Practical Methods for Measuring the Tortuosity of Porous Materials from Binary or Gray-Tone Tomographic Reconstructions [J]. AIChE Journal, 2009, 55(8): 2 000–2 012
Flannery B P, Deckman H W, Roberge W G, et al. Three-Dimensional X-Ray Microtomography [J]. Science, 1987, 237(4821): 1439–1443
Lu S, Landis E N and Keane D T. X-Ray Microtomographic Studies of Pore Structure and Permeability in Portland Cement Concrete [J]. Materials and Structures, 2006, 39(6): 611–620
Guo L P, Carpinteri A, Sun W, et al. Measurement and Analysis of Defects in High-Performance Concrete with Three-Dimensional Micro-Computer Tomography [J]. Journal of Southeast University (English Edition), 2009, 25(1): 83–88
Mori S, Endo M, Komatsu S, et al. A Combination-Weighted Feldkamp-Based Reconstruction Algorithm for Cone-Beam CT [J]. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2006, 51(16): 3953–3965
Thiery M, Villain G, Dangla P, et al. Investigation of the Carbonation Front Shape on Cementitious Materials: Effects of the Chemical Kinetics [J]. Cement and Concrete Research, 2007, 37(7): 1047–1058
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Funded by the Scientific Research Foundation of the Graduate School of Southeast University (YBJJ1113), the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2009CB623200) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51178103)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Han, J., Sun, W., Pan, G. et al. Application of X-ray computed tomography in characterization microstructure changes of cement pastes in carbonation process. J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 27, 358–363 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-012-0466-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-012-0466-7