Permeability characteristics of carbonated concrete considering capillary pore structure

During carbonation process, the calcium phases present in cement are attacked by CO2 and converted into CaCO3 and the permeability of concrete is changing due to the change in porosity. The rate of carbonation depends upon porosity and moisture content of the concrete. Especially in underground reinforced concrete structures, the interior portion of concrete surface may be exposed to carbonation and the exterior portion of concrete surface exposed to wet soil or underground water. As carbonation proceeds from outer surface into internal portion of concrete, microstructure is also changed continuously from outer surface into internal portion of concrete. Even the deteriorations in the structures due to the carbonation have been reported more, research on permeability characteristics of concrete considering carbonation and micro-structural information is very scarce. In this study, the permeability coefficient in carbonated concrete is derived by applying a capillary pore structure formation model in carbonated cement mortar and assuming that aggregates do not affect carbonation process in early-aged concrete as a function of porosity. The permeability obtained from the micro-level modeling for carbonated concrete is verified with the results of accelerated carbonation test and water penetration test in cement mortar. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.