Correlation of chloride diffusion coefficient and microstructure parameters in concrete: A comparative analysis using NMR, MIP, and X-CT

Permeability is a major indicator of concrete durability, and depends primarily on the microstructure characteristics of concrete, including its porosity and pore size distribution. In this study, a variety of concrete samples were prepared to investigate their microstructure characteristics via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and X-ray computed tomography (X-CT). Furthermore, the chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete was measured to explore its correlation with the microstructure of the concrete samples. Results show that the proportion of pores with diameters < 1000 nm obtained by NMR exceeds that obtained by MIP, although the difference in the total porosity determined by both methods is minimal. X-CT measurements obtained a relatively small porosity; however, this likely reflects the distribution of large pores more accurately. A strong correlation is observed between the chloride diffusion coefficient and the porosity or contributive porosity of pores with sizes < 1000 nm. Moreover, microstructure parameters measured via NMR reveal a lower correlation coefficient R-2 versus the chloride diffusion coefficient relative to the parameters determined via MIP, as NMR can measure non-connected as well as connected pores. In addition, when analyzing pores with sizes > 50 mu m, X-CT obtains the maximal contributive porosity, followed by MIP and NMR.