Assessment of the Potential for Delayed Ettringite Formation in Heat Cured Mortars and Concrete Using Australian Materials
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Duration of the precure time prior to the heat cure cycle—typically 4 h is used as the length of the precure, however, in laboratory experiments shorter precure times have exacerbated expansion associated with DEF; longer precure times reduce the risk of DEF.
- Temperature and duration of the curing cycle—70 °C is a widely reported threshold temperature, although some data have been reported suggesting the observation of DEF at lower curing temperatures; increasing the duration of the heat curing cycle also increases the risk. Higher temperatures (>90 °C) and longer heat cure cycles (>10 h) result in significantly greater risk of expansion associated with DEF and have been the focus of much of the laboratory research.
- Moisture—a relative humidity of >90% is required [7]. The precipitation of ettringite and the transport of sulphate ions in the concrete occurs through the pore solution. Generally, DEF is not observed for concretes which are dry.
- Calcium aluminate (C3A) content—DEF occurs for a C3A content >7%, although DEF has also been observed for C3A contents as low as 5%. As C3A is a reactant in the formation of sulphoaluminates such as ettringite, C3A is required in reasonable proportions for DEF.
- Sulphate content (represented by SO3)—DEF occurs for a SO3 content >3%. Similarly, sulphate is a reactant in the precipitation of ettringite.
- Sulphur trioxide to aluminium oxide molar ratio ([SO3]/[Al2O3])—DEF is at its pessimum when the [SO3]/[Al2O3] ≈ 1.1.
- Alkali content—elevated alkali contents in the pore solution promotes DEF. The presence of alkali (Na+, K+) ions in the pore solution increase the solubility of sulphate ions leading to the decomposition of early ettringite. Leaching of alkali content at a later stage, in the hardened state, is also responsible for accelerating DEF.
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- For DEF to be observed, an elevated non-conforming alkali and sulphate content in the cement is required (1% Na2Oe and 4% SO3) in heat cured mortars and concretes at 90 °C.
- For heat cured mortars and concretes using cement (GP and OW in this study) conforming to AS 3972 (<3.5% SO3) and ATIC-SP43 (<0.6% Na2Oe), the risk of deleterious DEF is low. A lower specified SO3 limit (<3.0%) may be desirable when elevated temperature curing is carried out as specified by TfNSW B80.
- For heat cured mortars containing binary binder compositions incorporating 25% FA, no expansion was observed either when conforming or non-conforming (1.0% Na2Oe, 4% SO3) binders were used. For non-conforming binders where expansion was observed, the incorporation of FA in the blended cement mitigated deleterious DEF. Concretes manufactured with blended cements containing 25% FA have a very low risk of DEF even if the concrete temperature rises to 90 °C.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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State | Road Authority Specification | Steam Curing Temperature Conditions |
---|---|---|
Australia | Standards Australia, AS 5100.5 Clause 4.11 [35] | Concrete temperature ≤ 75 °C except where analysis has been performed that justifies a particular maximum temperature for the concrete. |
Australia | Standards Australia, AS 1597.2 2013, Clause Appendix C5.3 maximum temperature [36] | The maximum enclosure temperature shall be ≤70 °C. No mention of concrete temperature. |
New South Wales | Transport for NSW QA Specification B80 Concrete Work for Bridges, 2021 Clause: 7.12.4 [16] | Maximum temperature of the concrete ≤ 70 °C |
Queensland | Transport and Main Roads Specifications MRTS70 Concrete, 2022 Clause: 16.7.4 [17] | The enclosure temperature must be ≤70 °C. Core concrete temperature must be ≤80 °C. |
South Australia | Structures—Master Specification ST-SC-S4 Low Pressure Steam Curing of Precast Units Clause 5.3 DPTI: Design Standards Structural 2015 Clause 6.2.1(e) [37] | The enclosure temperature must be ≤70 °C. Concrete temperature ≤ 82 °C |
Victoria/Tasmania | VicRoads Specification 2020 Clause 610.24(g) [38] | The enclosure temperature must be ≤70 °C. Concrete temperature must be ≤75 °C. |
Western Australia | Concrete for Structures—Main Roads Specification 820, 2023 Clause: 820.71 [18] | The curing temperature must be ≤70 °C |
Oxide% | CaO | SiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | SO3 | MgO | K2O | Na2O | LOI | Total | Na2Oe |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP-M | 64.2 | 19.7 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 4.1 | 99.9 | 0.46 |
OW-M | 65.7 | 22.8 | 4.4 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 99.6 | 0.30 |
FA-M | 3.88 | 55.46 | 24.42 | 6.91 | 0.19 | 1.22 | 0.77 | 0.88 | 2.52 | 98.7 | N/A |
GP-C | 64.1 | 19.4 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.45 | 0.17 | 4.0 | 100.1 | 0.47 |
OW-C | 65.1 | 20.2 | 5.4 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.42 | 0.07 | 3.8 | 100.4 | 0.35 |
FA-C | 3.6 | 58 | 26.3 | 7.2 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 0.84 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 100.4 | N/A |
Compound | GP-M | OW-M | GP-C | OW-C |
---|---|---|---|---|
C3S% | 49.9 | 56.3 | 52.7 | 48.6 |
C2S% | 18.3 | 22.9 | 15.9 | 21.2 |
C3A% | 7.4 | 11.2 | 7.9 | 13.1 |
C4AF% | 9.4 | 0.8 | 9.1 | 2.1 |
Material | Binder | Aggregate (Total) | Coarse Sand | Fine Sand | Water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mix proportion by mass | 1 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.45 |
Material | Binder | Aggregate (Total) | Coarse Agg. | Fine Agg. | Water | WR | Slump |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Content (kg/m3) | 450 | 1830 | 1190 | 640 | 180 | 1.25 | 120 mm |
Mix proportion by mass | 1 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.40 | 0.003 | N/A |
Mix | 1 Year/% | 2 Year/% |
---|---|---|
GP-M-NR | 0.04 | 0.06 |
GP-M-NR-1N4$ | 0.70 | 0.74 |
OW-M-NR | 0.02 | 0.04 |
OW-M-NR-1N4$ | 1.05 | 1.08 |
GP-M-NR-1N4$-FA | 0.00 | 0.00 |
OW-M-NR-1N4$-FA | 0.00 | 0.00 |
GP-C-NR | 0.02 | 0.01 |
GP-C-NR-1N4$ | 1.96 | 2.06 |
OW-C-NR | 0.01 | 0.01 |
OW-C-NR-1N4$ | 0.03 | 0.03 |
GP-C-R | 0.03 | 0.07 |
GP-C-R-1N4$ | 1.16 | 1.42 |
OW-C-R | 0.02 | 0.03 |
OW-C-R-1N4$ | 0.03 | 0.04 |
GP-C-R-1N4$-FA | 0.01 | 0.01 |
OW-C-R-1N4$-FA | 0.00 | 0.01 |
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Thomas, P.; Ramu, Y.K.; Martin, L.; Vessalas, K.; Sirivivatnanon, V. Assessment of the Potential for Delayed Ettringite Formation in Heat Cured Mortars and Concrete Using Australian Materials. Constr. Mater. 2023, 3, 529-542. https://doi.org/10.3390/constrmater3040033
Thomas P, Ramu YK, Martin L, Vessalas K, Sirivivatnanon V. Assessment of the Potential for Delayed Ettringite Formation in Heat Cured Mortars and Concrete Using Australian Materials. Construction Materials. 2023; 3(4):529-542. https://doi.org/10.3390/constrmater3040033
Chicago/Turabian StyleThomas, Paul, Yogesh Kumar Ramu, Liam Martin, Kirk Vessalas, and Vute Sirivivatnanon. 2023. "Assessment of the Potential for Delayed Ettringite Formation in Heat Cured Mortars and Concrete Using Australian Materials" Construction Materials 3, no. 4: 529-542. https://doi.org/10.3390/constrmater3040033
APA StyleThomas, P., Ramu, Y. K., Martin, L., Vessalas, K., & Sirivivatnanon, V. (2023). Assessment of the Potential for Delayed Ettringite Formation in Heat Cured Mortars and Concrete Using Australian Materials. Construction Materials, 3(4), 529-542. https://doi.org/10.3390/constrmater3040033