Link between microstructure and tritiated water diffusivity in mortars: Impact of aggregates

The present study aims to investigate the influence of microstructure, particularly the effect of aggregates content and interfacial transition zone (ITZ), on tritiated water (HTO) diffusivity in mortars. To this end, three different series of mortars were prepared and HTO diffusion tests were condu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cement and concrete research 2016-04, Vol.82, p.92-99
Main Authors: Larbi, B., Dridi, W., Dangla, P., Le Bescop, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregates
CEMENTS
Concrete
CONCRETES
Diffusion
Diffusivity
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
IMAGE PROCESSING
Interfacial transition zone
MATERIALS SCIENCE
MICROSTRUCTURE
MORTARS
PARTICLE SIZE
Percolation
POROUS MATERIALS
SAND
Tritiated water diffusion
TRITIUM OXIDES
Voids
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Summary:The present study aims to investigate the influence of microstructure, particularly the effect of aggregates content and interfacial transition zone (ITZ), on tritiated water (HTO) diffusivity in mortars. To this end, three different series of mortars were prepared and HTO diffusion tests were conducted. Variables are water-to-cement ratio, sand volume fractions, and particle size distribution. In parallel, the microstructure of these materials was characterized by water porosimetry, mercury porosimetry, and by backscattered electron microscopy associated to images analysis. It was observed that at low sand content (0%–50%), diffusion properties of mortars are dominated by aggregates dilution effect. Beyond 50% of standard sand, other effects related to the large number of sand grains appear, such as air voids and porous areas mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining well-compacted materials.
ISSN:0008-8846
1873-3948
DOI:10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.01.003