Possibilities of testing capillary absorption on microcores

Abstract

During inspection of reinforced concrete structures from the aspect of durability evaluation of concrete, the present methods generally use the test results obtained by the sophisticated and expensive equipment, which are usually not universal purpose, ie. they can be used only for one segment of durability evaluation of the concrete. This way any additional information about the condition of concrete is valuable, especially if it is not require an additional testing with special equipment. Tests of concrete and reinforced concrete with microcore drilling is considered to be a semi- destructive method, which slightly damages the structure itself, and it is primarily used for testing carbonation, density and absorption of concrete. The paper presents the results of capillary absorption according to SRPS EN 480-5 on standard-size samples and on the microcores extracted from cube form samples with edge length of 20 cm. In the article the testing results of penetration of water under pressure are also presented on the same samples, on which we previously gained microcores. These tests were carried out on with concrete mixtures designed for the most demanding exposure classes according to EN 206-1 and using a variety of additives that are known to affect the structure of pores and consequently also the durability of a hardened concrete.

Keywords

• capillary absorption
• microcores
• durability of concrete