Abstract
Concrete structures can have their durability affected due to internal sulfate attack (ISA). This attack can occur by the use of aggregates contaminated with sulfides, such as pyrite. The oxidation of pyrite releases sulfate ions into the cement matrix and favors the formation of expansive phases, such as gypsum and secondary ettringite. These expansions cause cracks and progressive degradation of concrete structures. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of sulfate-resistant Portland cement in the likely mitigation of ISA. Mortar specimens with two types of cement (CEM I and CEM I SR) were cast with and without pyrite. These mortars naturally aged for 406 days and later were subjected to wetting and drying cycles at 40 °C to stimulate the ISA. The following properties of mortars were evaluated over time: length change and mass variation, tensile and compressive strengths, capillary and immersion water absorption, and electrical resistivity. The results showed that sulfate-resistant Portland cement only managed to reduce the length change in the first ages. The results of water absorption tests showed that the attack by sulfates due to pyrite oxidation is in the early stages. However, water absorption was reduced by 60% during the 56 wetting and drying cycles with water only. The electrical resistivity of the pyrite mortars was greatly affected (about 550%) over the 18 weeks of exposure.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.
Code availability
Not applicable.
References
Campos A, López CM, Blanco A, Aguado A (2018) Effects of an internal sulfate attack and an alkali-aggregate reaction in a concrete dam. Constr Build Mater 166:668–683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.180
Blanco A, Pardo-bosch F, Cavalaro S, Aguado A (2019) Lessons learned about the diagnosis of pathologies in concrete dams: 30 years of research and practice. Constr Build Mater 197:356–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.143
Medeiros-Junior RA (2018) Impact of climate change on the service life of concrete structures. In: Pacheco-Torgal F, Melchers R, de Belie N, Shi X, Van Tittelboom K, Perez AS (eds) Eco-efficient repair and rehabilitation of concrete infrastructures, 1st edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 43–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102181-1.00003-4
Chirită P, Schelegel ML (2017) Pyrite oxidation in air-equilibrated solutions: an electrochemical study. Chem Geol 470:67–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.08.023
Mahoney C, Marz C, Buckman J, Wagner T, Blanco-Velandia VO (2019) Pyrite oxidation in shales: implications for palaeo-redox proxies based on geochemical and SEM-EDX evidence. Sediment Geol 389:186–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2019.06.006
Wang H, Dowd PA, Xu C (2019) A reaction rate model for pyrite oxidation considering the influence of water content and temperature. Miner Eng 134:345–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2019.02.002
Janzen MP, Nicholson RV, Scharer JN (2000) Pyrrhotite reactions kinetics: reaction rates for oxidation by oxygen, ferric iron, and for nonoxidative dissolution. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 64:1511–1522. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00421-4
Dobrovolski MEG, Munhoz GS, Pereira E, Medeiros-Junior RA (2021) Effect of crystalline admixture and polypropylene microfiber on the internal sulfate attack in Portland cement composites due to pyrite oxidation. Constr Build Mater 308:125018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125018
Xie F, Li J, Zhao G, Wang C, Wang Y, Zhou P (2021) Experimental investigations on the durability and degradation mechanism of cast-in-situ recycled aggregate concrete under chemical sulfate attack. Constr Build Mater 297:123771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123771
Takagi EM, Lima MG, Helene P, Medeiros-Jr RA (2018) Self-healing of self-compacting concretes made with blast furnace slag cements activated by crystalline admixture. Mater Prod Technol 56:169–186. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMPT.2018.089116
Zhao G, Guo M, Cui J, Li J, Xu L (2021) Partially-exposed cast-in-situ concrete degradation induced by internal-external sulfate and magnesium multiple coupled attack. Constr Build Mater 294:123560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123560
Medeiros MHF, Raisdorfer JW, Filho JH, Medeiros-Junior RA (2017) Partial replacement and addition of fly ash in Portland cement: influences on carbonation and alkaline reserve. J Build Pathol Rehabil 2:3–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-017-0023-z
Genovés V, Vargas F, Gosálbez J, Carrión A, Borrachero MV, Payá J (2017) Ultrasonic and impact spectroscopy monitoring on internal sulphate attack of cement-based materials. Mater Des 125:46–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2017.03.068
Camara LA, Wons M, Esteves ICA, Medeiros-Junior RA (2019) Monitoring the self-healing of concrete from the ultrasonic pulse velocity. J Compos Sci 3:16. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs3010016
Sansana F, Dotti RA, Farias MM, Pereira E (2017) Accelerated mortar bars expansion tests subjected to internal sulfate attack due to the presence of pyrite. In: Proceedings 1th Paranaense symposium on construction pathology, Curitiba, Brazil, pp 371–379 (In Portuguese: Ensaios de expansão acelerada em barras de argamassa sujeitas ao ataque interno por sulfatos devido à presença de pirita)
NBR 16697 (2018) Portland cement—requirements. Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (In Portuguese: Cimento Portland—Requisitos)
NBR 13583 (2014) Portland cement—determination of volumetric change of Portland cement mortar bars exposed to sodium sulphate solution. Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (In Portuguese: Cimento Portland—Determinação da variação dimensional de barras de argamassa de cimento Portland expostas à solução de sulfato de sódio)
ASTM C1012/C1012M-18b (2018) Standard test method for length change of hydraulic-cement mortars exposed to a sulfate solution. American Society for Testing and Materials, Washington
NBR 7215 (2019) Portland cement—determination of compressive strength of cylindrical test specimens. Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (In Portuguese Cimento Portland—Determinação da resistência à compressão de corpos de prova cilíndricos)
Munhoz GS, Dobrovolski MEG, Pereira E, Medeiros-Junior RA (2021) Effect of improved autogenous mortar self-healing in the alkali-aggregate reaction. Cem Concr Compos 117:103905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103905
NBR 1327 (2005) Mortars applied on walls and ceilings—determination of the flexural and the compressive strength in the hardened stage. Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (In Portuguese: Argamassa para assentamento e revestimento de paredes e tetos—Determinação da resistência à tração na flexão e à compressão)
NBR 9779 (2012) Mortar and hardened concrete—determination of water absorption by capillarity. Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (In Portuguese: Argamassa e concreto endurecidos—Determinação da absorção de água por capilaridade)
NBR 9778 (2005) Hardened mortar and concrete—determination of absorption, voids and specific gravity. Brazilian Association of Technical Standards, Rio de Janeiro (In Portuguese: Argamassa e concreto endurecidos—Determinação da absorção de água, índice de vazios e massa específica)
UNE 83988-2 (2014) Durability of concrete—test methods—determination of electrical resistivity—part 2: four points or Wenner method. Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification, Madrid (In Spanish: Durabilidad del hormigón—Métodos de ensayo—Determinación de la resistividad eléctrica—Parte 2: Método de las cuatro puntas o de Wenner)
Medeiros-Junior RA, de Bem DH (2020) Study of the environment factor from Fick’s and electrical resistivity models by simulation of chloride diffusivity prediction. Adv Struct Eng. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369433220906932 (Ahead of print)
Esteves ICA, Medeiros-Junior RA, Medeiros MHF (2018) NDT for bridges durability assessment on urban-industrial environment in Brazil. Int J Build Pathol Adapt 36:500–515. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijbpa-04-2018-0032
Van Noort R, Hunger M, Spiesz P (2016) Long-term chloride migration coefficient in slag cement-based concrete and resistivity as an alternative test method. Constr Build Mater 115:746–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.04.054
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico and Tecnológico—CNPQ), the Araucária Foundation (Grant number 044/2020), and the National Water Agency (Agência Nacional de Águas—ANA) for their support in conducting this study.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Camanducaia, L.P.M., Santos, N.C.S. & Medeiros-Junior, R.A. Mitigation potential of sulfate-resistant Portland cement for internal sulfate attack. J Build Rehabil 7, 11 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-021-00150-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-021-00150-1