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Damage in cement pastes exposed to MgCl2 solutions

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Abstract

Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) reacts with cement pastes resulting in calcium leaching and the formation of calcium oxychloride, which can cause damage. This paper examines the damage in different cement pastes exposed to MgCl2 solutions. Volume change measurement and low temperature differential scanning calorimetry are used to characterize the formation of calcium oxychloride. Thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray fluorescence are used to quantify calcium leaching from Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H. The ball-on-three-balls test is used to quantify the flexural strength reduction. Calcium oxychloride can form in cement pastes exposed to MgCl2 solutions with a (Ca(OH)2/MgCl2) molar ratio larger than 1. As the MgCl2 concentration increases, two-stages of flexural strength reduction are observed in the plain cement pastes, with the initial reduction primarily due to calcium leaching from Ca(OH)2 and the additional reduction due to the calcium leaching from C-S-H (at MgCl2 concentrations above 17.5 wt%). For the cement pastes containing fly ash, there is a smaller reduction in flexural strength as less Ca(OH)2 is leached, while no additional reduction is observed at high MgCl2 concentrations due to the greater stability of C-S-H with a lower Ca/Si ratio. The addition of fly ash can mitigate damage in the presence of MgCl2 solutions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA), the Portland Cement Association (PCA), MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub and a pooled fund by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (TP-5(297)) “Improving Specifications to Resist Frost Damage in Modern Concrete”. The authors also acknowledge insightful discussions with Dr. Vahid Jafari Azad and Professor O. Burkan Isgor at Oregon State University. The authors also acknowledge the hard work by Myo Thiha Zaw for B3B specimen preparation.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA), the Portland Cement Association (PCA), MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub and a pooled fund by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (TP-5(297)) “Improving Specifications to Resist Frost Damage in Modern Concrete”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, 97331, USA

    Chunyu Qiao, Marisol Tsui Chang & Jason Weiss

  2. Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, 33146, USA

    Prannoy Suraneni

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  1. Chunyu Qiao
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Correspondence to Jason Weiss.

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Qiao, C., Suraneni, P., Tsui Chang, M. et al. Damage in cement pastes exposed to MgCl2 solutions. Mater Struct 51, 74 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-018-1191-2

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