Carbonation of fly ash concrete: laboratory and field data

Abstract

The present study consists of investigating the carbonation resistance of two series of concrete mixtures designed for three classes of concrete (25, 35, and 45 MPa compressive strength at 28 d) and using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) type I Portland cement and two commercially used fly ashes meeting the ASTM standards at the level of 20%, 35%, and 50% of the total weight of cementitious materials. The carbonation resistance was determined on samples moist cured for 3, 7, and 10 d and exposed to a CO2-enriched environment (3% CO2 at 23 °C and 65% relative humidity) for 140 d to accelerate the carbonation; it was also determined on samples moist cured for 7 d and exposed to an indoor and outdoor natural environments for 4 years. A mathematical model allowing the prediction of the depth of accelerated carbonation of fly ash concrete mixtures is presented.