Easy assessment of durability indicators for service life prediction or quality control of concretes with high volumes of supplementary cementitious materials

Abstract

This paper investigates whether durability indicators (DIs), more specifically transport properties, can be assessed by simple methods, e.g. direct experimental methods or indirect methods based on analytical formulas, for every type of concrete. First the results of electrical resistivity and apparent chloride diffusion coefficient obtained by direct measurement on a broad range of materials, particularly on high-volume supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) mixtures, are discussed. Then, various methods, in particular methods based on these last parameters, are compared for the assessment of effective chloride diffusion coefficient and “intrinsic” liquid water permeability, including for the latter a sophisticated method based on numerical inverse analysis. The good agreement observed between the various methods points out that simple methods can allow DI assessment with sufficient accuracy. Moreover, the available values of electrical resistivity, effective/apparent chloride diffusion coefficients and “intrinsic” liquid water permeability can be included in a database. Throughout the paper, the specificities of high-volume SCM mixtures are highlighted.