Abstract
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the suitability of the Torrent method of determining air permeability of concrete for an approximate assessment of damage to the surface layer of concrete caused by microcracks. The combined measurement of deformation and air permeability by means of Torrent method and of the width of microcracks on the tested concrete cubes during loading in the splitting tensile test contributed to the clarification of certain facts. The use of Torrent method seems to be more suitable in reinforced concretes where it is possible to anticipate a slower opening of cracks during the increase of load. In spite of that, the testing of these concretes is limited by the maximum dimensions of cracks, i.e. 0.075–0.1 mm in the width and 60 mm in the length. Exceeding these limit dimensions causes a massive decrease in vacuum and subsequent separation of the adhering bell of the Torrent tester.
Highlights
The quality of construction work is nowadays assessed on the basis of three characteristics: load-bearing capacity, serviceability and useful life
In order to carry out a successful research into the dependence of permeability coefficient, load / total width of cracks, we proposed the reinforcement of concrete cube according to Reinhardt and Jooss (2003)
The red (Fig. 7) and purple (Fig. 8) deformation curve represent the reinforced concrete cubes, the green and blue curves representing the cubes made of unreinforced concrete
Summary
The quality of construction work is nowadays assessed on the basis of three characteristics: load-bearing capacity, serviceability and useful life. An objective assessment of useful life, or durability, is based on a number of the so-called durability characteristics (Adámek et al 2009; Matoušek, Drochytka 1998). They are determined by means of testing methods which examine the surface layer of concrete (cover concrete – “covercrete”) with a thickness of 30–50 mm (Claisse et al 1997; Wang, Hutchinson 2005; Kamaitis 2008). Standard concrete cubes were subjected to the splitting tensile test (compressive force works diagonally on the cube) with a simultaneous monitoring of longitudinal and lateral deformations and air permeability (Berg, Rožkov 1968; Hoseini et al 2009)
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