Abstract
Cemented waste and ordinary construction concrete are rigid, porous materials. Some concepts derived from percolation theory are presented together with relations between the porosity and the water/cement ratio and the degree of hydration. A large range of particle and pore sizes covering some 7 or 8 decades is typical for the products. The importance of interfaces is underlined. Limitations of the methods for pore structure characterization are shortly presented and the influence of pore solution concentrations on the BET method when based on water absorption is described. Interpretation problems and formation mechanisms for fractal systems are discussed in connection with the small angle neutron scattering method. The pore structure is important for hygroscopic water uptake in cement, and for the transport of gases and water vapour through unsaturated cement paste. It is also important for the advective or diffusive transport of solutes in water-saturated cement paste. Diffusivities obtained in various manners are discussed in qualitative terms. Flow of water through concrete barriers takes place preferentially through cracks or other coarse interconnected defects. Cracks may heal due to precipitation of for example calcium carbonate, but negative effects of the formation of impervious layers is also a possibility.
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