Mechanism Of Sulfate Attack Research Articles

Study on the optimal conductivity titration parameters for SO42- in cement-based materials

Accurately obtaining the SO42- content in concrete is a prerequisite for revealing mechanism of sulfate attack, establishing model of sulfate attack, proposing durability design methods. The feasibility of testing SO42- in cement-based materials by conductivity titration was investigated by the author in previous research. Therefore, this study further investigated the optimal conductivity titration parameters and standard for determining the endpoint of titration curve by establishing a conductivity titration kinetic model (CTKM). Based on the proposed CTKM, optimal range of titration parameters such as the volume of measured solution, solution concentration standard titrant and titration rate were obtained, and the effects of other ions on optimal range of titration parameters were also discussed. The results show that among the six stages on the titration curve of SO42- (undersaturation stage, crystal nucleation stage, crystal growth stage, quasi reaction end stage, reaction end stage and infinite titration stage), crystal growth stage and reaction end stage are essential. The titration curves calculated by the CTKM are in good agreement with the measured curves. The included angle between the left and right tangents of a point on the normalized conductivity titration curve can be a good criterion for determining the titration end point. When the included angle exceeds 10°, the titration end point is easily determined. The optimal range of titration parameters are confined by the minimum measured solution volume to submerge the conductivity electrode (about 5 mL), the maximum measured solution volume to be stirred evenly (about 10 mL), and the appropriate added volume of standard titrant to ensure titration accuracy (between 1 and 1.5 mL), and the included angle to be easily determined (greater than 10°). The influence of H+, OH–, Cl-, and Na+ on SO42- titration gradually weakens. In composite solution containing 0.01 mol/L SO42-, when the concentration of H+ exceeds 0.1 mol/L, or the concentration of OH– exceeds 0.2 mol/L, directly titrating SO42- is difficult and a deionization process is required.

External Sulfate Attack of Ambient-Cured One-Part Alkali-Activated Self-Consolidating Concrete

The mechanism of sulfate attack on alkali-activated materials, particularly the alkali-activated self-consolidating concrete (AASCC), is complex and contradictory. This could be due to the wide range of precursor and activator materials used in the production of AASCC mixtures, which has called into question the reliability and validity of existing evaluation procedures and practices. This paper presents a systematic research effort on AASCC mixtures, based on granulated blast-furnace slag, prone to various sulfate attack scenarios that are thought necessary to establish a proposed criterion. The conducted experimental design demonstrated that single-, binary-, and ternary-precursor AASCC samples, activated with 1:1 Na2CO3 and MetaNa2SiO3, partially submerged in sodium, magnesium, and mixed sulfate solutions could experience a dual sulfate attack scheme. Sulfate attack can occur in the immersed section in sulfate solutions, while physical sulfate attack can occur in the portion above the solution level. The influence of physical sulfate attack on the concrete’s characteristics was not significant given that the damage was confined to the outer surface. However, the damage was primarily monitored by the AASCC different systems’ pore structure, which resulted in the leaching of ions from samples to solutions. It was found that maintaining the pH in the sulfate solutions increased the rate of damage of AASCC mixtures. Furthermore, binary, and ternary precursor blends partially replacing slag with SF, or FA resulted in decreased porosity, surface scaling, and AASCC deterioration caused by an expansion in the volume of very small diameter pores. Finally, in all AASCC systems, gypsum and ettringite were the primary degradation products of sulfate attack.

Dry–Wet Cyclic Sulfate Attack Mechanism of High-Volume Fly Ash Self-Compacting Concrete

High-volume fly ash replacing cement helps to improve the fluidity, volume stability, durability, and economy of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Sulfate attack is the most common form of the durability damage of hydraulic concrete; in particular, the performance degradation at the water level change position is more significant. Therefore, research on the influence effect and mechanism of fly ash on the durability is of great significance. In this paper, the change regularity of the SCC physical and mechanical properties with the fly ash replacement percentage and dry–wet cycles were studied by 60 dry–wet cycles of sulfate attack test. The 6 h electric flux, MIP, and SEM were used to study the performance degradation mechanism of SCC cured for 56 days, which had also been attacked by sulfate. The results show that the physical and mechanical properties of SCC increased first and then decreased with the dry–wet cycles of sulfate attack. After 10–15 cycles, the corresponding properties increased slightly, and then decreased gradually. When the fly ash content was 40%, the corrosion resistance coefficient, relative dynamic elastic modulus, and flexural strength retention were higher than those of the control specimen. However, when the fly ash content was 50%, they were close to the control and deteriorated obviously with the further addition of fly ash. For pore sizes in the range of 120–1000 nm, the porosity of SCC cured for 56 days was inversely proportional to the 6 h electric flux and the retention of mechanical properties, indicating that the porosity of the large pores is the decisive factor affecting the chloride ion permeability and corrosion resistance. The incorporation of fly ash in SCC can change the sulfate attack products and destruction mechanism. The sulfate attack damage of SCC with 40% of fly ash and the control specimen was dominated by ettringite crystallization and expansion, while those with a fly ash content of 50% and 60% had no obvious corrosion products, and the microstructures became looser. The appropriate fly ash replacement percentage could significantly improve the corrosion resistance of SCC.

Reaction mechanism of sulfate attack on alkali-activated slag/fly ash cements

In this work, the effects of slag/fly ash ratios, Na2O concentration, and silicate modulus (Ms) of activators on the reaction mechanism of sulfate attack on alkali-activated slag/fly ash cements are elucidated by XRD, FTIR, and TG/DTG analysis. To accelerate the sulfate attack process, the alkali-activated cements (AACs) were crushed into particle samples before immersion in the Na2SO4 and MgSO4 solutions. The results show that upon the Na2SO4 attack, the C-A-S-H gel structures of AACs do not change basically. However, the MgSO4 attack on AACs is severe due to the dissolution of alkali and the intrusion of Mg2+. Gypsum is the main product in AACs upon the MgSO4 attack, and the amount of brucite decreases with the incorporation of fly ash. The NaOH-activated slag (Ms = 0) has a relatively higher MgSO4 resistance compared with the Na2SiO3-activated slag, while it is the opposite when the fly ash replacement level increases to 80%.

Thermodynamic Study of Cement Paste under Sulfate Attack: A Review

Sulfate attack reduces the service life of concrete structures, which isn't possible to repair simply. Implementation of many factors influencing the sulfate resistance, sample scaling, and results in the least possible time is some problems of experimental studies. Therefore, numerical simulations, as well as the new methods along with experimental studies, have been led to better evaluation of sulfate attack within a shorter time and at a lower cost. In the present study, the effective factors, causes, and mechanisms of sulfate attack, examples of this phenomenon in real projects, and the previous studies in this regard, in particular, the development of the thermodynamic study of cement under sulfate attack as a fast and inexpensive solution have been reviewed. The present investigation is divided into three parts, first the sulfate attack mechanism, second the factors influencing phases containing sulfate formation, and third a review of the methods and results of the studies, focusing on the development of thermodynamic models in cement sulfate attack especially. Finally, the results of the studies show that common experimental methods related to concrete sulfate resistance evaluation can't always simulate what is actually happening; subsequently, the results of experimental studies and real cases are sometimes different. So, numerical models, in particular, thermodynamic simulation, either alone or in combination with experimental studies, can be a desirable solution for enhancing the ability to predict engineering behavior of concrete structures in the sulfate environment. Subsequently, it results in making better decisions to tackle and prevent deterioration caused by sulfate attack.

Research on Sulfate Attack Mechanism of Cement Concrete Based on Chemical Thermodynamics

Based on principles of chemical thermodynamics, the relationship between temperature and the Gibbs free energy of erosion products generated during the sulfate attack on cement concrete was deduced. The orientation of chemical reactions of sulfate attack on cement concrete was theoretically determined as well as the critical sulfate ion concentration and the formation conditions of erosion products. The phase composition, microstructure, crystal form, and morphology of erosion products before and after sulfate attack were investigated by environmental scanning electron microscope and energy spectrum analysis (ESEM‐EDS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the effects of sulfate ion concentration and temperature on cement concrete sulfate attack are significant, and different influencing factors correlate with each other. The crystal transition temperature between the anhydrite and dihydrate gypsum is 42°C, and the corresponding concentration of sulfate ion is about 2.3 × 10−3 mol/L. Simultaneously, the crystal transition temperature between the thenardite and mirabilite is 32.4°C. Moreover, the theoretical upper limit temperature and sulfate ion lower limit concentration of thaumasite are 44°C and 0.0023 mol/L, respectively. The ESEM‐EDS and XRD results imply that the chemical thermodynamics can be used to reveal the erosion mechanism of sulfate attack on cement concrete. The major erosion products of sulfate attack on cement concrete are rod‐like ettringite with a larger slenderness ratio, plate‐like gypsum, granular sulfate salt, incompletely corroded calcium hydroxide, and residual skeleton of calcium silicate hydrate. The sulfate attack has double effects on mechanical properties of specimens, which can affect the microstructure, phase composition, type, and morphology of erosion products.

Mechanism of sulfate attack on alkali-activated slag: The role of activator composition

In this work, the degradation mechanisms of alkali-activated slag (AAS), prepared with various activator compositions, exposed to 5% Na2SO4 and MgSO4 solutions are studied. The results show that upon Na2SO4 attack, little ettringite formation and compositional alteration occur in AAS with little length expansion. However, upon MgSO4 attack, brucite, gypsum, and magnesium-aluminosilicate-hydrate (M-A-S-H) are observed in altered layers of hardened AAS pastes. The sulfate-activated slag shows a weaker resistance against MgSO4 attack than NaOH- and Na2CO3-counterparts due to a lower pH value in pore solution and thus absence of brucite protective layer. The reacted products in hardened AAS pastes have a high capacity against dealumination in sulfate environments, contributing to superior sulfate resistance over traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Long-term behaviors of concrete under low-concentration sulfate attack subjected to natural variation of environmental climate conditions

Accelerated laboratory tests on resistance of concrete exposed to sulfate attack have generally been conducted in high-concentration sulfate solutions or under drastic drying-wetting cycle conditions. However, these accelerated regimes radically alter the nature of sulfate attack mechanisms on concrete under real field exposure situation. To obtain reliable information on the long-term behaviors of concrete under real field conditions, the behaviors of concrete samples under three different exposure regimes, i.e., continuous full immersion, full immersion with general use drying-wetting cycles and full immersion with natural drying-wetting cycles, were investigated in this research. Three different concentrations of sulfate sodium solutions, i.e., 0% water for control, 2.1% for field-like condition and 15% for high-concentration condition, were considered. Physical and mechanical properties, such as mass, expansion, permeability and compressive strength, were tested at regular time intervals during the whole exposure period to describe the associated evolution laws. Microanalysis was also carried out to identify the underlying mechanisms. Results from this study showed that the exposure regime of full immersion in 2.1% sulfate sodium solutions subjected to natural drying-wetting cycles can well reproduce the field exposure condition of concrete under certain sulfate-rich environments. Both concentration and exposure type affect the nature of sulfate attack mechanism on concrete, along with the evolution of physical and mechanical properties. A three-stage evolution model, consisting of the enhancement stage, the incubation stage and the degeneration stage, was observed in the property evolution of concrete samples under the field-like exposure condition. Meanwhile, a distinct coupling physicochemical damage on concrete samples was detected when subjected to drying-wetting cycle exposure. In addition, the effects of water-to-binder ratio and binder type were duly studied.

Sodium sulfate attack on Portland cement structures: experimental and analytical approach

Abstract The industrial development and the advance of the primary sector in Brazil generated an increase in the cases of structures damaged by sulfate attacks. A reduction in material lifetime is one of the most costly factors in the construction field. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the sulfate attack mechanism in order to provide repairs and prevent further attacks. This article aims to understand how the environmental condition and the material properties influence the attack’s severity. Hence, it combined an experimental program and analytical model to measure those parameter effects. Experiments show that cement with a higher amount of tricalcium aluminate (C3A), as the CP V ARI, presented a more pronounced deterioration. Visual changes such as cracking, crystallization of expansive products and a complete disintegration were also observed. In addition, loss of resistance occurred in the specimens with low slag content. Moreover, the model is useful to predict the delamination depth and to identify the most critical factors influencing the attack through sensitive analysis. Its results were compared with real cases based on literature and verifying the model reliability.

Microstructural Evolution Mechanism of C-(A)-S-H Gel in Portland Cement Pastes Affected by Sulfate Ions

The microstructural evolution of C-(A)-S-H gel in Portland cement pastes immersed in pure water and 5.0 wt% Na2SO4 solution for different ages was comparatively investigated, by means of 29Si NMR spectroscopy, and SEM-EDS analysis. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulation was performed to study the aluminum coordination status and interaction of sulfate ions in C-(A)-S-H gel. The results showed significant changes in the microstructural evolution of C-(A)-S-H gel in Portland cement paste. Sulfate attack has decalcifying and dealuminizing effect on C-(A)-S-H gel which is evident from increase in mean chain length (MCL) and decrease in Ca/Si & Al[4]/Si ratios of C-(A)-S-H gel. Additionally, Molecular dynamics simulation proves that Al[4] substituted in silicate chains of C-(A)-S-H gel is thermodynamically metastable, which may explain its migration from the silicate chains and transformation to Al[6], thus lowering the Al[4]/Si ratio of C-(A)-S-H gel. SO42- ions can carry the interfacial Ca2+ ions into the pore solution by the diffusion-absorption-desorption process, which unravels the mechanism of sulfate attack on C-(A)-S-H gel.

Evaluating the Durability Assessment of Cementitious Materials Under Sulfate Attack

This paper aims to evaluate whether the aforementioned method represents well the global expansion of the specimens. In the present experimental work, two mixtures of cylindrical cementitious materials exposed to sulfate solution are investigated. Those mixtures differ in the average size of coarse aggregates, yet have an identical specific surface area (SSA), which is the total surface of aggregates in a specimen. This attempt aims to isolate the effect of SSA in the sulfate attack mechanism, as the deterioration level is proportional to the SSA. An advance analysis was performed to observe deeply the phenomena experienced by the specimens, in micro, intermediate, and macro scales. The proposed analysis is also capable to predict the deterioration of the specimens such as mass variation, with excellent results. The results, like the most previous studies, show that the specimen with larger aggregates experienced more elongation. Interestingly, the other specimen, who’s the aggregates are smaller, presented a considerably greater expansion of the radius. The results prove that both specimens likely experienced an identical volumetric expansion but in different ways. Finally, this work suggests that observing expansion by only measuring the elongation should be evaluated.

Nanoscale Chemical Degradation Mechanisms of Sulfate Attack in Alkali-activated Slag

Chemically induced material degradation is a major durability issue facing many technologically important materials systems, including conventional and new sustainable cementitious materials. In this study, the nanoscale chemical degradation mechanisms have been elucidated for an amorphous sodium hydroxide-activated slag paste (one type of sustainable cement) exposed to different types of sulfate-bearing solutions (i.e., Na2SO4, MgSO4, and H2SO4), by combining synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. The XRD, FTIR, and PDF results show that the chemistry and structure of the paste is essentially immune to Na2SO4 attack, whereas exposure to 5–10 wt % MgSO4 and H2SO4 cause complete disintegration of the main binder gel (i.e., sodium-containing calcium–(alumino)–silicate–hydrate), along with formation of magnesium–silicate–hydrate or silica-rich gels and extensive precipitation of gypsum. These differences a...

Do the geometry and aggregates size influence external sulfate attack mechanism?

ESA performance testing protocols are mainly a set of exposure conditions, monitoring strategy, and specimens configuration. Although the large feedback on the representativeness of exposure conditions and the relevance of monitored parameters, the effect of specimen configuration still deserved to be studied. In order to investigate the effect of composition and geometry on ESA degradation progress and performance evaluation, an experimental campaign was conducted in this study. Among the 8 tested specimen configurations, 5 geometries (prismatic, cylindrical and 3 hollow cylindrical geometries) and 3 compositions (concrete, concrete equivalent mortar and standard mortar), the cylindrical mortar specimen was selected as the most adapted configuration, in term of ESA degradation expression, for the adopted performance testing procedure. The different configurations lead to the same overall mechanism of degradation but the geometry and the composition influenced the magnitude of some chemical or physical degradation parameters, due to couplings between chemical and mechanical degradation.

Advanced testing and performance specifications for the cementitious materials under external sulfate attacks

A new monitoring approach was developed to enhance the analysis of performance tests and provide new sulfate resistance criteria. Even in the case of low degradation rates or non-swelling materials exposed to external sulfate attacks, the method allows detecting microscopic evolutions via a set of easily accessible monitored parameters. The monitoring has been performed on a set of sulfate-resisting and non sulfate-resisting cement-based mortars. The main phenomena induced by external sulfate attack are leaching, precipitation, aggregates loss and cracking. Based on the monitoring of mass, hydrostatic weighing, elongation and the amount of leached OH− the method provides the samples dimensional variations, the volume and mass changes of minerals and free water, corresponding to the main phenomena of the external sulfate attack. On the one hand, the phenomena decoupling allows a better understanding of the sulfate attack mechanism. The observed equivalence between the volumes of leached and precipitated products highlights the influence of portlandite, the major leached mineral, on the precipitation mechanism. The precipitation-deformation correlation and the samples absolute deformation monitoring showed a common expansion mechanism for the different cement compositions. The cement type was found to influence the magnitude of deformations. On the other hand, the determination of the volume variations corresponding to each phenomenon allows the proposition of new performance indicators from the monitoring approach outputs: the averaged density, the deformation path and the expansion potential. The three indicators were sensitive to the microstructural and macroscopic evolutions. The expansion potential, related to crystallization pressure, was found to depend on cement composition.

Advanced External Sulfate Attack Testing and Performance Specifications: Different Sample Geometries Testing

External sulfate attacks induce severe deterioration of concrete because of several phenomena: leaching, precipitation of expansive products, aggregates loss, and cracking. A new methodology has been developed to assess sulfate resistance of cement-based materials. We can actually estimate the nature of leached and precipitated minerals, and the microscopic volume variations due to each of the principal sulfate attack phenomena, from relatively simple monitoring parameters: sample mass, hydrostatic weighing, and the amount of leached hydroxide. Quantitative information is given on the mineralogical volume or mass variations, leading us to a phenomena decoupling and a better understanding of the sulfate attack mechanism. After we established the microscopic volume variation scenario, we defined a new performance criterion, the averaged density, capable to describe the tested sample performance variation according to the sample internal state indications given by this criterion. We applied the developed strategy on three different filled and hollow geometries in order to study the effect of the sample geometry on sulfate attack mechanism. The study shows almost the same degradation mechanism: the same microscopic volume variations entrained by the different sulfate attack phenomena. However the hollow tubes promote different precipitated mineral than the two others geometries, due to the different ionic and pH profiles between filled and hollow samples which affects the nature of formed sulfate minerals.

Applying high resolution SyXRD analysis on sulfate attacked concrete field samples

High resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SyXRD) was applied for a microstructural profile analysis of concrete deterioration after sulfate attack. The cement matrices consist of ordinary Portland cement and different amounts of supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash, natural pozzolana and granulated blast furnace slag. The changes of the phase composition were determined along the direction of sulfate ingress. This approach allows the identification of reaction fronts and zones of different phase compositions and conclusions about the mechanisms of sulfate attack. Two reaction fronts were localized in the initial 4mm from the sample surface. The mechanism of deterioration caused by the exposition in the sulfate-bearing soil is discussed. SyXRD is shown to be a reliable method for investigation of cementitious materials with aggregates embedded in natural environments.

エトリンガイトの生成量および生成起源が長期間硫酸塩に浸漬した高炉セメント系材料の耐硫酸塩性に及ぼす影響

Sulfate attack is known as one of the deterioration phenomena of concrete structures. Sulfates react chemically with hydration products of cement pastes and lead expansion or weakening of cement matrix. Deterioration cases of this phenomenon have been reported in a variety of environments all over the world. However, most of studies about sulfate resistance of hardened cementitious materials were mainly considered at 23℃ in Na₂SO₄ solution immersion. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of sulfate species (Na₂SO₄ and MgSO₄) and high temperature (40℃) on the mechanisms of sulfate attack of cementitious materials containing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with Blast Furnace Slag (BFS), Anhydrite (AH) and Limestone Powder (LSP), and to evaluate the expansion characteristics of specimens immersed sulfate solutions considering “Amount of ettringite”, “Ettringite generation rate” and “Ettringite generation origin”. From the results of sulfate immersion test, the expansion was caused due to Na₂SO₄, however not only expansion but also mass decrease were caused due to MgSO₄. This was considered that hydration products in each sulfate solution were different because of pH differences of sulfate solutions were occurred by the difference of sulfate species. And the expansion characteristics of the specimens were not evaluated by only simple amount of ettringite, however it became able to evaluate considering the ettringite generation rate and ettringite generation origin. In addition, the paste specimen of 70% BFS-cement with 10% AH and 10% LSP (BFS 59.5%-OPC 25.5%-AH 10%-LSP 10%) was proposed a material design against sulfate attack. 本研究は、普通ポルトランドセメントに高炉スラグ微粉末-無水せっこう-石灰石微粉末を用いた高炉セメント系材料について、硫酸塩種および温度条件が硫酸塩劣化機構に及ぼす影響を明らかにすること、さらにエトリンガイトの生成量、生成速度および生成起源に着目して検討することにより、膨張性状の評価を行うことを目的とした。その結果、硫酸塩種によって溶液のpHに差が生じ、水和生成物が変化することで劣化形態が異なるものと考察した。また、単純なエトリンガイト生成量だけでは膨張性状を評価できなかったが、単位週当りのエトリンガイト生成量や、特に生成起源別エトリンガイト量を考慮することによって、膨張性状評価が可能となることが示唆された。

Deterioration mechanism of sulfate attack on concrete under freeze-thaw cycles

The experiments of concrete attacked by sulfate solution under freeze-thaw cycles were investigated. The sulfate solution includes two types of 5% Na2SO4 and 5% MgSO4. Through the experiment, microstructural analyses such as SEM, XRD and TGA measurements were performed on the selected samples after freeze-thaw cycles. The corrosion products of the concrete were distinguished and quantitatively compared by the thermal analysis. Besides, the damage mechanism considering the dynamic modulus of elastically of concrete under the coupling effect was also investigated. The experimental results show that, under the action of freeze-thaw cycles and sulfate attack, the main attack products in concrete are ettringite and gypsum. The corrosion products exposed to MgSO4 solution are more than those to Na2SO4 solution. Furthermore, the content of gypsum in concrete is less than that of ettringite in test, and some of gypsum can be observed only after a certain corrosion extent. It is also shown that MgSO4 solution has a promoting effect to the damage of concrete under freeze-thaw cycles. Whereas for Na2SO4 solution, the damage of concrete has restrained before 300 freeze-thaw cycles, but the sulfate attack accelerates the deterioration process in its further test period.

Monitoring the cementitious materials subjected to sulfate attack with optical fiber excitation Raman spectroscopy

Formation of ettringite and gypsum from sulfate attack together with carbonation and chloride ingress have been considered as the most serious deterioration mechanisms of concrete structures. Although electrical resistance sensors and fiber optic chemical sensors could be used to monitor the latter two mechanisms on site, currently there is no system for monitoring the deterioration mechanisms of sulfate attack. In this paper, a preliminary study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of monitoring sulfate attack with optical fiber excitation Raman spectroscopy through characterizing the ettringite and gypsum formed in deteriorated cementitious materials under an optical fiber excitation + objective collection configuration. Bench-mounted Raman spectroscopy analysis was also conducted to validate the spectrum obtained from the fiber-objective configuration. The results showed that the expected Raman bands of ettringite and gypsum in the sulfate-attacked cement paste can be clearly identified by the optical fiber excitation Raman spectrometer and are in good agreement with those identified from bench-mounted Raman spectrometer. Therefore, based on these preliminary results, it is considered that there is a good potential for developing an optical fiber-based Raman system to monitor the deterioration mechanisms of concrete subjected to sulfate attack in the future.

Form and mechanism of sulfate attack on cement-based material made of limestone powder at low water-binder ratio under low temperature conditions

The development of strength and the form of attack of cement-based material made of limestone powder at low water-binder ratio under low-temperature sulfate environment were studied. The results indicate that when water-binder ratio is lower than 0.40, the cement-based material with limestone powder has insignificant change in appearance after being soaked in 10% magnesium sulfate solution at low temperature for 120 d, and has significant change in appearance after being soaked at the age of 200 d. Expansion damage and exfoliation occur on the surface of concrete test cube at different levels. When limestone powder accounts for about 28 percent of cementitious material, with the decrease of water-binder ratio, the compressive strength loss has gradually decreased after the material is soaked in the magnesium sulfate solution at low temperature at the age of 200 d. After the specimen with the water-binder ratio of less than 0.4 and the limestone powder volume of greater than 20% is soaked in 10% magnesium sulfate solution at low temperature at the age of 200 d, gypsum attack-led destruction is caused to the concrete test cube, without thaumasite sulfate attack.