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Concrete petrography: Capabilities and limitations
Concrete petrography involves a broad range of materials, many important issues, and different techniques, of which this paper only discussed a very small portion. W/cm is an important parameter that can be used to describe the quality and properties of concrete. However, it is affected by many internal and external factors. Only a range of w/cm can be estimated with confidence after a comprehensive evaluation of all related properties. A finite w/cm number is unrealistic in practice. Carbonation of concrete can be used to evaluate the relative age of cracking. However, comparison can only be made within the same concrete structure where the quality of the concrete and the environment are the same. Comparison of carbonation depths between different concrete structures is usually invalid, and absolute dating of concrete by carbonation alone is impossible. With the ease of use and vast spectrum of information generated, SEM has proven to be a powerful tool in materials research. It is a powerful and important extension to concrete petrography, but it cannot replace optical petrographic microscopy. Attempts to perform 'petrographic examination' for general characterization of concrete by using SEM alone is not a good approach, and may result in erroneous results. Concrete petrography is a powerful and effective tool in troubleshooting construction materials related problems. However, like any science based on observation, human factors, such as the knowledge, skills, and experience of petrographers, always play important roles in the final presentation of the results. A petrographer should know the limit of such observations. In most cases, only qualitative statements can be made. We believe that as long as all the necessary information is conveyed and representative samples are examined, through the efforts of petrographers, as well as the users, objective and meaningful petrographic examinations can be achieved.
Concrete petrography: Capabilities and limitations
Concrete petrography involves a broad range of materials, many important issues, and different techniques, of which this paper only discussed a very small portion. W/cm is an important parameter that can be used to describe the quality and properties of concrete. However, it is affected by many internal and external factors. Only a range of w/cm can be estimated with confidence after a comprehensive evaluation of all related properties. A finite w/cm number is unrealistic in practice. Carbonation of concrete can be used to evaluate the relative age of cracking. However, comparison can only be made within the same concrete structure where the quality of the concrete and the environment are the same. Comparison of carbonation depths between different concrete structures is usually invalid, and absolute dating of concrete by carbonation alone is impossible. With the ease of use and vast spectrum of information generated, SEM has proven to be a powerful tool in materials research. It is a powerful and important extension to concrete petrography, but it cannot replace optical petrographic microscopy. Attempts to perform 'petrographic examination' for general characterization of concrete by using SEM alone is not a good approach, and may result in erroneous results. Concrete petrography is a powerful and effective tool in troubleshooting construction materials related problems. However, like any science based on observation, human factors, such as the knowledge, skills, and experience of petrographers, always play important roles in the final presentation of the results. A petrographer should know the limit of such observations. In most cases, only qualitative statements can be made. We believe that as long as all the necessary information is conveyed and representative samples are examined, through the efforts of petrographers, as well as the users, objective and meaningful petrographic examinations can be achieved.
Concrete petrography: Capabilities and limitations
Cong, Derek X. (author) / Patty, Tom S. (author)
2004
11 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 8 Quellen
Conference paper
Storage medium
English
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