Durability of concrete exposed to sulfuric acid attack

184 Pages·2013·6.27 MB·English

by  Seyed M. Joorabchian

Ryerson University
Digital Commons @ Ryerson
Theses and dissertations
1-1-2010
Durability of concrete exposed to sulfuric acid
attack
Seyed M. Joorabchian
Ryerson University
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DURABILITY OF CONCRETE EXPOSED TO
SULFURIC ACID ATTACK

By
Seyed Mahmoodreza Joorabchian, B.Eng.
Azad University of Tehran Central, Tehran, Iran, 2005

A thesis
Presented to Ryerson University

In partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Applied Science
in the program of
Civil Engineering

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2010
Seyed Mahmoodreza Joorabchian 2010 ©
Author’s Declaration

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis.
I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the
purpose of scholarly research.

Seyed Mahmoodreza Joorabchian Date

I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other
means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of
scholarly research.

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Durability of Concrete Exposed to Sulfuric Acid Attack
Master of Applied Science, 2010
Seyed Mahmoodreza Joorabchian
Department of Civil Engineering
Ryerson University

Abstract
This thesis investigates the effects of aggressive sulfuric acid attack on the concrete mixtures
prepared with metakaolin (MK) and limestone filler (LF) at various replacement levels. In
addition, rapid chloride permeability (RCPT), water sorptivity, water porosity and rapid freezing
and thawing tests were also performed on the concrete samples. Three sulfuric acid solutions
with concentrations of 3%, 5% and 7% were used for examining the resistance of concrete
specimens for a total exposure period of eight weeks. The performance of the degraded
specimens was evaluated by measuring the weight loss, change in strength and visual
assessment. The results of the weight loss and visual assessment reveal that the increase in
amount of MK would enhance the performance of concrete, while inclusion of LF into MK
concretes has shown positive results in terms of resistance against sulfuric acid attack. The
mixtures with ternary binders of OPC, MK and LF experienced the lowest strength loss after
exposure to high concentrations of sulfuric acid. Measuring the change of weight was found to
be a better way to evaluate the resistance of concrete specimens immersed in sulfuric acid
solutions as the results of the load bearing capacity can be affected by several parameters such as
the variable geometry of degraded specimens. The rate of the water absorption of concrete with
MK and LF was lower than the reference mixture with only Portland cement. The RCPT results
also showed that the reference mixture had considerably higher permeability than other concrete
mixtures. The results of the water porosity on degraded samples indicate that the inner parts of
the concrete (not in contact with sulfuric acid) have remained sound and maintained their
original pore structure after different exposure periods.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, for his
encouragement, guidance and support during the development of this thesis. I am indebted to Dr.
Lachemi who has been my inspiration as I overcome all the obstacles in completion of this
research work, one could simply not wish for a better supervisor. A special thanks to my co.
supervisor, Dr. Ramdhane Dhib, whose knowledge and valuable assistance enabled me to
complete this thesis successfully.
I would like to thank Dr. Franck Cassagnabere, who provided me with his practical experiences
and worthy advice throughout this project. And I also offer my kind regards to Nidal Jaalouk and
Mohamad Aldardari for their technical assistance throughout this research work.
Last but not least, I wish to express my heartfelt love and gratitude to my beloved family; for
their endless love and support through the duration of my studies.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 General ......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Objectives .................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Research Outline ........................................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Literature Review ................................................................................................................................. 8
2.1 Sulfuric Acid Attack ......................................................................................................................... 8
2.1.1 Microbiological Induced Corrosion (MIC) ................................................................................ 9
2.2 Prevention of Sulfuric Acid Attack ............................................................................................. 13
2.2.1 Role of Supplementary Cementing Materials ......................................................................... 14
2.2.1.1 Silica Fume ............................................................................................................................ 14
2.2.1.2 Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag ............................................................................. 16
2.2.1.3 Fly Ash ................................................................................................................................... 17
2.2.1.4 Metakaolin ............................................................................................................................. 19
2.2.1.5 Limestone Filler ..................................................................................................................... 23
2.2.2 Portland Cement ........................................................................................................................... 26
2.2.3 Polymer Modifiers........................................................................................................................ 31
2.2.4 Role of Aggregates ....................................................................................................................... 36
2.2.5 Corrosion Protection Systems ..................................................................................................... 39
2.3 Two Case Studies ............................................................................................................................. 40
2.4 Concrete Pore Structure and Permeability ............................................................................... 42
2.5 Concrete Resistance to Freezing and Thawing ......................................................................... 45
Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................................ 46
Materials and Experimental Procedures ................................................................................. 46

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3.1 Materials ............................................................................................................................................ 46
3.1.1 Coarse Aggregates ...................................................................................................................... 46
3.1.2 Fine Aggregates ........................................................................................................................... 46
3.1.3 Portland Cement .......................................................................................................................... 47
3.1.4 Metakaolin .................................................................................................................................... 47
3.1.5 Limestone Filler........................................................................................................................... 47
3.1.6 Fly Ash ......................................................................................................................................... 47
3.1.7 Latex Polymer .............................................................................................................................. 47
3.1.8 Xypex ............................................................................................................................................ 48
3.1.9 Chemical Admixtures ................................................................................................................. 49
3.2 Preliminary Studies ......................................................................................................................... 50
3.2.1 Water Demand Test on Binders ................................................................................................ 51
3.2.2 Introductory Studies on Sulphuric Acid Resistance of Concrete .......................................... 54
3.2.2.1 Mix Designs and Placing of Concrete Mixtures .............................................................. 54
3.2.2.2 Testing Method .................................................................................................................... 56
3.3 Experimental Program ................................................................................................................... 57
3.3.1 Mix Designs, Placing and Curing ............................................................................................. 57
3.3.2 Sulphuric Acid Test .................................................................................................................... 59
3.3.3 Water Sorptivity and Immersion Tests ..................................................................................... 63
3.3.3.1 Water Sorptivity .................................................................................................................... 63
3.3.3.2 Water Absorption by Total Immersion .............................................................................. 65
3.3.4 Rapid Chloride Permeability Test ............................................................................................. 66
3.3.5 Rapid Freezing & Thawing Test ............................................................................................... 67
3.3.6 Water Porosity Test ..................................................................................................................... 69
3.3.7 Phenolphthalein Test ................................................................................................................... 71
Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................................ 72
Results and Discussion .................................................................................................................... 72
4.1 Preliminary Studies ......................................................................................................................... 72
4.1.1 Fresh Properties ........................................................................................................................... 72
4.1.2 Weight Loss ................................................................................................................................. 72

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4.1.3 Strength Loss ............................................................................................................................... 74
4.2 Experimental Program ................................................................................................................... 76
4.2.1 Fresh Properties ........................................................................................................................ 76
4.2.2 Hardened Properties ................................................................................................................ 77
4.2.3 Sulfuric Acid Test ...................................................................................................................... 75
4.2.3.1 Weight Loss ........................................................................................................................... 78
4.2.3.2 Strength Loss ......................................................................................................................... 83
4.2.3.3 Visual Inspection .................................................................................................................. 89
4.2.4 Phenolphthalein Test ................................................................................................................ 93
4.2.5 Rapid Chloride Permeability Test ........................................................................................ 95
4.2.6 Rapid Freezing & Thawing ..................................................................................................... 97
4.2.7 Water Sorptivity ........................................................................................................................ 99
4.2.7.1 Water Sorptivity of the Sound Specimens....................................................................... 100
4.2.7.2 Water Sorptivity of the Degraded Specimens ................................................................. 102
4.2.8 Water Porosity ......................................................................................................................... 106
4.2.8.1 Water Porosity of the Sound Specimens ......................................................................... 106
4.2.8.2 Water Porosity of the Degraded Specimens .................................................................... 107
4.2.9 Water Absorption by Total Immersion ............................................................................. 110
Chapter 5 .............................................................................................................................................. 112
Conclusions & Recommendations ........................................................................................... 112
5.1 Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 112
5.2 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 113
5.3 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 116

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List of Figures

Figure 1.1: Delaminated liners of a sewer manhole (Ramsburg, 2004) ................................... 4
Figure 2.1: Illustration of sulfur cycle taking place
in the sewer pipes (Little et al. 2000) ..........................................................................................11
Figure 2.2: Apparatus for accelerated degradation testing (De Belie et al. 2002) ............... 15
Figure 2.3: Strength loss and weight loss percentages of water cured specimens with
different quantities of fly ash (Aydin et al. 2007) ......................................................................18
Figure 2.4: Pore size distribution of different concrete mixtures after being water cured
for 28 days (Poon et al. 2006) ......................................................................................................21
Figure 2.5: The Ca(OH) heat flow peaks of non air entrained mixtures after 56 days of
2
moist curing (obtained with DSC). (Bassuoni and Nehdi 2007) .................................................. 25
Figure 2.6: XRD of concrete samples that contain OPC, SRPC and OCI after 12 weeks of
immersion in a 5% sulfuric acid solution. (Bassuoni and Nehdi 2007) ..................................... 30
Figure 2.7: A basic model of the polymer modification process in a hydraulic
cementitious matrix (Chandra and Ohama 1994) .......................................................................... 32
Figure 2.8: Average change of radius of the different concrete mixtures versus number of
measurements (Monteny et al. 2003) ................................................................................................. 35
Figure 2.9: Ratios of the crushing load capacity of different concrete mixtures with
various types of aggregates and cementitious materials (Chang et al. 2005) ........................... 37
Figure 2.10: Hydrogen sulfide corrosion on the crown of a concrete pipe and the remains
of the coal tar epoxy coating on the crown (Gebler, 2003) ........................................................... 41
Figure 2.11: White deposits of gypsum underneath a coal tar epoxy coating, magnified
10x (Gebler, 2003) .................................................................................................................................. 42
Figure 3.1: Particle size distribution of the materials ................................................................ 50

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