Comparison of the Calcium Carbide Method and Darr Drying to Quantify the Amount of Chemically Bound Water in Early Age Concrete.

Hydration is the exothermic reaction between anhydrous cement and water, which forms the solid cement matrix of concrete. Being able to evaluate the hydration is of high interest for the use of both conventional and more climate-friendly building materials. The experimental monitoring is based on temperature or moisture measurements. The first needs adiabatic conditions, which can only be achieved in laboratory. The latter is often measured comparing the weight of the material sample before and after oven drying, which is time-consuming. This study investigates the moisture content of two cement-based and two calcium sulphate based mixtures for the first 90 days by using the calcium carbide method and oven drying at 40 °C and 105 °C (Darr method). Thereby, the amount of chemically bound water is determined to derive the degree of hydration. The calcium carbide measurements highly coincide with oven drying at 40 °C. The calcium carbide method is therefore evaluated as a suitable alternative to the time-consuming Darr drying. The prompt results are seen as a remarkable advantage and can be obtained easily in laboratory as well as in the field.

Determination of Time Domain Reflectometry Surface Sensors Sensitivity Depending on Geometry and Material Moisture.

The article concerns the electric techniques of moisture detection that are based on the evaluation of the apparent permittivity of the tested medium. The main goal of the research was to evaluate the non-invasive Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) sensors' sensitivity by measuring the span of elements and material moisture. To that aim, two non-invasive sensor designs were investigated for their sensitivity in the evaluation of the apparent permittivity value of aerated concrete. Sensors A and B were characterized by the spacing between the measuring elements equal to 30 mm and 70 mm, respectively. The tested samples differed in moisture, ranging between 0 and 0.3 cm3/cm3 volumetric water content. Within the research, it was stated that in the case of the narrower sensor (A), the range of the sensor equals about 30 mm, and in the case of the wider design (B), it equals about 50 mm. Additionally, it was stated that material moisture influences the range of sensor influence. In the case of the dry and low-saturated material, it was not possible to evaluate the range of sensor sensitivity using the adopted method, whereas the range of sensor signal influence was visible for the moist material.

About the Dominance of Mesopores in Physisorption in Amorphous Materials.

Amorphous, porous materials represent by far the largest proportion of natural and men-made materials. Their pore networks consists of a wide range of pore sizes, including meso- and macropores. Within such a pore network, material moisture plays a crucial role in almost all transport processes. In the hygroscopic range, the pores are partially saturated and liquid water is only located at the pore fringe due to physisorption. Therefore, material parameters such as porosity or median pore diameter are inadequate to predict material moisture and moisture transport. To quantify the spatial distribution of material moisture, Hillerborg's adsorption theory is used to predict the water layer thickness for different pore geometries. This is done for all pore sizes, including those in the lower nanometre range. Based on this approach, it is shown that the material moisture is almost completely located in mesopores, although the pore network is highly dominated by macropores. Thus, mesopores are mainly responsible for the moisture storage capacity, while macropores determine the moisture transport capacity, of an amorphous material. Finally, an electrical analogical circuit is used as a model to predict the diffusion coefficient based on the pore-size distribution, including physisorption.

Distributed Humidity Sensing in Concrete Based on Polymer Optical Fiber.

We present a preliminary investigation on distributed humidity monitoring during the drying process of concrete based on an embedded polymer optical fiber (POF). The water dissipated into the POF changes several properties of the fiber such as refractive index, scattering coefficient and attenuation factor, which eventually alters the Rayleigh backscattered light. The optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) technique is performed to acquire the backscattered signal at the wavelengths 650 nm and 500 nm, respectively. Experimental results show that the received signal increases at 650 nm while the fiber attenuation factor clearly increases at 500 nm, as the concrete dries out. In the hygroscopic range, the information retrieved from the signal change at 650 nm agrees well with the measurement result of the electrical humidity sensors also embedded in the concrete sample.

Capillary Uptake Monitoring in Lime-Hemp-Perlite Composite Using the Time Domain Reflectometry Sensing Technique for Moisture Detection in Building Composites.

The use of waste plants in the production of building materials is consistent with the principles of sustainable development. One of the ideas involves using hemp shives as an aggregate for the production of a composite used as a filling of the timber frame construction of the walls. The most important disadvantage of using the building materials based on organic components is their susceptibility to the water influence. The wall material is exposed to rising groundwater. The research part of the paper presented the preparation method and the investigation of the hemp-perlite-lime composites. Flexural and compressive strength, apparent density, total porosity, thermal conductivity, and mass absorptivity were examined. The main research part pertained to the analysis of capillary uptake occurrence in the composites, being the important phenomenon present in the external walls. The study on this phenomenon was carried out using the technique of indirect moisture evaluation-Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). The indirect readouts were additionally verified with the traditional evaluation using the gravimetric method based on the PN-EN 1925 standard. The study proved that the tested composites were characterized by low apparent density, thermal conductivity, strength parameters, high total porosity, and mass absorptivity. The partial replacement of hemp shives by expanded perlite had a beneficial effect on the tested properties of composites.