Full factorial design to assess the concrete gas permeability

Novel composite material durability is mainly affectedby the transport of fluids and ions through thepore system which are potentially able to producedamage. Then, a key indicator of long-term durabilityof the structures can be the ease with which aggressiveagents are transported through the pore system,i.e. composite material permeability. The purpose ofthis paper is to broaden our knowledge of air permeabilitytesting conditions and, in particular, how it isaffected by the preconditioning temperature and testingpressure. Optimization of variables to determinatethe air permeability coefficient was done by using a 23full factorial design. Air permeability results are recordedin ∅150x70 mm3 concrete specimens. The airpermeability determination procedure gives reliableinformation about the quality of concrete with regardto its durability