Anomalous water absorption in cement-based materials caused by drying shrinkage induced microcracks
- Wu, Z
- Wong, H
- Chen, C
- Buenfeld, NR
DOIAbstract
This paper concerns understanding the influence of drying induced microcracking on water absorption by capillary suction. Paste, mortar and concrete samples with different binder type, w/b ratio, thickness, aggregate size, and curing age were tested. Samples were subjected to gentle stepwise drying at 21 °C/93% → 55% RH, or drying at 21 °C/55% RH, 21 °C/0% RH, 50 °C or 105 °C to induce microcracks <100 μm wide. Results show that the presence of microcracks causes cumulative water absorption to scale non-linearly with . The observed relationship is approximately sigmoidal/S-shaped, with the position of inflection point related to microcracking and the degree of non-linearity increasing with drying severity. A simple fluorescence imaging meth...
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