Fichiers

Résumé

The moisture diffusivity is of considerable importance for quantitative assessments of creep and shrinkage as well as durability of cementitious material. For this reason, the influence of the composition of repair mortars on their effective moisture diffusivity as a function of the relative humidity of the surrounding air has been investigated. Silica fume, superplasticizer and polypropylene fibers have been added in order to reduce the permeability and to control cracking induced by drying shrinkage. It has been shown that the moisture transport in cementitious materials can be realistically described by a non-linear diffusion process governed by Fick's law. A computer program based on the finite volume method has been used in order to get the best effective moisture diffusivity by comparing experimental results (moisture losses of drying mortar cylinders) with the numerical solution. The applicability of a combined experimental-numerical approach to characterize repair mortars regarding their moisture diffusivity has been demonstrated. The material properties necessary for the characterization and qualification of new materials can be found numerically. Moreover, the diffusivities obtained provide useful input data for further numerical calculations. The positive effect of the addition of silica fume on the moisture diffusivity was clearly shown. The positive combined effect of polypropylene fibers and silica fume with increasing entrained air content was observed. Finally, no significant detrimental effect on the addition of fibers (even at relatively high volumes) has been observed for materials cast under shrinkage free conditions.

Détails

Actions

Aperçu