Sulfate Attack on Concrete



Preface

We consider it to be a great honor to be chosen by Professors A. Bentur and

S. Mindess to prepare this book for publication by Spon Press and it was not

without trepidation that we accepted the task to summarize the available

knowledge on the effect of sulfates on concrete. We were hesitant because

the mechanistic issues of sulfate attack on concrete are complex and sometimes

controversial.


The multidimensionality of the sulfate attack issues becomes obvious

when one realizes the variability of the environmental conditions under

which concrete is used, of the complex chemistry and mineralogy of the concrete



components, and of the less-than-well-defined processing conditions

used in making concrete to be used in a variety of structures. In discussing

sulfate attack mechanisms, one has to deal, among others, with issues of

chemical and mineralogical composition of the aggressive species, properties

of amorphous to crystalline reaction products, variability and limited controllability

of the reaction (curing) conditions, and to consider difficult issues related



to best testing methodology, standardization, prediction of service

life by modeling, etc. All the above make consolidation of the existing knowledge

a considerable challenge.


The book is prepared for an audience consisting of students of materials

engineering, construction practitioners, and researchers. As the loss of durability


of concrete almost always involves chemical and physico-chemical

processes, it may be difficult for some readers to follow the intricate details

of sulfate attack mechanisms. To overcome this, we included a few chapters

summarizing the basics of cement hydration and concrete deterioration. It is

entirely possible that for some, the book contains excessive information;

others may consider the given details to be inadequate. There will be voices

disagreeing with our interpretation of the “average” literature data. To these

we can only say that we did our best to consolidate the available data in an

understandable manner and we suggest that, if needed, the readers visit the

references given at the end of each chapter.


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