Highways Agency Reports

Data from literature survey on the water permeability and sorptivity of concrete are presented, together with the main results from some experimental work on water absorption process, both in the interpretation of the basic concepts, and in the mathmatical solutions. The experimental work is associated with the measurementof the absorption of water by relatively small samples of concrete of different thicknesses. The results are presented in terms of the quantity of waterabsorbed, and the rate and distance of penetration. It is suggested that when considering cover concrete, which is unlikely to be permanently saturated, its sorptivity will give a better idea of the rate of absorption of water than its permeability.