Highways Agency Reports

Abstract: Historically, permeability has been regarded as the property which affects the durability, and hence the quality, of concrete. It is suggested that, for cover concrete, sorptivity should also be taken into account. This is a relatively new concept regarding concrete, and it is recommended that sortivity data are collected and standardised in order that they can be considered for inclusion in Specifications and Codes of Practice. The result of experimental work to investigate the effect of initial moisture content on the sorptivity of concrete are presented. It is shown that sorptivity values decrease as the initial moisture content of the concrete increases. Data are not yet sufficient for a relationship to be defined. It is suggested that further work is necessary in order to investigate the effects of moisture distribution, sample thickness and different durations of wetting cycles.