SUITABILITY OF TORRENT PERMEABILITY TESTER TO MEASURE AIR-PERMEABILITY OF COVERCRETE

The importance of measuring, rapidly and reliably, the quality of the concrete cover as a means to ensure a proper durability performance can not be overstated. The "Torrent Permeability Tester" (TPT) is a method devised to that end, i.e. to measure the permeability to air of the covercrete, both in the laboratory and on-site, in less than 15 minutes. The paper presents test results obtained in two laboratories, Instituto Torroja in Spain and "Holderbank" Management and Consulting in Switzerland, within the activities of RILEM's TC 116-PCD (Permeability of Concrete as a criterion of its Durability). The tests included the determination of air-permeability (TPT Method), oxygen permeability (Cembureau Method), capillary suction, "rapid chloride permeability test" (ASTM C 1202) and 1-year carbonation depth. The tests were performed on concretes of different compositions and curing regimes. The gas-permeability tests were repeated on the same specimens at the ages of 28 days and 6 and 12 months. The results obtained indicate that the TPT is: sensitive to changes in the quality of concretes; repeatable, for a sensitive property such as gas-permeability; correlated to other relevant durability-related properties, such as - oxygen permeability, rate of capillary suction, chloride permeability and carbonation rate and, hence, suitable to characterize the quality of the concrete cover.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 301-317

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00793945
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: SP 192-19
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jun 28 2000 12:00AM