Influence of SO 4 2- Ions Concentration on Sulfate Resistance of Cement Mortars

This paper was conducted to evaluate the durability of cement mortars exposed to varying concentrations of sodium sulfate for up to 540 days. Three types of cement mortars, namely OPC, SRC and SGC, were exposed to four sodium sulfate solutions with concentrations of 4225, 8450, 16900 and 33800 ppm of ions at ambient temperature. The sulfate deterioration was evaluated by measuring compressive strength and linear expansion of mortar specimens. Experimental results indicated that the maximum deterioration was noted in OPC mortar specimens in highly concentrated sulfate solution. In particular, the content in cements plays a critical role in resisting expansion due to sodium sulfate attack. Additionally, the beneficial effect of GGBS was clearly observed showing a superior resistance against sodium sulfate attack, because of its lower permeability. Another important observation was that the parameters for the evaluation of deterioration degree are greatly dependent on the products formed by sulfate attack.