Porosity
Summary
Porosity - The porosity of concrete is the proportion of voids in a concrete element.
Technical Information
Porosity is a very important property in relation to the strength and durability of concrete. The higher the porosity of a concrete, the weaker and less durable it tends to be.
The durability of concrete can suffer with increasing porosity – porosity is linked to permeability. With more voids, water can move through concrete more easily making it more susceptible to chemical and freeze-thaw attack.
The concrete’s porosity is closely linked to both its compressive and tensile strength. An increase of 10% in porosity of a cement paste can lead to a decrease of up to 50% of its strength.
A simple test to measure porosity can be by weighing a dry sample of concrete, then leaving it to soak in water and weighing it again. The difference in mass can then be divided by the density of water to find out the volume of the pores.
Related Definitions
Effective Depth (d) , Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) , Air Content , Steel Fibre Reinforcement , PermeabilityResources
http://theconstructor.org/concrete/permeability-of-concrete/1769/ - information on permeability and porosity.http://www.researchgate.net/ - a research paper on the effect of porosity on concrete strength.
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