Materials and Structures/Mat&iaux et Constructions, Vol.

31, October 1998, pp 568-574

A water sorptivity test for mortar and concrete

, CF.37 IDL

A B S T R A C T Ri:SUMi

This paper describes a test rig to measure the uni-direc-

tional water absorption of mortar and concrete. The test
data acquisition is controlled by purpose written software
installed on a PC and the results are utilised directly to
obtain the sorptivity measured in g/nm2/nlin1 2 As an
example the apparatus ws used to obtain the sorptivit) of
mortar in which the ordinary Portland cement IKIS par-
tially replaced by ground Lvaste brick obtained from diffcr-
ent sources. The results presented demonstrate the validity
of the test, and the apparatus and the methodolo_gy are
shown to be of sufficient sensitivity in detecting the diffcr-
ences between the sorptivitics of the various mortars
tested. The variation in the sorptivity with curing time and
mixture composition was determined. The paper also giver
the results of total water absorption tests conducted on the
corptivity test specimens, after being reconditioned, and
the results of compressive strength tests for all the mortars
investigated.

1. INTRODUCTION also affect the transport properties but these. in general.

The durability of concrete largely depends on the ease
with which fluids enter and move through the matrix. For
example, deterioration due to chloride ions from de-icing
salts or seawater is caused by the transport of a chloride
solution into the material. Although, in general, permc-
ability is taken as an indicator of a concrete’s ability to
transport water (or oxygen and carbon dioxide), more pre-
cisely there are two mechanisms controlling the uptake and
transport of water. Pmmbilir)t, which is a measure of the
flo\v of water under pressure in a saturated porous
medium, and soryrivir)~, which characterises the material’s
ability to absorb and transmit water through it by capillar)
suction. Whilst permeability is an important parameter for
Lvatcr retaining structures, a more important parameter
(mrh’ IC.h . 1s. d’lrec tly related to durability) for above ground
structures is sorptivity. The principal feature of the matrix
structure of concrete that relates to the transport of water is
the pore system of the cement paste, particularly in the
vicinity of the aggregate-paste interface. Aggregates can
contain pores lvhich are discontinuous and do not allo\\-
\vatcr movement by capillarit). and hence do not cm-
tribute to sorptivit): Honever, despite the higher porosin
at the interfacial zone, it is gcnerallv found that \vater
n~ovcment in concrete is predominanti\- controlled b!- the
bulk of the hardened OK paste, \\-hi& is the only contin-
uous phase in concrete [ 11. Sorptivit\- is also related to
absorption, nith the latter being sonletinles used as al
indicator of the volume of the capillary pore space or open
porosi?, though open porosi? is more effectively nic’d-
sured by mercury intrusion.
Some of the earlier Lvork on the measurement of sorp-
tivity of mortar and concrete \vas carried out by Ho and
Lmvis [2--l] and Hall [S-6]. A more recent retie\\- by Hall
[7] gives the theoretical backgroulid and practical qxYX of
assessing the sorptivi? of mortars and concrete in the labo-
ratory. These works and others [Xl have demonstrated that
useful information for mortar and concrete ~~111 be
obtained using simple testing arrangements. Furthermore.
it is found that the tests yield reproducible results mhich

1359~5997/98 0 RILEM 568

Sabir, Wild, O’Farrell

describe the material’s bchaviour, ivith regard to variations
in composition and curin,(7 conditions, in a rational and
meaning&~1 \vdv.
The \\-ork ‘described in this paper originates from a
major project fimded by the European Commission under
the Copcrnicu\ programme. The research programme,
\vhich is no\\- in its tinal stage. examined the potential of
recycling \vartc‘ brick as ‘1 partial pozzolan replacement of
OK in concrete and mortar [9, 101. The paper introduces
an automxcd testins system fix the niedsurement of sorp-
tixin- in mortar and concrete. The test is validated by car-
rying out sorptivit\- nicdsurcmcnts on mortar samples in
n-hich the OK is partially replaced by ground brick
obtained from Brit‘ain, Demnxk, Lithuania and Poland.
The scnsitiI-it\- of the testing system \vas veritied by detcct-
ing the difference in behaviours of mortars with different
compositions and curing times.
iscd drying procedure for all specimens. Furthermore, as
Lvatcr absorption and capillary suction depend on porosi?,
any non-uniformities in the latter could lead to different
sorptivities in samples obtained from \vhat is supposed to
be the same material. It is, therefore, essential that materials
under test be consistent and homogcncous. In practice the
point of origin, and frequently the very early readings, are
omitted \\-hen determining the slope of the graph. This is
because there is an increase in the mass of the specimen
caused by the filling of the open surface pores on the
inflolv fi~ce and the sides of the specimen when it is rub-
merged. In order to reduce these effects to a minimum, it
is essential that the specimen be submerged in water to no
more than 2-J mm [ Ill.
3. TEST APPARATUS

Hall [7] described three possible test configurations to

2. CAPILLARY SUCTION AND SORPTIVITY
It is frequently found that if a mortar or concrete sur-
face is esposed to wetting by \vater then the cumulative
\vater absorption i is proportional, during the initial
absorption period, to the square root of elapsed wetting
time I:
i=S\t
S is the sorptivity measured in g per mm2 (of Ivetted
area) per min’ ?. It is easilv determined from the slope of
the linear part of the i versus 1 r curve. Some materials
\\ith estremely coarse pore structure experience little cap-
illary suction and may show significant deviation from lin-
eari? after prolonged lvctting. Capillary suction can only
bc measured in partially dry mortar or concrete. Sorption
does not take place in saturated materials, and in totally dry
materials substantial absorption of water by the gel will dis-
tort the results. The sorptivity will depend on the initial
\\-ater content and its uniformi~ throughout the specimen
under test. It is important, therefore, to keep this in mind
both \\-hen relating laboratory measurements to field
bcha[iour and also in ensuring a consistent and standard-
SUPport
Frame
\
Balance
ITo PC 1 computer system and can be retrieved, after the test is
measure the rate of uni-directional lvatcr absorption in a
porous medium: horizontal in-flow in which there arc no
gravitational effects but absorption is affected by hydrosta-
tic forces; infiltration where absorption is partly due to
capillary suction and partly to gravitational forces; and the
capillary rise case where the effects of capillarity and gravit)-
forces arc opposed. For most building materials, the forces
due to capillary action are dominant in all these confi~~~a-
tionc. and due to simplicity and ease of operation, the cap-
illary rise method is chosen in the present study. The appa-
ratus, \\-hich is shown in Fig. 1, consists of a suspension
frame constructed of rigid copper wire, which is attached
to the sensor of an electronic balance. The other end of the
frame is rigidly attached to a light aluminium tray contain-
ing a central hole, 45 mm in diameter. The specimen is
placed centrally on the aluminium tray Lvith the hole facili-
tating exposure to water of the test surface. The balance
(Sartorius LC 3301D) is placed on a rigid table and is con-
trolled by purpose written sofhvare, which is installed on a
PC. The balance has a sensitivity of 0.001 g and a response
time of less than 1s. The readings are sholvn on a digital
display. The test specimen on its suspension mechanism is
positioned centrally over a reservoir containing Lvater. The
weight gain by the test specimen is automatically recorded
at specified intervals. These readings are recorded in the
completed, in both numerical and graphical forms.

4. SPECIMEN PREPARATION AND TESTING

Rigid Copper PROCEDURE
Frame ------A
The specimen used in the present study consisted of 52
Water mm diameter and 13 mm thick discs cut (wet) from the
Surface
central portion of cylindrical cores obtained from 100 mm

t
Test S ecimen
i mortar cubes. Four specimens were retrieved from each
- _ - - A - - - -
core and the remaining outer portions were discarded. The
/I
Aluminium mortar discs were dried to constant weights in a tempera-
Holder ture controlled drying cabinet containing silica gel. The
temperature in the cabinet was kept constant at 40°C and
Fig. 1 - Test Apparatus. the silica gel was renewed every 2. days. The time required

569
Materials and Structures/Mat&iaux
Constructions, Vol. 31, October 1998
et r Table 1 - General data for the brick materials
Mix Designations Zountty of Origir Description Raw Materials ~FiringTemperature
to achieve constant weight varied 3 10,820 and 830 Britain Red, Fletton Lower Oxford clay 1025°C
between 22 and 26 days. It was found facing brick
that, irrespective of the initial moisture DlO, D20 and D30 Denmark Yellow, 60% yellow ’ 1050°C for 6 h
content of the specimens, approxi- vacuum Iuming clay, 20%
mately 80% of the weight loss occurred extruded red burning clay ~
within 5 days. and 20% sand
The total drying times of the vari- LlO, L20 and L30 Red extruded UK merge clay 975 - 1025°C’
ous specimens varied with the compo- “mester
sition of the mortar and curing history. petring” with
perforations
The temperate regime of drying
adopted in the present study was pre- PlO, P20 and P30 Poland Red Clay, sand, 980 - 1045°C
basalt. bass PFA
ferred to the standard oven drying at
I

order to avoid any modification to the

capillary pore structure that would be caused by the higher added by running it down the side of the reservoir at a
drying temperature. An ideal arrangement would have slow rate until the water surface was just in contact \\ith
been to dry the samples at ambient temperature, but this the underside of the specimen \vhen an increase in the bal-
would have taken too long and would have extended the ance reading was observed. This increase is due to surface
drying times in an uncontrollable manner. An alternative tension forces and the event war used as a reference point
would have been to chemically dry the specimens, but this to indicate contact ofwater with the test surfhce.
was rejected as it introduces another factor to the system. The test surface was visually examined to ensure that
After drying, the specimen under test was placed cen- no air was trapped under the specimen. If this occurred.
trally on the horizontally aligned aluminium holder over or very occasionally, if the free water surface n-as signifi-
the water reservoir. The suspension system is self-levelling cantly above the bottom surface of the specimen (sig-
and the test specimen always rested in a horizontal config- nalled by a decrease in the balance reading due to buol--
uration. Water, at room temperature, was then added to ancy effects), then the test was abandoned and the
the reservoir until the free surface reached a level approxi- specmien reconditioned for a repeat test.
mately 5 mm below the test surface. At this point the I
The weight measurement system used enabled the
weight detecting system was activated, and water wa! acquisition of data at predetermined time intervals without
causing any disturbance to the test rig. This eliminated an\-
Table 2 - Chemical compositions of the ground bricks 1 random operator errors inherent in the generally adopted
manual methods of weight measurement. In the tests con-
Oxide (%) BlO-B30 DlO-D30 LlO - L30 PI0 - P30
ductcd in the present study, weight measurements I\-ere
90, 54.83 69.99 68.79 72.75 taken at one minute intervals over a total test time of
TiO, 0.97 0.55 0.85 0.84 approximately one hour with total mass changes in the
AIzo3 19.05 10.62 15.23 15.89 range 5-8 g. The water reservoir \vas sufficientlv large to
F%O3 6.00 4.02 6.28 4.97 ensure that any changes in buoyancy of the specimen
MnO 0.06 0.08 0.07 0.02 undergoing test were negligible.
MO 1.77 1.39 2.02 1.20
CaO 9.39 8.86 1.79 0.87
Na,O 0.50 1.02 0.26 0.27 5. MATERIALS AND MIXTURE DETAILS
K2O 3.15 2.61 3.71 2.17
BaO 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.05 In total, four different ground brick materials. one Tom
‘2’5 0.20 0.11 0.07 0.10 each country participating in the research programme.
cr203 .03 0.01 0.02 0.02 were the subject of testing. Table 1 gives the descriptions
90 .05 0.03 0.01 0.01 and country of origin of the various bricks used. Chemical
so3 2.90 0.04 0.13 0.07 and X-ray diffractometry analyses lvere carried out. see
L.O.I. 1.48 0.25 0.19 0.36 [lo], on the ground brick. The chemical compositions and
mineralogical differences between the four ground bricks
Table 3 - Mineral compositions of the ground bricks are shown in-Tables 2 and 3. respectively. The OPC in the
T
control mortar was partially replaced \\ith II 1. 20 and 3( 1’ ’ ( 1
Mineral (%) BlO - 830 DlO - D30 LlO - L30 PlO - P30
ground brick. In all, thirteen mortar mistures \\ith pro-
Quartz 49 60 43 88 portions 1:3:0.5 (OPC:sand:\vater) were investigated.
Feldspar 5 23 24 3 Standard sand (DIN EN 196-1) was used throughout the
Haematite 10 6 20 5 investigation. The mixture desi‘gnations were based on the
Cristobalite 12 12 13 4 country of origin (Britain B, Denmark D, Lithuania L and
Spine1 + + +
Poland P) and the OPC replacement level (10, 20 and
Gypsum 17 30%) as indicated in Table 1.
Anhydrite 6 + +
The ground brick was obtained by plate grinding 20-
50 mm pieces of brick and then subjecting the resulting

570
Sabir, Wild, O’Farrell

4.5
4.0 7 days

3 3.5
28 days
z 3.0
cu^ 2.5 90 days
E 2.0
Fig.2 - Effect of curing
2 1.5 time on cumulative
water absorption for
.,’ 1.0 ground brick mortar
0.5 (B30).
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
P, (min0.5)
J
2.0
material to ball milling to the required par- 1.8 rL?siis
ticle size. The final material had a specific 1.6
surface in the range 320-350 m*/kg, see q.4
[lo]. which is approximately the same as
1.2
that of OPC.
1.0
From each mixture, four 100 mm
cubes were prepared for each curing time. 0.8
The cubes were cured in water at 20°C at 0.6
each of the curing times of 7, 28 and 90 0.4
days. Three cubes were used for compres- 0.2
sion strength tests and the fourth was used 0.0
to produce a cylindrical core from which
2.0
four discs were cut for the sorptivity and 1
1.8 + Control,
absorption measurements. q B20
t.6
,.D20
?0 1.4 -- ~x L20
6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ;; 1.2 -- 'XP20

6.1 Sorptivity E :';

s 0.6 -~
Typical plots of cumulative water
absorption against the square root of time .-F 0.4

are shown in Fig. 2. These plots give the 0.2

. I
\vater absorption for the B30 mixtures cured 0.0
at 7. 28 and 90 days. Each set of three plots 2.0
shown refers to the three samples tested 1.8 m
f^rom each of the mixtures. The tests con-
1.6 ~- q B30
ducted on the three samples at each of the & ,.4 iaD
three curing times give practically identical 5 I XL30
slopes, particularly during the early part of '.2 7 I P30
;;‘
the test. This demonstrates the reproducibil-
iv of the behaviour as obtained from differ- E t:", --

ent samples of the same mortar. The results $J 0.6 --

also clearly show the influence of curing -2 0.4

time on the sorptivity of the mortar. 0.2

i
For the majority of samples tested, the 0.0 J
relationship between cumulative water 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.6 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
absorption and the square root of time of
P, (min0.5)
exposure begins to deviate from linearity i
after about 20-30 minutes. In adopting a Fig. 3 - Cumulative water absorption for mortar containing various ground bricks
systematic methodology for determining at different replacement levels: (a) IO%, (b) 20% and (c) 30%.

571
Materials and Structures/MatCriaux et Table 4 - Sorptivities in g/mm2/minl/2 x 10m4 for control
Constructions, Vol. 31, October 1998 and ground brick mortars
Curing time (days)
the sorptivitics for the various mixtures tested, it was ( Mixture
decided to base the calculations on the first 16 minutes I 7 28 90
of elapsed test time. For all the samples tested, this dura-
k---------‘--
Control 3.58 3.58 3.58
tion of time produced linear relationships which gave r-0 ’ _______~
4.51 4 . 2 9 ____-__-
4.22
correlation coefficients greater than 0.996. Typical plots 820 4.71 4.32 4.08
of cumulative absorption over the first 16 minutes for B30 6.21 4.58 3.48
mortars with varying OK replacement levels by ground DlOT 4.97 4.5 7 3.84
brick cured at 90 days arc shown in Fig. 3. The mean D20 5.67 5.11 4.10
slopes of such plots for all the mixtures investigated D30 1 5.85 5.32 4.85
I
(three samples each) at different curing times are sho~vn LlO , 3.81 3.42 3.21
in Table 4. L20 4.56 , 3.96 3.80
I
L30 ~ 4.84 ~ 4.54 4.33
Fig. 4 shows the change in the man of the measured
sorptivity mith curing time. Analysis of variance \VJS car- r~r’ 4.47T 4.22 3.99
ried out on the results for the sorptivity obtained from the 4.73 3.91 3.69
P30 5.38 4.95 3.45
individual tests. The analysis was performed on series of l--p-l
results grouped according to brick source together with
the control mortar at each of the curing times of7, 28 and tivity after 90 days of curing is not intlucnced by I’-n-pe
90 days. It was found that, with the exception of one ground brick.
result, the differences between the means of the sorptivities It can generally be seen from Fig. 1 that the control
for the mortars, with varying amounts of ground brick, mortar exhibits greater resistance to \vater absorption b!
were significant at the 0.01 level at all curing times. The capillary suction than the mortars containing gound brick.
exception was in the case of the PlO-P30 series for which the sorptivities of which increase mith increasing le\-cl of
the difference between the means of the sorptivities mea- OPC replacement by ground brick. Ho\vc\-cr. with
sured at 90 days was only just significant at the 0.09 level. increasing curing time the sorpti\;itics of ground brick nlor-
On examination of Fig. 4(d), one may attribute this to the tars decrease, and at 90 days and for certain replacement
unexpected sharp drop in sorptivity for the 1’30 mortar levels some mortars exhibit sorptivities belo\\- that of the
observed at 90 days. A closer examination of the results for control mortar. The above behaviour contirms pm-ious
the 1’30 mortar at all curing times, however, revealed that reports by the authors [ 121 of the pozzolanic cf&ct of
the coefficients of variation behveen the individual mea- ground brick which produces pore refintment at estcnded
sumnents, including those obtained at 90 days, \vere all curing times, but is not manifest at the early ages \vhen the
within 3’%1, and this behaviour could not be attributed to ground brick imparts increased porosity to the mortar.
possible expcrimcntal errors. As the level of significance in It is generally accepted [ 13, l-l] that \vatcr absorption of
this case is high (> 0.05), we may conclude that the sorp- concrete is reduced as the duration of moist curing

4
9
2
O 3

-Control A COntr0l
CT 2 1
d +BlO *LlO /
‘+BZO *L20
.-
E ’ + B30 - L30
(4 (c) /
2
J

E O
g 7 7

ui 6

.E’
.& 6
0

E 4 \

2 3

-Control A Control
2 2
*DlO *PI0
1 - D20 , *P20
/
+ D30 (b) + P30 (d)
J
0
I 10 100 1 10 100

Curing time (days) Curing time (days)

Fig. 4 -Variation of sorptivity with curing time for mortars with ground brick from: (a) Britain, (b) Denmark., (c) Lithuania and (d) Poland.

572
Sabir, Wild, O’Farrell

Table 5 - Total water absorption after 24 h immersion Table 6 - Compressive strength for control I
in water expressed as a percentage of initial mass and ground brick mortars (MPa) I
Curing time (days)
Mixture
7 28
Control 7 . 2 1 7 . 0 3 6%
.

810 7.93 7.57 , 7.25

820 8.36 8.09 , 8.09
830 8.91 8.65 8.28
[ -+
DlO 7.98 7.79 7.58 DlO 40.3 ! 55.0 1 65.2 1
D20 8.39 8.23 8.01 D20 ~ 30.1 45.0 55.0 i
D30 8.51 8.44 1 * 8.12 D30 ~ 28.9 35.6 49.1

LlO 7.68 7.39 ~ 7.06

L20
L30 88 .. 26 31 87..4956 87J5g
.05 ~

PlO 8.03 ~ 7.52 7.62

P20 8.43 7.74 7.62
P30 8.68 8.26 8.34

increases. Furthermore, Parrot [ 131 has observed that the
influence ofmoist curing time on the rate of wxer absorp-
tion of OPC concrete is very small beyond 3 days.
Ho\\-ever, if the OPC in the concrete is partially replaced
by pozzolans (i.c. 30’%1 PFA or XI’%) GGBS) absorption
rates are initially much greater and continue to fall signifi-
cantl!- nith increased specimen curing time up to at least
2X dxs. The current observations follow similar trends to
thosc’observed by Parrot [13]. It is suggested that the
observed reductions in sorptivity with increased curing
time (up to 90 days) of the ground brick mortars (which
arc conditioned in an identical manner to the control) is
indicxil-e of pozzolanic activit). Lvhich occurs much more
slo\\-1~ than does cement hydration and has therefore a
muc11 greater effect at estended ages.
6.2 Total water absorption
The disc specimens used for the sorptivity tests were
reconditioned, by oven drying for 24 h at 105”C, for USC in
the water absorption tests. The specimens were immersed
in water at 20 f 2°C for a period of 24 h and the total mass
of water absorbed was determined. Four samples were used
for each measurement and the results are given in Table 5.
Analysis of variance carried out on the absorption results
on the same basis as that used for the sorptivity mcasure-
ments, showed that the differences between the means of
each set of four results were always significant at the 0.01
level. Fig. 5 shows the variation in the total absorption
with curing time. It is seen that, irrespective of curing time
and source of brick, the mortars showed increased absorp-

-Control - controi
-a-B10 +LlO
- a20 --b LZO
- 830 - L30

(4

-Control +Control
-SD10 *PI0
+ DZO aP20
+D30 +P30

~~~~- %

(b) 6 1 (d)
10

Curing time (days) Curing time (days)

Fig. 3 -Variation of absorption with curing time for mortars with ground brick from: (a) Britain, (b) Denmark, (c) Lithuania and (d) Poland.

573
Materials and Structures/Mat&iaux et Constructions, Vol. 31, October 1998
tion with increasing level of OPC replacement by ground
brick. It is also seen that, as with the sorptivity results, the
total absorption generally decreases with increasing curing
time. The similar behaviours of total absorption and sorp-
tivity indicate that ground brick alters the matrix structure
with respect to both total porosity and interconnected cap-
illary pores in similar ways at all ages.
6.3 Compressive strength
The results for the compressive strength of the mortars
obtained from 100 mm cubes are given in Table 6. Three
cubes were tested from each mixture at each of the curing
times of 7, 28 and 90 days. Analysis of variance were also
carried out on the compressive strength results. It was
found that the differences between the means were always
significant at the 0.01 level with the exception of the PlO-
P30 mortar strengths obtained at 90 days, the differences
between the means of which were significant only at the
0.05 level. It can be seen that at the early curing times, par-
tial replacement of OPC by ground brick, irrespective of
source, results in decreased strength. The reduction in
strength increases with increasing level of replacement by
ground brick. With increasing age, however, it is found
that there is a trend for the strengths to converge towards
that of the control mortar in a similar manner to that of the
sorptivity. This is especially noticeable at the lower levels of
replacement, and mixtures BlO and LlO, in particular,
achieve strengths at 90 days, which are greater than those
of the control. It should be noted that at 7 days the control
mortar has achieved 4/5 of its 90 day strength and it is,
therefore, not surprising that the sorptivities of the 7 day
and 90 day mortars are similar, particularly when the effect
of specimen drying is taken into account.
7. CONCLUSIONS
The paper introduced a novel test rig and testing
methodology for the measurement of sorptivity of mor-
tar and concrete. The arrangements have been shown to
yield reproducible values of sorptivity obtained from dif-
ferent samples prepared from the same mixture. The
tests have shown that at short curing periods, ground
brick increases the sorptivity of mortar relative to that of
the control. The greater the replacement level of OPC
by ground brick, the greater the sorptivity. However, the
sorptivity of ground brick mortar decreases with curing
time and for certain replacement levels some mortars
exhibited sorptivities below that of the control. The
above observations serve to demonstrate that the test has
a high degree of sensitivity and enables the changes in
capillary porosity to be detected.
From the material behaviour point of view, the increase
in sorptivity at the early ages is attributed, in part, to the
residual porosity in the ground brick. At this stage very lit-
tle, if any, pozzolanic activity has taken place. Similar
effects, due to ground brick, were also obtained on the
measured absorption. This suggests that ground brick
574
alters the structure of the pores and the interconnected
capillary pores at all ages and in a similar manner. Finally, it
has been shown that ground brick reduces the compressive
strength, with greater reductions for the higher levels of
OPC replacements. With time, however, this deleterious
effect diminishes, and after 90 days of moist curing some
compressive strengths are greater and some sorptivities are
lower than those of the control, particularly those n-ith
1O’ti) replacement of OPC with ground brick.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work described in this paper originates from a
major European research project examining the feasibilit!
of recycling brick wastes as pozzolans for mortar and con-
Crete. T h e r e s e a r c h i s f u n d e d b y t h e E u r o p e a n
Commission, under the Copernicus programme. n-horn !
the authors wish to gratefully acknolvledge. The authors
I
would also wish to thank J. Golaszewski, Silesia Technical
University, for performing the water absorption measure-
ments. The collaborative efforts of the European partners
in the research programmc arc also acknowledged.
REFERENCES
[I] Larby, L. A., ‘Microstructure ofthe interfacial zone around agre-
gate particles in concrete’, Hem 38 (1) (lY93) 69-81.
[2] Ho, 11. W. S. and Lcnis, I<. K.. ‘Concrete quali! as measured b!-
\vater sorptiviF’, Civ. Eye. 7varrs., Ilrsr. El!y~. .-lrrz. CE26 ( I YXqj
306-313.
[3] Ho. D. W. S.. ‘Intluence ofslae 9cement on thr xl-ater sormwn- 1 oi
>
concrete , m ‘Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag and Natural Pozzolans in
Concrete’. Proceedings of an International Conference
(American Concrete Institute, SP-91. Detroit. I Y86) 1163-1173.
[Jl Ho, D. W. S. and Le\vis, R. K., ‘The \vater sorptkic ofconcrete:
the intlucncc ofconstituents under continuous curing‘. Dmhl~r)~
,!t‘Biril~ir!c!.\fi7r~rialz (-I) (19X7) 2-11-252.
PI Hall, C. and KJIII Min Ttc. T.. ‘Water movement m porous
building materials - VII: The torptivity of mortars’. Biri/r!irl$
Ewirvrrrricrrt (21) (1986) 113-1 18.
161 Hall, C. and Yau, M. H. K.. ‘Water movement in porous bmld-
ing materials - IX: The \vatcr absorption and torpti\-ic ofcon-
crews’. Ibid. (22) (1 Y87) 77-82.
[71 Hall, C., ‘Water torptnity of mortars and concrete: a re\-iew‘.
.\fu,quirre $C0rfir& Rw~ln-/l 41 (l-17) (1089) 5 1-h I
PI Kelham, S., ‘A \vater absorption test for concrete’. Ibrd. 40 (l-l31
(1988) 106-110.
PI Wild, S., Khatib. J. and Sabir, B.B., ‘The potential of tired brick
clay as a partial cement replacement material’. In Proc. Int.
Congress Concrete in the Sen-ice of Mankind. Concrete for
Environment Enhancement and ProtectIon. Theme 6- K.aste
Materials and Alternative Products. Ed. 1~. K. Dhir and I. D.
Dyer (E aud FN Spon. Dundee, 1996) 6X3-696.
[IO] Wild, S., Gailus, A.. Hmtcn, H., Pederton, L. and Sz\~abo\&.J..
‘Pozzolanic properties of a variety of European clay brick<‘.
Blrildiry Rew1rc11 Ir!/kwnriorr 25 (3) (1997) 17(1-l 75.
[l l] Neville, A. M.. ’ Properties of Concrctc’. 4th edn (Lon.gnan.
England, 1993).
[ 121 Wild, S., Khatib, J. dnd O’Fdrrell, M.. ‘Sulphate resistance of
mortar containing ground brick clay calcmed at di&rrnt trmper-
aturrs’. Cwwrt & Cwc-rcrr RwnrL-It 27 (5) (1 YY7) 697-709.
[ 131 Parrott, L. J., ‘Water absorption in cover concrete’. .\htcr. Srnrir.
25 (119) (1 YY2) 284-292.
[l-k] Mary, C. F. and Ferraris, C. F., ‘Cap&v transport m morwrs
and concrete’, Ccwtvr arid Gwrete Raeorch 27 (5) (1997) 747-761 I.