Capillarity of Concrete Incorporating Waste Ceramic Powder

Abstract

The durability of a concrete structure is directly related to its permeability. Capillary water absorption is a widely used test method to obtain information about the permeability properties of a concrete structure. This study focused on the relationship between the content of waste ceramic powder as a cement replacement material and the capillary water absorption capacity of concrete mixtures. Following this purpose, portland cement was substituted with waste ceramic powder in four different proportions of 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%. The capillary water absorption amount of each concrete mixture was measured at the end of each 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes period. From the test results, it was seen that the capillary water absorption decreased when the cement was replaced up to 10% with waste ceramic powder, while it increased at other replacement ratios of 20% and 30% compared to the control concrete. This is attributed to the fact that waste ceramic powder can exhibit better filling properties when replaced with cement up to 10% level to reduce the capillary pores of the concrete, increase the density and impermeability of the concrete microstructure, and restrict the free movement of water through the concrete.