Influence of cement type on carbonation of cement mortars and concrete mixtures

The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of cement type on carbonation. For this reason, mixtures of three different cement mortars and six different concretes have been prepared with three different cements. The cement mortars were produced according to the European Standard EN 196-1. The concrete mixtures belonged in the strength classes C25/30 and C30/37.Accelerated carbonation and natural carbonation measurements on mixtures exposed to open air in northern Greece for 4 years were performed. Service life against carbonation induced corrosion was calculated for all mixtures. It was revealed that the carbonation rate of the concrete mixtures is significantly influenced by the type and the strength category of the cement used. In spite of the fact that all concrete mixtures were produced according to the definitions of the European Standard EN 206, some mixturesdo not fulfill the requirement for 50 years of service life against carbonation induced corrosion if the choice of the cement type is not carefully examined.