Interaction between sea water and the surface of concrete – experiences from Norway
Résumé
Sea water leads to a zoned phase changes at the surface of concrete. The
surface is often covered with a crust consisting of brucite and calcite. Followed by a
leached zone poor in chlorine, sulphur, and calcium where one potentially can find
M-S-H. In the following zone one can find sulphur enrichment and the chlorine and
calcium content starts to increases. Deeper in the chlorine content reaches a maximum
and then gradually decreases again moving even deeper into the concrete. These changes
in the phase assemblage at a sea water exposed concrete surface seem to be independent
of the tested cement compositions (up to 30-50 % replacement with fly ash or slag).
Whether this also indicates a limited difference on biological growth on these surfaces
remains a question.