Assessment of Simple Test to Evaluate Concrete Permeability
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The Symposium provides undergraduates from all academic disciplines with an opportunity to share their research with the university community and other guests through conference-style oral presentations. The Symposium represents part of a larger effort of Iowa State University to enhance, support, and celebrate undergraduate research activity.
Though coordinated by the University Honors Program, all undergraduate students are eligible and encouraged to participate in the Symposium. Undergraduates conducting research but not yet ready to present their work are encouraged to attend the Symposium to learn about the presentation process and students not currently involved in research are encouraged to attend the Symposium to learn about the broad range of undergraduate research activities that are taking place at ISU.
The first Symposium was held in April 2007. The 39 students who presented research and their mentors collectively represented all of ISU's Colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Business, Design, Engineering, Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and the Graduate College. The event has grown to regularly include more than 100 students presenting on topics that span the broad range of disciplines studied at ISU.
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Abstract
Permeability is often defined as “the rate of flow of a fluid into a porous solid.” Permeability is a quality of concrete that affects its potential durability because most deterioration mechanisms involve fluid transport into the system. Permeability of concrete is strongly affected by the moisture state of the sample, among other factors such as the water cement ratio, composition of the cementitious system, and curing regime. Considerable research has been conducted over the years seeking to find an ideal permeability test for concrete, and the common weakness of most tests is the difficulty of controlling and measuring the moisture condition of the sample.
The subject to be investigated is the ability of a simple test to indicate relative permeability characteristics of different concrete mixtures. The time that it takes for a known, small, volume (20 µL) of water to be absorbed into the surface of a concrete sample in dry condition should then provide a means of giving an indication of the relative quality of a given sample. The research is aiming to assess the consistency of the test over a selection of changing parameters. If consistency is proven, the simple test can be performed to determine the relative permeability of concrete samples.