Influence of Internal Sulfate Attack on Some Properties of High Strength Concrete

الملخص

One of the most important problems that faces the concrete industry in Iraq is the deterioration due to internal sulfate attack , since it  reduces the compressive strength and increases the expansion of concrete. Consequently, the concrete structure may be damage .The effects of total and total effective sulfate contents on high strength concrete (HSC) have been studied in the present study.

The research studied the effect of sulfate content in cement , sand and gravel , as well as comparing  the total sulfate content with the total effective SO₃ content. Materials used were divided into two groups of SO₃ in cement ,three groups of SO₃ in sand ,and two groups of SO₃ in gravel.

The results show that considering the total effective sulfate content is better than the total content of sulfates since the effect of sulfate in each constituent of concrete, depends on it's granular size .The smaller the particle size of the material the more effective is the sulfate in it. Therefore, it is recommended to follow the Iraqi specification for total effective sulfate content, because it gives more flexibility to the use of sand and gravel with higher sulfate content.

The results of compressive strength at 90-days show that the effect of total effective SO₃ content of ( 2.647% , 2.992% , 3.424% ) that correspond to total sulfate of ( 3.778%, 3.294%, 4.528%)  decrease the compressive strength by (7.53%, 11.44%, 14.59%) respectively.