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Sand-cement emerged in the early twentieth century as an alternative binder in infrastructures that required a significant amount of concrete volume in order to reduce the costs associated with portland cement. This binder was first used in the United States in several dams before being applied in Camarasa Dam in Spain. Nearly a century after its construction, the dam exhibits degradation phenomena in the downstream face, manifested by losses of mass. The present study aims at assessing the state of the sand-cement concrete in Camarasa Dam and evaluate whether the degradation observed could affect the safety and functionality of the 95-year-old dam. For that, the state of the art on sand-cement is reviewed and an experimental program of physical, mechanical, and chemical tests is performed on samples from the dam. The results reveal that the degradation phenomena may be attributed to physical causes and a general degradation of the concrete properties is discarded as well as any effect on the safety and functionality of the dam.

Concrete core samples extracted from different areas of the Mequinenza Dam (Spain) have been studied and expansive reactions affecting the structure were not found. However, expansive reactions in the concrete of certain parts located near the abutments of two galleries have been observed as a consequence of an external sulfate attack due to the sulfur compounds contained in the lignites that are present on the surrounding terrain. Secondary gypsum, ettringite, and thaumasite, as well as several sulfate efflorescence have been detected. The thaumasite formed in the degraded concrete is related to a Thaumasite Sulfate Attack (TSA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Rietveld analyses of the TSA samples would show that thaumasite could have been formed thanks to ettringite acting as nuclei or by a direct precipitation from solutions within the pores of the cement matrix. RESUMEN:Ataque sulfático externo en hormigones de presa con formación de thaumasita. Se han estudiado testigos de hormigón extraídos de diferentes zonas de la presa de Mequinenza (España) descartando la existencia de una reacción expansiva que pudiera afectar a la estructura. Sin embargo, se han observado reacciones expansivas en el hormigón de ciertas zonas próximas a los estribos de dos galerías, como consecuencia de un ataque sulfático externo debido a los compuestos de azufre contenidos en los lignitos que están presentes en los terrenos circundantes. Se ha identificado un conjunto de productos relacionados con el ataque sulfático: yeso secundario, ettringita y thaumasita, además de sales sulfatadas solubles. Las zonas más degradadas del hormigón coinciden con una cristalización abundante de thaumasita (Thaumasite Sulfate Attack-TSA-). El estudio de las muestras de TSA, mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM) y el método de Rietveld, indicaría que la thaumasita podría haberse formado a partir de la ettringita como medio de nucleación o por precipitación directa a partir de sus componentes en disolución dentro de los poros de la matriz cementicia.

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