Quantification of chloride in concrete samples using LA-ICP-MS

LA-ICP-MS on hardened cement paste: laser-material interaction, signal formation and optimization of laser fluence

“…Although the groups yielded good results and validated their results by comparing LA-ICP-MS data with absolute methods (e.g. potentiometric titration of chlorides [10] for their special research tasks), a more detailed investigation of the ablation behavior of concrete structures is needed in order to achieve a more general insight to their specific microstructure and the varying micro and macro composition. As concrete is a multi-phase system, whose elements can be present in numerous phases e.g.…”

“…Huber et al monitored the ingress of biogenic sulphuric acid into concrete [8] and HCP [9]. Bonta demonstrated an application involving chloride intake into a bridge pillar in Austria, in which the benefits of LA-ICP-MS compared to the commonly used method of borehole drilling were readily apparent [10]. Silva focused on the calibration of chloride determination in HCP and chloride ingress kinetics in HCP and concrete to investigate the effect of chlorides on rebar corrosion [11].…”

“…Nevertheless, one drawback of the method is that it lacks a system of calibration [14,15]. For this reason, many groups [10,12,16,17] employed their own, custom-made calibration standards in the various applications, in which the matrix material (here concrete or HCP) was doped with the element of interest in different amounts to produce at least a three-point calibration line. However, because the ablation behavior between concrete samples and pressed cement standards on the one hand and the ablation and ICP signal characteristics on the other can differ significantly [18], Bonta employed an internal standard.…”

“…Calcium is a major constituent of HCP (if OPC is used as cement) that is present in relatively constant concentrations (around 55-65 wt% CaO for OPC [4]). In the opinion of the authors, it is therefore a suitable internal standard [10].…”

Crystalline Admixture as Healing Promoter in Concrete Exposed to Chloride-Rich Environments: Experimental Study

“…During the last years, the civil and building engineering community has been paying increasing attention to the concept of sustainability, specifically to the repair and conservation of reinforced concrete structures (Dossche et al 2016) to guarantee their strength and durability. Cracks, which naturally form in reinforced concrete structural elements, because of the inherently weak tensile strength of concrete, create an entry path for aggressive agents (e.g., chlorides) which could compromise the durability of the structure (Wu et al 2015;Bonta et al 2016). As a matter of fact, chlorides, entering the concrete matrix and penetrating up to the reinforcement level, can cause corrosion of the reinforcement together with degradation of concrete, primarily in the case of structures exposed to marine and chemical attack [exposure classes XS and XA defined in EN 206-1 (CEN 2000), respectively].…”