Representativeness of accelerated carbonation testing of cement pastes
Résumé
Carbonation is one of the main factors involved in corrosion of reinforced concrete structures. The impact of carbonation on the durability of cementitious-based materials is of major importance. However, carbonation is a very slow process (around 0.04% CO2 in the atmosphere). Accelerated test are then commonly used in the laboratory. The representativeness of accelerated test compared to natural carbonation is then an important issue. In this context, this study focuses on the mineralogical characterisation of ancient and recent cement pastes, respectively submitted to natural (in air) and accelerated carbonation (3% CO2). As a major conclusion, the mineralogical changes assessed using complementary techniques have highlighted a good agreement between natural and accelerated carbonation.