A protocol for obtaining a water-soluble chloride profile by using a high precision milling method is presented.
To improve the accuracy of the chloride distribution along the depth of cement paste under cyclic wet-dry conditions, a new method is proposed to obtain a high-precision chloride profile. Firstly, paste specimens are molded, cured, and exposed to cyclic wet-dry conditions. Then, powder samples at different specimen depths are grinded when the exposure age is reached. Finally, the water-soluble chloride content is detected using a silver nitrate titration method, and chloride profiles are plotted. The key to improving the accuracy of the chloride distribution along the depth is to exclude the error in the powderization, which is the most critical step for testing the distribution of chloride. Based on the above concept, the grinding method in this protocol can be used to grind powder samples automatically layer by layer from the surface inward, and it should be noted that a very thin grinding thickness (less than 0.5 mm) with a minimum error less than 0.04 mm can be obtained. The chloride profile obtained by this method better reflects the chloride distribution in specimens, which helps researchers to capture the distribution features that are often overlooked. Furthermore, this method can be applied to studies in the field of cement-based materials, which require high chloride distribution accuracy.
The chloride induced corrosion of reinforcing steel is one of the major causes jeopardizing the service life of reinforced concrete structures exposed to an aggressive environment (e.g., marine environment or deicing salts environment). The chloride distribution can be used for investigations of the chloride penetration rate, the amount of steel corrosion, and predictions of the service life. Therefore, a precise chloride distribution is of great significance for the durability research of concrete structures.
Mechanisms or combined actions of multi-mechanisms are responsible for chloride transport in concrete under specific environments1. In submerged parts of marine structures, pure diffusion is the only mechanism driving chloride ingress2, which causes the chloride content to decrease with increasing depth. Concrete is in a non-saturated state3 when subjected to a wetting-drying environment such as a marine tidal zone or a deicing salt environment. In such conditions, the process of chloride ingress becomes very complicated and both diffusion and capillary suction operate in chloride transport4. Thus, the chloride distribution under wetting-drying conditions is probably more complicated than in a submerged condition. Therefore, the chloride distribution under cyclic wetting-drying conditions needs to be studied more precisely.
The chloride distribution in cement-based materials is usually represented by a chloride profile. The accuracy of a chloride profile mainly depends on two aspects: the accuracy of chloride content and the accuracy of chloride distribution along the depth. Regarding the chloride content test, the basic principle is based on the chemical reaction between (Cl–) and (Ag+)5,6, though different standards require different specific operations. The exact chloride content can be acquired as long as specific operations are followed. However, the accuracy of the chloride distribution along the depth relies mainly on the accuracy of the sampling position. The methods already known for obtaining power samples at different depths of specimen are an electric drill, a normal grinding machine, and a profile grinder. Unfortunately, they all share a disadvantage as the accuracy is low when the grinding thickness or sampling interval is small. Thus, the requirement of investigating chloride distribution in the surface layer of specimens under cyclic wetting-drying condition is not met. Therefore, a new method that can allow a smaller sampling interval (e.g., less than 0.5 mm) and reduce error to the minimum (e.g., less than 0.05 mm) is needed.
The detailed protocol here offers a more accurate way to get a chloride profile by improving the precision of chloride distribution along the depth.
Caution: Several of the chemicals, such as silver nitrate, potassium chromate, and concentrated sulfuric acid, used in the testing process are acutely toxic and corrosive. Please adopt appropriate safety measures while using them, including the wear of safety glasses, gloves, lab coat, etc.
1. Preparation of Paste Specimens
2. Cyclic Wetting and Drying
3. Grinding Powder Samples
4. Detecting Chloride Content7
5. Accuracy Test of Grinding Thickness
The original data and statistical results about the accuracy of grinding thickness are collected (Table 1)8. Mean and error are used to reflect the accuracy and standard deviation (SD) is used to reflect the consistency of this method.
The water-soluble chloride content of testing interval 0.5 mm (Figure 1) and 2.0 mm (Figure 2) and the corresponding diffusion coefficient D are collected using the equation below, called the "error function" of Fick's second law. The law of change of chloride content along the depth is used to reflect chloride distribution features, and D is used to evaluate the penetration rate of chloride.
Where, x is the distance from the exposed surface; t is the exposure time; C(x,t) is the chloride content at a depth of x and time of t; Cs is the surface chloride content; D is the chloride diffusion coefficient; C0 is the initial chloride content.
S (mm) | H1 (mm) | H2 (mm) | P (mm) | Error (mm) | Mean (mm) | SD (mm) |
1 | 18.78 | 17.82 | 0.96 | 0.04 | ||
17.82 | 16.82 | 1 | 0 | |||
16.82 | 15.83 | 0.99 | 0.01 | 0.998 | 0.026 | |
15.83 | 14.83 | 1 | 0 | |||
14.83 | 13.79 | 1.04 | -0.04 | |||
0.5 | 25.09 | 24.55 | 0.46 | 0.04 | ||
24.55 | 24.07 | 0.48 | 0.02 | |||
24.07 | 23.59 | 0.48 | 0.02 | 0.482 | 0.019 | |
23.59 | 23.11 | 0.48 | 0.02 | |||
23.11 | 22.6 | 0.51 | -0.01 | |||
0.2 | 19.24 | 19.01 | 0.23 | -0.03 | ||
19.01 | 18.8 | 0.21 | -0.01 | |||
18.8 | 18.62 | 0.18 | 0.02 | 0.208 | 0.02 | |
18.62 | 18.43 | 0.19 | 0.01 | |||
18.43 | 18.2 | 0.23 | -0.03 | |||
0.1 | 17.66 | 17.57 | 0.09 | 0.01 | ||
17.57 | 17.46 | 0.11 | -0.01 | |||
17.46 | 17.34 | 0.12 | -0.02 | 0.1 | 0.026 | |
17.34 | 17.26 | 0.08 | 0.02 | |||
17.26 | 17.16 | 0.1 | 0 | |||
0.05 | 16.26 | 16.19 | 0.07 | -0.02 | ||
16.19 | 16.14 | 0.05 | 0 | |||
16.14 | 16.07 | 0.07 | -0.02 | 0.056 | 0.012 | |
16.07 | 16.03 | 0.04 | 0.01 | |||
16.03 | 15.98 | 0.05 | 0 |
Table 1: The original data and statistical results about the accuracy of grinding thickness.
S is the set grinding thickness, and P is the practical grinding thickness. Error is the difference between S and P. The mean is the average value of five practical grinded thicknesses, and the SD is the standard deviation.
Figure 1: Water-soluble chloride profile of paste specimens with testing interval of 0.5 mm.
After exposure for 12 weeks under cyclic wetting-drying conditions, 20 powder samples are obtained within a depth of 10 mm through grinding every 0.5 mm in section 3. The 20 powder samples are first partly used for testing the chloride content in each. 20 data points (black) are obtained and presented in Figure 1. The red line is the fitting line of those data with the "error function" of Fick's second law, D is the chloride diffusion coefficient, and the error bars depict the error or uncertainty of the data. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Water-soluble chloride profiles of paste specimens with testing interval of 2.0 mm.
For the rest of the 20 samples, every four sequential layers (with the same amount taken from each) (1~4, 5~8, 9~12, 13~16, and 17~20) are well blended, and the chloride content in each is tested; that is, the testing interval is 2.0 mm. Five data points (black) of chloride content are thus obtained. The red line is the fitting line of those data with the "error function" of Fick's second law, D is the corresponding diffusion coefficient, and the error bars depict the potential error or uncertainty of each chloride value.
Note: The mass of sample used to determine chloride content is 2 g as introduced in 4.2.2. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
The grinding error of the high precision CNC milling machine is controlled within 0.04 mm and the standard deviation is less than 0.03 mm (Table 1)8. It proves that this milling method has a high degree of accuracy and stability in the measurements of chloride contents as a function of depth, contributing to a better illustration of real chloride distribution in the specimens.
When the testing interval is 0.5 mm, with the depth from exposure surface increasing, there is a maximum point in the chloride content (Figure 1). When the testing interval is 2.0 mm, chloride content decreases monotonically (Figure 2). It can be observed that in the surface layer, the interval value selected can significantly affect the profiles. Lower intervals are recommended since they can capture and record more details. Moreover, with different testing intervals, the D obtained through fitting with the "error function" differs. The D values of interval 0.5 mm (4.038 × 10-7 m2/s, Figure 1) are more than twice the D values of interval 2.0 mm (1.451 × 10-7 m2/s, Figure 2),despite testing the same specimen. Obviously, when the interval of 2 mm is employed, due to the lack of important data and thus the poor description of chloride content evolution, the derived D value cannot be reliable.
To achieve small interval values, the grinding thickness should be lowered. The three most widely used grinding methods in this field at present cannot guarantee a small error when the grinding thickness is less than 0.5 mm. The first method (getting a powder sample with an electric drill) features substantial difficulties in controlling the position of drilling with manual operation,which results in an error value of more than 1.0 mm, even if the sampling interval is 5.0 mm9. The second method (a normal grinding machine10,11) is extensively applied in China. The calibration requirement for each layer is the defect of this machine, and the corundum disk with a diameter of 100 mm used for grinding tends to become deformed and damaged. The grinding thickness of this method is usually 2.0 mm and the error is more than 0.5 mm. The third method is a Profile Grinder. Though the error of this method is smaller than that of the first two methods, the smallest labeled grinding thickness is 2.0 mm. If a smaller grinding thickness is required, manual calibration is needed, which greatly reduces the method's accuracy. In contrast, the error of the method used here is less than 0.03 mm even when the grinding thickness is less than 0.2 mm (Table 1), which shows extremely high accuracy in the measurements of chloride content distribution as a function of depth.
However, this high-precision grinding method also has limitations. It requires manual work to collect powder, and dust is generated during grinding that can be inhaled. To improve this method, an automatic powder collecting device is being designed to complement the high precision CNC grinding machine. Hopefully, this new invention will be both healthy and labor-saving.
The grinding method used here achieves automatic grinding layer by layer starting from the surface of the specimen. It guarantees a minimum error even for small grinding thicknesses, which greatly improves the accuracy of chloride distribution as function of depth and is of great significance for chloride transport study. This method can also be utilized with other cement-based materials (e.g., mortar and concrete). Since mortar and concrete contain hard sand and gravel, the titanium alloy cutter should be replaced with harder materials (e.g., diamond). No other amendments are needed. In addition, the sample obtained with this method can also be used for the detection and measurement of other ions, such as . In conclusion, this grinding method would be helpful in addressing durability issues of cement-based materials, for both research and field work.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
The authors appreciate the financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) under the contract No. 2015CB655105, the Natural Science Foundation the contract No. 51308262, and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under the contract No. BK20131012.
Cement | Jiangnan Xiaoyetian | P.II. 52.5 | |
Potassium chromate, 99.7% | Tianjin Kemiou | HG391887 | Toxic |
Ethyl alcohol | Sinopharm | XK10009257 | |
Silver nitrate, 99.8% | Sinopharm | 7761888 | Toxic |
Phenolphthalein, 99.5% | Tianjin Fuchen | XK1301100017 | |
Concentrated sulfuric acid, 98.3% | Shanghai Lingfeng | XK1301100085008 | Highly corrosive |
Sodium chloride, 99.7% | Xilong Scientific | XK1320100153 | |
Diesel oil | China Petroleum | 0# | |
Epoxy resin | Yifeng Chemical | E44-6101 | |
Deionized water | Beijing Liyuan | PUW-10N | |
CNC Milling meachine | Foshan Xiandao Digital Technology | C31E | |
Cement paste mixer | Wuxi Construction and Engineering | NJ160 | |
High precision cutting machine | Buehler | 2215 | |
Mixing spot | Wuxi Construction and Engineering | JJ-5 | |
Scraper knife | Jinzheng Building Materials | CD-3 | |
Cling film | Miao Jie | 65300 | |
Mold (70mm×70mm×70mm) | Jingluda | ABS707 | |
Plastic box | Fangao Household | 32797 | |
Stainless steel brace | An Feng | 316L | |
Paper | Deli | A4 | |
Oven | Shanghai Huatai | DHG-9070A | |
Automatic vibrator | Lichen | HY-4 | |
Vibrating table | Jianyi | GZ-75 | |
plastic film | Miao Jie | 65303 | |
Vernier caliper | Links | 601-01 | |
Electronic balance | Setra | BL-4100F | |
Plastic bottle | Lining Plastic | 454 | |
Brush | Huoniu | 3# | |
Mask | UVEX | 3220 | |
Gloves | Ammex | TLFGWC | |
Plastic cup | Maineng | MN4613 | |
Desiccator | Shenfei | GZ300 | |
Filter paper | Hangzhou Wohua | 9614051 | |
Dropper | Huaou | 1630 | |
Breaker | Huaou | 1101 | |
Funnel | Huaou | 1504 | |
Measuring cylinder | Huaou | 1601 | |
volumetric flash | Huaou | 1621 | |
Conical flash | Huaou | 1121 | |
Pipette | Huaou | 1633 | |
Burette | Huaou | 1462 | |
Mortar | Huaou | YBMM254 | |
80µm sieve | Shanghai Dongxing | KJ-80 | |
Crucible | Oamay | GYGG | |
Electric furnace | Tyler | SX-B06 |