Impact of Accelerated Carbonation on Microstructure and Phase Assemblage

The paper summarizes preliminary results on characterization of the microstructure and phase assemblage of mortar and concrete samples containing Portland and Portland-fly ash cement carbonated at either natural conditions, 60% RH and 1% CO₂, 90% RH and 5% CO₂ or 60% RH and 100% CO₂. Different characterization techniques were used: thermogravimetric analysis to study the solid phases, SEM-EDS point analysis to investigate the chemical composition of the solid phases, optical microscopy to investigate the microstructure, and cold water extraction to characterize the chemical composition of the pore solution. The combined results on microstructure and phase assemblage indicate that carbonation up to 5% CO₂ appears representative for natural carbonation. Pore solution analysis revealed similar trends for the three accelerated carbonation conditions.