International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 8, Issue 2, February 2017, pp. 595606 Article ID: IJCIET_08_02_062

Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=8&IType=2
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316

IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

EFFECT OF ACIDIC ENVIRONMENT ON SELF

COMPACTING CONCRETE
Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta
Department of Civil Engineering, MNNIT Allahabad, India

ABSTRACT
Inclusion of fly ash in concrete mixture improves the durability characteristics of concrete.
A test programme was conducted to investigate the effect of fly ash inclusion on the acid
resistance of self compacting concrete (SCC) and normally vibrated concrete (NVC). The test
samples were immersed in sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid solution for 12 weeks after 28
days curing in tap water. The SCC samples were prepared by replacing of 10, 15 and 20 %
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by fly ash. The NVC was prepared with OPC only. The
parameters investigated include visual inspection, percentage loss of compressive strength and
mass loss in 2% sulfuric acid and 2% hydrochloric acid solution, separately. It is found that
the SCC performs better than NVC in sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid solutions.
Key words: self compacting concrete, acidic environment, strength loss, mass loss, visual
inspection.
Cite this Article: Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta, Effect
of Acidic Environment on Self Compacting Concrete. International Journal of Civil
Engineering and Technology, 8(2), 2017, pp. 595606.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Concrete is highly susceptible to acid attack because of its alkaline nature and it is a serious issue due
to the speed of damage of concrete structures worldwide. The acid attack on the concrete structures is
increasing due to growing activities in both urban and industrial areas over the past 30-40 years. Free
acid in the natural water is a rare phenomenon. However, significant quantities of free acids in
industrial plants and factories may be found. Chemical, Petrochemical, Paper and Thermal power
plants etc face lots of problems in ensuring durability of equipment, buildings and protective
constructions against acids and their vapors(Freidin C1999) [16]. Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) is a very
aggressive acid that reacts with free lime Ca (OH) 2available in cement paste to form gypsum
(CaSO4.2H2O)(E.K. et al 1988) [13](Eq. 1).This reaction increases the volume of concrete by a factor
of 2.2. There is another destructive action in the form of reaction between calcium aluminates present
in cement paste and gypsum crystal because these two products form the less soluble reaction product,
ettringite (3CaO.Al2O3.3CaSO4.32H2O) (Eq. 2).
H2SO4 + Ca (OH)2 CaSO4.2 H2O (gypsum) (1)
3 CaSO4 + 3 Cao.Al2O3. 6H2O + 25 H2O 3CaO.Al2O3.3 CaSO4.32 H2O (2)
(ettringite)

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 Effect of Acidic Environment on Self Compacting Concrete

Ettringite is a very expansive compound and creates an internal pressure on the surrounding
concrete. This leads to the formation of cracks and results in the loss of its mechanical properties.
Another important aspect is the concrete corrosion due to biogenic H 2SO4corrosion, which occurs
often in the sewer systems. When biogenic H2SO4corrosion is involved, sometimes structures fail only
after a few year of service even through the design life of structures is assumed around 50 years. In
sewer structure, hydrogen sulfide gas is released in the atmosphere above water level due to different
chemical and microbiological reactions. This gas reacts with oxygen to form elemental sulphure,
which is deposited on the walls of the sewerage system.
The performance of pore reduced cement (PRC) in aggressive media such as sulphuric,
hydrochloric and ethanoic acid by weight change and visual inspection, and compared it with OPC. It
is reported that PRC is less susceptible than OPC against hydrochloric (HCl) and ethanoic acid;
however, H2SO4 damages PRC and OPC to almost the same extent. The electron microprobe analysis
of the samples how that the HCl and ethanoic acid quickly penetratesin to the interior of normal
cement pastes by acid leaching through the inter connected pores but this is reduced in PRC.
H2SO4exposures causes extensive formation of gypsum in the cement surface regions which ultimately
leads to spalling (Isreal et al. 1997) [10]
The addition of pozzolanic materials in the concrete stabilizes the liberation of calcium hydroxide
during the hydration process of the cement to form additional cementious material (C-S-H). The
resultant binder matrix of concrete is chemically more resistant, by virtue of its dense microscopic
pore structure(Monteny et al. 2001) [19].Several researchers concluded that there is a slower rate of
acid attack on concrete that contains mineral admixtures(Harrison et al. 1987; Fattuhi et al. 1988;
Mehta 1985; Kazuyuk et al. 1994; Tamimiet al. 1997; Roy et al. 2001) [17,16,25,21,32,29] The acid
effect on silica fume, metakaoline and low- calcium FA- incorporated mortar and reported that the best
performance, in terms of chemical resistance, was of the mortar in which silica fume was
incorporated(Roy etal. 2001) [29].the effect of H2 SO4 on high volume fly ash concrete and reported
that H2SO4 resistance of steam cured concrete could be improved significantly by incorporation of
class C fly ash(Sordar etal. 2007) [31]
The effects of HCl on cement based material have been studied by some researchers (Harrison
1987; Chandra 1994, De Ceukelaire 1992; Israelet al 1997; Kilinckale 1997) [18,9,11,19,23] When
concrete is exposed to HCl, some soluble and some insoluble salts formed due to reaction between
HCl and cement paste. Soluble salts are mostly formed with the calcium and are subsequently leached
out where as insoluble salts are retained in the corroded layer. The reaction that takes places is
presented in Eq. 3
Ca (OH)2+ 2 HCl CaCl2 + 2 H2O (3)
After leaching out of Ca(OH)2, C-S-H and ettringite start to decompose with release of Ca2+ to
counteract the loss in Ca(OH)2 and the cement starts to disintegrate according to dissolution as given
in Equations 4 and 5
Ca6 Al2 (SO4)3(CH) 12. 26H2O 3Ca2+ + 2[Al(OH)4]- +4OH- + 26 H2O .. (4)
2+ - -
3Ca + 2[Al(OH)4] +4OH + 12 HCl3 CaCl2 + 2AlCl3 + 12 H2O (5)
Friedels salt (C3A.CaCl2.10H2O) may be formed due to action of CaCl2 with CH and C3 A.
(Chandra 1994) [9] mixed pure C3A synthesized in laboratory with HCl and indications were received
about the formation of Friedels salt. Formation of expansive Friedels salt was also reported by other
researchers(Israel et al 1997; Kilinckale. 1997; Midgley et al 1984; Beaudoin 1990; Al-amoudi etal
1994) [19,23,26,2,1].However, De Ceukelaire1992 [11] did not confirm Chandras
hypothesis(Chandra 1994) [9] regarding the formation of expansive salt. He concluded that the
difference might be due to the different concentration of the acid. Chandra (Chandra 1994)[9]studied
the influence of HCl (15 vol %) on mortar prisms made with OPC. He divided the damaged prism in

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 Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta

to three main zones; undamaged zone, hydroxide mixture zone or brown ring, and attacked zone. A
layer formed by undissolved salts is seen as a dark brown ring within hydroxide mixture zone.
SCC represents one of the most significant advances in concrete technology. Inadequate
homogeneity of the concrete due to poor compaction or segregation may drastically lower the
performance of mature in-sit concrete. SCC was developed to ensure adequate compaction and it
facilitates placement of concrete in structures with congested reinforcement and in restricted areas.
SCC was developed first in Japan in the late 1980s to be mainly used for highly congested reinforced
structures in seismic regions (Bouzoubaa et al 2001) [8]. When the durability of concrete structures
became an important issue in Japan, an adequate compaction by skilled labours was required to obtain
durable concrete structures. This requirement led to the development of SCC and its development was
first reported in 1989(Okamura et al 1999) [21]. Zhu etal(Zhu et al 2001) [34] have defined the SCC
as a high performance material which flows under its own weight without requiring vibraters to
achieve consolidation by complete filling of form works even when access is hindered by narrow gaps
between reinforcing bars. The high flowability of SCC makes it possible to fill the formwork without
vibration (Khayat et al 2004) [22]
The attention of several European countries was drawn towards the application of SCC after
successful use in Japan. The SCC should have the following essential characteristics in fresh state;
Filling ability, Passing ability, and resistance against segregation. They too worked and performed
studies and started using high quality SCC (EFNARC 2002) [14] and later modified the
recommendations.
Dinakar (Dinakar etal. 2008) [12] studied the effect of 3% H2SO4 solution on NVC and SCC for a
period of 90 days. It is reported that the concrete of lower strength (20-30 MPa) shows a lower weight
loss in SCC in comparison to NVC, with increasing fly ash content. Bassuni and Nehdi (Bassuoni etal.
2007)[24]reported that there was no direct correlation between the rate of attack expressed by mass
loss and compressive strength loss, after exposure to H2SO4.
Rao (Rao etal.2013) [29] studied the effect of HCl and H2SO4 on the high strength SCC. The
concentration of acid was 5%. It is reported that the intensity of attack by H 2SO4was comparatively
more than the attack by HCl, and the reduction in strength of concrete immersed in H2SO4 is more
significant. Rao (Rao etal. 2011) [29] studied the strength and durability of NVC and SCC taking 5%
H2SO4 solution and 5% HCl solution. It is reported that the weight loss and loss of compressive
strength was more in NVC as compared to the SCC.
The objective of this work is to compare the relative performance of NVC and SCC, when exposed
to the acidic environment (2% HCl and 2%H 2SO4, separately). The SCC was prepared using
supplementary cementations material fly ash. The OPC in the concrete mix was replaced by fly ash on
equal weight basis (10, 15 and 20%). The NVC of grade M-35 was prepared for reference. The cube
samples (150 mm) were prepared and cured in tap-water for 28 days, thereafter, these cubes were
immersed separately in 2%H2SO4,2% HCl solutions, and tap - water for a period of 12 weeks. The
compressive strength of these samples was determined after 1 st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks of
immersion, and the visual assessments for color change was also carried out. The weights of the
samples were measured on weekly basis to determine the changes, if any

2. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
2.1. Materials and Mix Proportioning
The concrete mix was designed using 43- grade Prism brand OPC confirming to the provisions of IS:
8112-1989(BIS 1989) [6]. The physical properties of OPC as found in the laboratory are given in
Table1. Supplementary cementitious materials fly ash was procured from NTPC Unchahar (UP).The
physical and chemical properties of fly ash on the lines of IS: 3812-1966(BIS 1970) [3]are included in
Tables2 and 3. Locally available coarse aggregate having the maximum size 10 mm, and fine

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 Effect of Acidic Environment on Self Compacting Concrete

aggregate were used in this work. The specific gravity and fineness modulus of coarse aggregate were
2.66 and 7.03, respectively, while for fine aggregate these values were 2.4 and 2.68, respectively. The
aggregates satisfied the requirements of IS: 383 1970(BIS 2000) [7]. The water absorption of coarse
aggregate and fine aggregate was 0.56 and 1% respectively. The superplasticizer used in the present
work was Sika Viskocrete (10 H1). The acidic environment was created using 2% H2SO4 solution,
and2% HCL Solution. Compression Testing Machine of 2000N was used for determination of
compressive strength of cubes, and the load was applied as per IS: 14858-2000 (BIS 1982)[5].

Table 1 Physical properties of ordinary portland cement

Characteristics Experimental Codal Requirements(IS: 8112-

Values 198930)
Normal consistency 33% -
Initial Setting time 48 min Not be less than 30 Min
Final Setting time 240 min Not be greater than 600 Min.
Fineness 4.8 % <10
Soundness 6 mm 10 mm
Specific Gravity 3.15
Compressive Strength
3 days 23.66 N/mm2 23 N/mm2
7 days 34.66 N/mm2 33 N/mm2
28 days 44.33 N/mm2 43 N/mm2

Table 2 Physical properties of fly ash

Property Experimental Value Codal Requirement
(IS: 3812-196631)

Specific Surface 4620 cm2/g 3200 cm2/g if used as

pozzolana
Unit Weight 950 kg/m3
Specific Gravity 2.2 2.1-2.4

Table 3 Chemical properties of fly ash

Constituents % of the weight of the sample Codal Requirements
(IS: 3812-196631)
Silicon dioxide (SiO2) 62.6
Alumina(Al2O3) 28.6
Ferric Oxide(Fe2O3) 3.1
Magnesium Oxide(MgO) 0.7 <5.0
Calcium Oxide 0.8
Sulphur tri Oxide(SO3) 0.6 <3.0
Sodium Oxide (Na2O) 0.7
Potassium Oxide(K2O) 0.8
Loss on ignition 1.8 <12%

2.2. Mix Proportioning and their Properties

Three mixes of SCC and one mix of NVC were used to study the effect of acids on concrete. Slump,
T50 Slump, V- funnel Test, L- Box Test, U-Box test, J- ring Test were conducted to determine the
properties of fresh SCC.
In SCC, the percentage of OPC replacement by fly ash was kept as 10, 15 and 20%, and the mixes
were designated as SCC I, SCC II and SCC III respectively. After measuring the fresh mix properties,

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 Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta

the cubes were cast and demoulded for curing after 24 hours. The mix proportions, water cement
ratio (w/c) and water powder ratio (w/p) of NVC and SCC, and the properties of fresh SCC are given
in Table 4. The compressive strength of the samples are included in Table 5.

Table 4 Mix proportioning and properties of fresh concrete mixes

Mix Properties NVC SCC I SCC II SCC III
(w/c)/(w/p) 0.35 0.4 0.41 0.41
Coarse aggregate (kg/m3) 1238 592 592 592
Cement (kg/m3) 550 498 470 443
Fly ash (kg/m3) - 55 83 110
Fine aggregate (kg/m3) 554 908 908 908
Water (kg/m3) 192.5 202 225 230
Superplasticizer (kg/m3) 1.35 4.0 4.0 4.0
Slump/Slump flow (mm) 75 680 680 700
T50 Slump (Sec) - 8 6 5
V- Funnel (Sec) - 15 11 10
L- Box (H2/H1) - 0.7 0.76 0.8
U- Box (mm) - 100 90 50
J-Ring (mm) - 12 11 10

Table 5 Compressive strength (N/mm2) of all mixes cured in tap - water

Days NVC SCC I SCC II SCC III
7 days 31.11 30.55 29.77 27.55
28 Days 45.77 38.66 35.11 33.77

3. TEST PROCEDURE
After getting the 28 days compressive strength of different mixes as given in Table 5, the cube
specimens were cast again and cured in tap-water. After 28 days curing in tap-water, the specimens
were immersed in 2 % H2SO4 solution, 2 % HCl solution and in tap - water for further study.
The compressive strengths measured after 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks of immersion in each
solution and tap-water are given in Tables 6-8. At least three specimens were tested and the average
strength was calculated.
The strength loss of various specimens was calculated by using the Equation 6.
Strength loss = x100 (6)
Where, Cs1= Compressive strength of specimen cured in tap-water,
Cs2 = Compressive strength of specimen immerged in acidic solution
To determine the change in mass, mass of one specimen was measured from each sample before
immersion in acidic solution and tap-water. After immersion in acidic solution, mass was measured on
weekly basis.
The mass loss of specimens was calculated by using the Equation 7.

Mass loss = 100 (7)
M1= Mass of the specimen before the immersion in acidic solution
M2= Mass of specimen after immersion in acidic solution
The photographs were taken after 1 st, 2nd, 4th, 8th and 12th week for visual assessment of different
mixes.

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 Effect of Acidic Environment on Self Compacting Concrete

Table 6 Compressive strength (N/mm2) of all mixes cured in tap water, after 28days curing in tap-water
Mix Age (Week)
Designation 1 2 4 8 12
NVC 48.00 50.22 55.11 61.33 62.66
SCC I 40.44 42.22 50.66 58.22 61.33
SCC II 38.22 42.22 48.44 56.88 60.44
SCC III 36.44 40.44 43.11 48.00 55.11

Table 7 Compressive strength (N/mm2) of all mixes immersed in 2 % H2SO4 solution

Mix Age (Week)
Designation 1 2 4 8 12
NVC 48.00 49.77 52.44 54.66 52.88
SCC I 40.44 42.22 48.44 52.88 54.22
SCC II 38.22 42.22 46.22 52.44 52.88
SCC III 36.00 40.44 41.77 44.88 49.33

Table 8 Compressive strength (N/mm2) of all mixes immersed in 2 % HCl solution

Mix Age (Week)
Designation 1 2 4 8 12
NVC 48.00 49.77 52.88 55.11 55.11
SCC I 40.44 42.22 49.33 53.77 55.11
SCC II 38.22 42.22 46.66 52.88 54.22
SCC III 36.44 40.44 42.22 45.33 50.66

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Compressive strength in H2SO4 Solution
The compressive strength of specimens immersed in H2SO4 (2%) solution are given in Tables 6 and 7.
The loss in compressive strength of the samples after immersion in H 2SO4 solutions were determined
with respect to the referral, cured in tap-water, and the results are given in Table 9 and plotted in Fig-
1. It is evident from this table that the loss in strength within first two weeks is zero, except in NVC. A
significant loss of strength was observed in all the samples after 2 weeks. The loss ranges between 3-
5%, 6.5-11.5% and 10.5 to 15.6%, at the end of 4, 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. After 12 weeks, the
maximum loss of 15.60% was observed in case of NVC samples while the minimum loss of
10.49%was observed in SCC III samples. The loss in strength in case of SCCI and SCC II samples
was less than the NVC samples. Hence it may be concluded that SCC samples have more resistance to
acidic environment as compared to the NVC samples. It may be due to addition of fly ash in concrete
which improves the pore structure of concrete and reduces the permeability of concrete.

Table 9 Percentage loss in Compressive strength of various mixes immersed in 2% H2SO4solution

Mix Loss in compressive strength (%), Age (Weeks)

Designation 1 2 4 8 12
NVC 0 0.90 4.84 10.88 15.60
SCC I 0 0 4.38 9.17 11.59
SCC II 0 0 4.58 7.81 12.51
SCC III 0 0 3.11 6.50 10.49

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 Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta

12.00
11.00
10.00
Loss of Strength(%) 9.00
8.00
NVC
7.00
6.00 SCC I
5.00 SCC II
4.00 SCC III
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

No. of weeks

Figure 1 Percentage loss in compressive strength of different mixes in 2% H2SO4 solution

4.2. Compressive Strength in HCl Solution

The compressive strength of specimens cured in tap-water and HCl solution (2%) are given in Tables
6 and 8, respectively. The loss in compressive strength of different samples immersed in HCl solution
were determined with respect to the referral cured in tap-water, and the results are presented in Table
10. Also, the same results are plotted in Fig-2. It is evident from Table 10 that within first two weeks,
the SCC samples were not affected by HCl, while NVC sample was adversely affected. A significant
deterioration in strength was observed in all the samples after two weeks; however, SCC samples were
affected less in comparison to the NVC samples. The loss in compressive strength was observed in the
range of 2-4%, 5.5-10% and 8-12% at the end of 4, 8 and 12 week, respectively. The maximum loss of
12.05% was observed in case of NVC samples, and minimum loss of 8.07%was observed in case of
SCC III samples in which 20% of OPC was replaced with fly ash. The loss in the strength may be due
to the formation of Friedels salts. Similar trend was also reported by Rao (Rao etal. 2011) [29]. Thus,
the addition of fly ash in concrete improves the pore structure of concrete and reduces the permeability
of concrete. Because of this, the resistance against acid is improved.

Table 10 Percentage loss in compressive strength of various mixes in 2% HCl solution

Mix Loss of Compressive strength (%), Age (Weeks)
Designation 1 2 4 8 12
NVC 0 0.90 4.05 10.14 12.05
SCC I 0 0 2.63 7.64 10.14
SCC II 0 0 3.67 7.03 10.29
SCC III 0 0 2.06 5.56 8.07

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 Effect of Acidic Environment on Self Compacting Concrete

12.00
11.00 NVC
10.00
Loss of Strength(%)
SCC I
9.00
8.00 SCC II
7.00
6.00 SCC III
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

No. of weeks

Figure 2 Percentage of loss in compressive strength of different mixes in 2% HCl solution

4.3. Mass Loss of Mixes Submerged in H2SO4 Solution

The change in mass of different mixes was recorded at an interval of 1 week and the variation is
plotted in Fig.-3. The loss in mass was observed in each mix at all the ages. The trend of mass loss in
both SCC II and SCC III was almost similar and lowest (0.75% after 12 week). The highest loss of
mass was observed in NVC (1.28%, after the 12 weeks). A Lesser loss of mass in SCC may be due to
the stabilization in the liberation process of Ca(OH)2during the hydration process, refined pore
structure and less capillaries in the SCC mix in comparison to the NVC. This is similar to the findings
of Rao (Rao etal. 2011) [29].
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
Loss of mass (%)

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6 NVC
0.5
SCC I
0.4
0.3 SCC II
0.2
SCC III
0.1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

No. of weeks
Figure 3 Mass loss of various mixes in 2 % H2SO4 solution

4.4. Percentage Loss in Mass of Various Mixes Submerged in 2% HCl Solution

Fig. 4 shows the variation of mass loss of different mixes with exposure period (weeks) in 2% HCL
solution. It is observed that there is no mass change upto two weeks in NVC and SCC I specimens,
and up to 3 weeks in SCC II and SCC III samples. The minimum loss of 0.39% was observed in SCC
II and the maximum loss of 0.96% was observed in NVC after 12 weeks. The loss of mass in SCC I

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 Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta

and SCC III samples was found to be 0.47 and 0.44%, respectively, which is less than the loss in
NVC. The decreasing trend in loss of mass with addition of more fly ash may be due to the less
libration of free Ca (OH)2, improved pore structure and formation of less capillaries in SCC in
comparison to the NVC. This is similar to the findings (Rao etal. 2011) [29]
1.1
1
0.9
0.8
loss of mass (%)

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2 NVC
SCC I
0.1
0
1 2 3 4 5
No 6of weeks
7 8 9 10 11 12

Figure 4 Mass loss of various mixes in 2 % HCl solution

5. VISUAL INSPECTION OF CONCRETE

5.1. Visual Inspection of Concrete Submerged in 2% H2SO4 Solution
After 28 days tap-water curing, the NVC and SCC samples were submerged in 2% H2SO4 solution for
visual inspection of the samples at regular intervals. The photographs of the samples are shown in Figs
5 (a-i). It was observed that the colour of NVC and SCC samples [Fig 5 (a, b)] did not change after
one week. After two weeks immersion, no colour change was found in SCC samples but brown colour
was found to develop in NVC samples [Fig.5(c-d)]. There was a considerable change in the colour of
NVC samples but there was no sign of colour change in SCC samples after four weeks, Figs 5 (e-f).
After the eight weeks immersion, a considerable change in the colour of surface was observed. Also,
some spalling of the concrete due to acid attack was observed. The SCC samples developed
considerable colour change; however, spalling was not observed [Fig-5(g)]. After 12 weeks, it was
found that the NVC samples had corroded more, visible in the form of spallingin comparison to SCC
samples [Fig-5(h-i)]. The colour change of specimens may be due to leaching out the soluble salts
from the concrete and deposition of the same on the surface of the specimens. Addition of fly ash in
NVC reduced the free lime content, refined the pore structure and formed less capillaries. This reduces
the leaching action of soluble salts in SCC samples in comparison to the NVC samples. H 2SO4reacts
with free lime available in concrete and forms gypsum, and in another reaction, it forms ettringite.
These salts are mostly deposited near the surface of the concrete. Mores palling in NVC samples may
be due to the formation of more gypsum and ettringite in comparison to SCC samples.

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 Effect of Acidic Environment on Self Compacting Concrete

Figure 5 Visual inspection of NVC and SCC samples submerged in 2% H2SO4 solution from 1st- 12thweek

5.2. Visual Inspection of Concrete Submerged in 2 % HCl Solution

Visual inspection of different concrete samples submerged in 2% HCl solution was also done at an
interval of one week. The samples were submersed in the acid after 28 days curing in tap-water. The
photographs are shown in Fig 6(a-i). From Fig. 6(a - b), it is evident that there was no effect of acid on
the NVC and SCC specimens after one week. After second week, brownish surface was formed in
NVC specimens; however, SCC specimens did not change its colour [Fig.6(c &d)]. From Fig. 6 (e and
f), it is seen that after four weeks, there was considerable change in colour of NVC specimens, but no
colour change was found on the surface of the SCC specimens. A considerable change in colour was
found in NVC samples after eight weeks; however, colour change was observed in SCC samples [Fig.
6(g)]. After 12 weeks, colour change was observed in both types of samples. No spalling of concrete
was observed in any case. This change in colour at the surface of specimens may be due to the
leaching out of calcium salts. Friedels salts might have been formed and deposited near the surface
(inside the concrete); but its volume was not sufficient to cause spalling.

Figure 6 Visual Inspection of NVC and SCC samples submerged in 2% HClsolution from 1 st- 12thweek

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 Praveen Kumar Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Y.K. Gupta and P.K. Mehta

6. CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of experiments conducted on different mixes of concrete, the following conclusions may
be drawn.
The SCC has good resistance against acid attack as compared to the NVC.
The inclusion of supplementary cementitious material (fly ash) improves the resistance of concrete in
acidic environment.
The loss of mass and compressive strength in acidic environment is least in case of SCC III samples.
The percentage loss in compressive strength, on immersion in 2% H2SO4 solution, was 15.60% in case
of NVC, while it ranges between 10.48-11.59 % in case of SCC. The percentage loss in mass, on
immersion in 2% H2SO4 solution, was 1.27 % in case of NVC, while it ranges between 0.76-0.96% in
case of SCC.
The percentage loss in compressive strength, on immersion in 2% HCl solution, was12.04% in case of
NVC, while it rangesbetween8.07-10.14 % in case of SCC. The percentage loss in mass, on immersion
in 2% HCl solution, was 0.96 % in case of NVC, while it ranges between 0.38- 0.47 % in case of SCC.
The loss in compressive strength does not have a direct relation with mass loss of SCC specimens under
acid attack.
The effect of acid (2%H2SO4) on concrete was significant in case of NVC samples in comparison to
SCC samples specially after 2 weeks.
The NVC spalls in acidic environment (2% H2SO4).
The exposure to HCl acidic environment (2 %) causes only colour change.

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