EXPERIMENT NO.

5 DATE:

CARBONATION TEST ON CONCRETE

AIM: To determine the depth of carbonation in the given concrete member.

APPARATUS: Carbonation Measurement Kit, Vernier Calliper, Core drilling machine

Freshly extracted core sample (with surface preparation)

THEORY: Concrete, being basically a porous material, undergoes carbonation process with
ageing. As the protective cover of the concrete carbonates completely, the
corrosion reaches the steel reinforcement, rapidly accelerating the process of
corrosion in steel. Carbonation of concrete occurs when the carbon dioxide, in
the atmosphere in the presence of moisture, reacts with hydrated cement minerals
to produce carbonates, e.g. calcium carbonate. The carbonation process is also
called depassivation. Carbonation penetrates below the exposed surface of
concrete extremely slowly. The carbonation process effectively drops the pH of
concrete to a level where steel will corrode. The carbon dioxide dissolves in
water to form carbonic acid, which migrate to the reinforcing steel if the concrete
cover is low or if the concrete is of poor quality. Carbonation is more common in
old structures, particularly buildings. The significance of carbonation is that the
usual protection of the reinforcing steel generally present in concrete due to the
alkaline conditions caused by hydrated cement paste is neutralized by
carbonation. Thus, if the entire concrete cover over the reinforcing steel is
carbonated, corrosion of the steel would occur if moisture and oxygen could
reach the steel.

Carbonation
 PROCEDURE: 1) The surface of the concrete from which the cores are to be removed is
wetted.
2) The core drilling machine is set up at the desired location and the cores
are drilled. Cores are taken using special diamond cutters of 75mm, 100
mm or 150 mm diameter.
3) The 1% phenolphthalein solution is made by dissolving 1gm of
phenolphthalein in 90 cc of ethanol. The solution is then made up to 100
cc by adding distilled water.
4) The freshly extracted cores are sprayed with phenolphthalein solution;
the depth of the uncoloured layer (the carbonated layer) from the
external surface is measured to the nearest mm at 4 or 8 positions, and
the average taken.
5) If the concrete still retains its alkaline characteristic the colour of the
concrete will change to purple. If carbonation has taken place the pH will
have changed to 7 (i.e. neutral condition) and there will be no colour
change

Measurement of Carbonation Depth of Core samples

OBSERVATIONS: Carbonation Depth (mm)

Core Locations Carbonation Average

Samples Depth (mm) Carbonation
Depth (mm)
Sample 1 1
2
3
4

Sample 2 1
2
3
4

Sample 3 1
2
3
4
CALCULATIONS: Sample 1

Carbonation Depth
=

=___________mm

Sample 2

Carbonation Depth
=

=___________mm

Sample 3

Carbonation Depth
=

=___________mm

RESULT: The carbonation depth of the different core samples is:

Sample 1 = ____________ mm
Sample 2 = ____________ mm
Sample 3 = ____________ mm

CONCLUSION: The carbonation test is a simple and cheap method of determining the depth of
carbonation in concrete and provides information on the risk of reinforcement
corrosion taking place. The only limitation is the minor amount of damage done
to the concrete surface by drilling or coring.