Publication Details
Transport Properties and Durability of Concrete: Literature Review and Research Plan 
Primary Topic: Materials-Concrete
Description: The increased emphasis on life-cycle cost analysis for building project requires that new attention be focused on the service life and durability of concrete structures. While concrete is typically specified based on compressive strength and slump, it is well recognized that durability is most influenced by the transport properties of the concrete such as diffusivity, permeability and sorptivity. This report reviews the state of the art for measurement of transport properties and models for various deterioration processes of relevance to highway concretes. Based on this review, a preliminary research approach and testing guidelines are presented for evaluating the durability of new and existing concrete for pavements. A key feature of the overall approach will be the development of a general model relating concrete sorptivity to spalling damage for three common degradation phenomena: sulfate attach, alkali-silica reaction, and freeze/thaw scaling.
FHWA Publication Number: FHWA-RD-00-073
Publication Year: 2000