| INORGANIC MATERIALS AND CERAMIC MATRIX COMPOSITES |
|
|
|
|
|
Impact of Pore Water Saturation on Mechanical Properties of Concrete Across
Different Scales |
| DU Xiangqin1, LIU Zhilong1, YANG Huashan1, CHEN Rongfei1, LI Zongli2,*
|
1 School of Materials and Construction Engineering, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China
2 College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China |
|
|
|
|
Abstract Moisture significantly affects the mechanical properties of concrete;this influence varies across scales as a direct consequence of the multi-scale characteristics of concrete materials. This work systematically investigated the influence of pore water saturation on key mechanical properties—including compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and fracture toughness—of cement paste, mortar, and concrete across three distinct scales, thereby establishing the relationships between the saturation degree and these properties at each scale. The underlying action mechanism of the saturation degree was explored by integrating pore structure analysis and microstructure characterization. The results indicate that as the degree of pore water saturation decreases, the strengths of cement paste, mortar, and concrete exhibit a conti-nuous improvement. The influence of pore water saturation is most pronounced on cement paste, followed by mortar, and the least on concrete. Furthermore, flexural strength and fracture toughness are more significantly affected by saturation changes than splitting tensile strength and compressive strength. With decreasing pore water saturation, the peak stress increases under compression, accompanied by a multi-crack columnar failure mode and a more gradual descending segment in the stress-strain curve. Microstructural analysis reveals that reduced pore water saturation leads to increased porosity, larger critical pore diameter, and a coarsened pore size distribution, while simultaneously promoting microstructural densification. The overall strength improvement of concrete at lower pore water saturation is attributed to the synergistic interplay between pore coarsening and microstructure densification.
|
|
Published: 10 September 2026
Online: 2026-09-22
|
|
|
|
|
1 Reinhard H W, Rossi P, van Mier J G M. Materials and Structures, 1990, 23(3), 213.
2 Bartlett F M, Macgregor J G. ACI Materials Journal, 1994, 91(3), 227.
3 Wang H L, Li Q B. Journal of Hydroelectric Engineering, 2007, 26(1), 84(in Chinese).
王海龙, 李庆斌. 水力发电学报, 2007, 26(1), 84.
4 Wang H L, Li Q B. Engineering Mechanics, 2007, 24(2), 105(in Chinese).
王海龙, 李庆斌. 工程力学, 2007, 24(2), 105.
5 Zhang Y L, Zhu D Y, Li Y C, et al. Explosion and Shock Waves, 2015, 35(6), 864(in Chinese).
张永亮, 朱大勇, 李永池, 等. 爆炸与冲击, 2015, 35(6), 864.
6 Hu L L. Study on static and dynamic mechanical properties of water-saturated concrete. Master’s Thesis, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, China, 2019 (in Chinese).
胡亮亮. 水饱和混凝土的静动态力学性能研究. 硕士学位论文, 南京理工大学, 2019.
7 Li X H, Zhang G H, Li C B, et al. Concrete, 2022(3), 64(in Chinese).
李肖杭, 张国辉, 李常兵, 等. 混凝土, 2022(3), 64.
8 Du X Q, Li Z L, Han J S, et al. Journal of the Chinese Ceramic Society, 2019(5), 639(in Chinese).
杜向琴, 李宗利, 韩进生, 等. 硅酸盐学报, 2019(5), 639.
9 Maruyama I, Nishioka Y, Igarashi G, et al. Cement and Concrete Research, 2014, 58, 20.
10 Liu Y Z, Wei C C, Wang L, et al. Journal of Building Materials, 2024, 27(11), 1033(in Chinese).
刘亚州, 魏策策, 王磊, 等. 建筑材料学报, 2024, 27(11), 1033.
11 Liao Z M, Xiao Z R, Zheng X Z, et al. Journal of Building Materials, 2024, 27(11), 1055 (in Chinese).
廖子墨, 肖泽荣, 郑祥增, 等. 建筑材料学报, 2024, 27 (11), 1055.
12 Olson R A, Jennings H M. Cement and Concrete Research, 2001, 31(3), 351.
13 Zhou J K, Chen X D, Wu L Q, et al. Sadhana, 2011, 36(3), 357. |
|
|
|
渝公网安备50019002502923号 © Editorial Office of Materials Reports.
2026, Vol. 40 
