Short-term impact of simulated bentonite water on the transport properties in high pH FEBEX-plug concrete. Correlation with long-term performance

Abstract

Present paper studies the short-term interaction of simulated bentonites water (BW) with the concrete of 13 years old FEBEX-plug to analyze if the processes observed after long-term and in in-situ exposure are comparable with the inductive processes occurring in the lab at short-term. The effect of chemical and microstructural modifications of cement paste pore water and solid phases, and the consequences in transport properties of the concrete are assessed. The results show that similar chemical processes are taking place in the lab short-term experiments that in-situ, although in some cases the level of pro-gress of the interaction (kinetics) is more accelerated at early ages.