A Review of Characterizing Methods for Carbonation in Cement-Based Materials

Concrete carbonation serves as one common durability issues in reinforced concrete structures at present. In order to understand the carbonation mechanism, many methods were developed by previous researchers for the characterization of concrete carbonation. For example, Phenolphthalein spraying method, Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), etc.. In this paper, all existed carbonation methods were summarized, and, based on the parameter (pH value inside pores, microstructure, chemical composition, etc. ) each method focuses, the function behind method was elaborated. Finally, this paper discussed the pros and cons of current methods, and further developing directions were proposed.