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Effect of Internal Moisture and Outer Relative Humidity on Concrete Carbonation

With steadily rising CO2 concentrations in the ambient air and fast-changing concrete compositions with reduced clinker contents, the availability of reliable and accelerated concrete carbonation tests is of crucial importance to design durable structures. This paper focuses on the effects of moisture under accelerated conditions and the effects of different CO2 exposure conditions. Mortar prisms incorporating three different cement types were cured and stored at either 50% or 65% relative humidity (RH). Afterwards, the prisms were carbonated at different ambient humidities (50, 57 and 65%), different CO2 concentrations (0.04, 1 and 3 vol.%) and complemented by a series of tests at increased gas pressure (2 barg). High-resolution test methods were used to explain the underlying carbonation mechanisms. The results show that pre-conditioning for two weeks—as currently suggested by the European Standard—seems to be too short because the initial inner moisture content severely affects the carbonation rate. Relative humidity during carbonation of 57% led to higher carbonation rates compared to 50% and 65%. In addition, climate data needs to be periodically (preferably permanently) recorded in research experiments and in laboratory testing to ensure fair interpretation of experimental results.