µ-XRF – CHARACTERISATION OF CHLORIDE INGRESS AND SELF-HEALING IN CRACKED CONCRETE

Abstract

In this paper we illustrate the applicability of µ-XRF for investigations of chloride ingress and self-healing in cracked concrete. A cracked and an uncracked concrete core exposed to seawater for more than 30 years were investigated with µ-XRF. The cracked sample had higher chloride ingress in the outer part of the concrete core (first 20 mm). Parts of the investigated crack were self-healed with calcium and magnesium rich phases. It was concluded that µ-XRF is a powerful tool for fast and detailed characterization of elemental distribution; e.g. chloride ingress, as it is able to detect spatial irregularities caused by for example cracks.