Sulfate resistance of portland-limestone cement concrete systems: Linking laboratory and field performances

The work presented in this paper comprises an extensive testing program on the resistance of portland-limestone cement (PLC) concrete systems to external sulfate attack. Several mixture parameters, namely interground limestone content, C(3)A content, and SCM type and replacement level, were evaluated in a wide range of experimental conditions designed to link, replicate, and predict laboratory and field performances. The presented results have highlighted the role that the experimental parameters play in the degradation process, which were shown to be particularly pronounced in systems of low sulfate resistance with high limestone contents, owing to their high propensity for thaumasite formation. The findings presented will be crucial to evaluate/develop an accelerated testing procedure that provides a better correlation with actual field performance of concrete structures. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.