ABSTRACT
Depending on the mode of exposure, concrete structures might experience various forms of sulfate attack during their service life. In the case of a concrete element which is partially subjected to a sulfate-contaminated solution, the immersed sections receive intense alterations in their mineralogical composition that affect their mechanical properties, known as “Chemical sulfate attack”. The upper sections of the element which experience no direct exposure to the solution are prone to face the crystallization and dissolution of various kinds of sulfated salts, known as “Physical sulfate attack”. The middle parts of the element that might receive a cyclic exposure to the sulfated solution via waves are vulnerable to the combination of the both noted phenomena, known as the “Wetting-drying sulfate attack”. A particular exposure condition has been designed in this paper to distinguish the three mentioned modes of sulfate attack in terms of the concrete’s mechanical response.
