jailcd2019-049: Neutron Transmission Imaging of Water Penetration of Fly Ash Concrete Exposed in Marine and Inland Environments

Abstract

Fly ash emitted by a thermal powerplant is mass-produced as a by-product for electricity in Japan. From an  environmental point of view, the constructive use of by-products like fly ashis required. The use of fly ash is  known to reduce the water demand of concrete and, consequently, adds high permeability resistance to concrete. This study focuses on water penetration in concrete to investigate the effect of fly ash on the durability of concrete.  The water  penetration phenomenon was  detected by  neutron transmission  imaging  at  RIKEN  Accelerator-driven compact Neutron Source (RANS). The lower part of the concrete was under water and a  water absorption test was carried out. The time-dependent water penetration into concrete was observed and  the amount of increased water was quantitatively evaluated by neutron imaging. As a result, the fly ash blended  concrete had higher resistance to water penetration than concrete without fly ash.