Quantitative Analysis of Pore Structures and Microcracks in Self-Healing Concrete after Freeze-Thaw Exposure: An X-Ray Computed Tomography-based Approach
{"title":"Quantitative Analysis of Pore Structures and Microcracks in Self-Healing Concrete after Freeze-Thaw Exposure: An X-Ray Computed Tomography-based Approach","authors":"Jialuo He, Yong Deng, Xianming Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2025.106105","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a valuable tool for investigating the microstructure of concrete. This study introduces a method for analyzing the pore structures and microcracks of self-healing concrete after 300 freeze/thaw (F/T) cycles using CT images with a relatively low resolution of 18.08 μm. Urea-formaldehyde microcapsules alone and in combination with polyvinyl alcohol microfibers were able to reduce 39.1% and 65.5% of the microcracks, respectively. Our approach involves calculating the total porosity and identifying constituents within the damaged pore structure based on geometric characteristics, employing the concepts of both circularity and roundness to discriminate intact pores, microcracks, and small/large-size pores with microcracks. The method’s reliability is validated by comparing the total porosity results with the mercury intrusion porosimetry data. Our approach provides an effective tool for quantitative evaluation of the microstructure of self-healing concrete under freeze-thaw conditions, paving the way for more efficient and cost-effective analyses of concrete durability.","PeriodicalId":519419,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Composites","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cement and Concrete Composites","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2025.106105","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a valuable tool for investigating the microstructure of concrete. This study introduces a method for analyzing the pore structures and microcracks of self-healing concrete after 300 freeze/thaw (F/T) cycles using CT images with a relatively low resolution of 18.08 μm. Urea-formaldehyde microcapsules alone and in combination with polyvinyl alcohol microfibers were able to reduce 39.1% and 65.5% of the microcracks, respectively. Our approach involves calculating the total porosity and identifying constituents within the damaged pore structure based on geometric characteristics, employing the concepts of both circularity and roundness to discriminate intact pores, microcracks, and small/large-size pores with microcracks. The method’s reliability is validated by comparing the total porosity results with the mercury intrusion porosimetry data. Our approach provides an effective tool for quantitative evaluation of the microstructure of self-healing concrete under freeze-thaw conditions, paving the way for more efficient and cost-effective analyses of concrete durability.