Application of digital image analysis as a method of assessing the of carbonation process of cement binders – impact of distortion on the results of real and model samples

Nowadays, because of the use of active additives in cement, studies on carbonation progress are crucial to ensure the safety of structures. Carbonation depth measurement involves the use of a calliper to determine the front of the carbonation. The values determined in this way are averaged, and the corrosion progress is estimated based on these values. Due to the fact that the standard approach assumes the use of a discrete method for determining the carbonation depth, the measurement may be subject to error, and its execution, especially for many samples, is time-consuming. An alternative method for determining the depth of carbonation may be continuous measurement, which determines the actual depth of carbonation since the entire sample area is analysed. Therefore, digital image analysis is the more precise and convenient approach. Unfortunately, it is not an approach, covered by the standards, but may help to assess the correctness of the determination, the carbonation depth. The problem with the use of digital analysis in proposed method may be the quality of the image obtained. The main problem may be the sphericity of the image, related to the nature of the camera, but also the lack of perpendicularity of the optical system of the camera to the sample when fixing its image, related to incorrect positioning by the camera operator. The results show that the digital image analysis is more accurate than the traditional approach, and that the distortion caused by the tilt of the image does not affect the obtained values to a greater degree than the measurement accuracy of the traditional approach.