Analysis of protective properties of soil-cements towards reinforcing steel

The paper presents the results of tests concerning the chemical composition and pH of the pore solution of soil-cements, obtained by leaching and pressure extraction. The study concerned two soil-cements of different composition: types of loose and cohesive native soil, and the w/c ratio of the cement paste introduced into the soil: 0.8 and 2.0 respectively. The test results concerning pore solution composition and pH values, obtained using ion chromatography, were used to assess the protective properties of soil-cements towards reinforcing steel. The results of the tests conducted indicate the full ability of investigated soil-cements to protect steel against corrosion as well as the potentially high durability of the soil-cements themselves. Moreover, an attempt was made to determine the composition of the pore liquid phase by two methods, and the scale of differences in the chemical compositions obtained using these methods, is discussed in the paper.