Influence of Environment on Durability of Fly Ash Cement Mortars
In this study, the durability-related properties of mortars prepared using two types of cement with different contents of fly ash were tested. One of the most important ways of ingress of aggressive substances in cementitious materials is through water. Therefore, to characterize their durability, the capillary suction and the resistance against chloride ingress of the fly ash mortars were studied. The mortars were exposed to four different constant temperatures and relative humidities (RHs) for 365 days. The measured properties of both cement types were affected by the hardening environment. For each environment studied, the durability-related parameters of the fly ash cement mortars studied were quite similar at high hardening ages, independent of their fly ash content. In spite of the different resistance classes of cements used, the durability related properties of both cement types were similar at high hardening ages, regardless of the environment.