Behaviors of long-term exposure concrete to sulfate solution

As a part of the collaborative studies between China, Australia and the UK, examing sulfate attack on concrete, this paper reports the experimental results obtained from the Chinese laboratory. Specimens were immersed in sodium and magnesium sulfate solutions with concentrations of 500mg/L, 5000mg/L and 50000mg/L. Investigations were conducted over approximately a one year period. Susceptibility to sulfate attack was assessed in terms of changes in the mass and length of specimens, the compressive strength of the concrete, as well as the diffusion depth of sulfate-ions into the concrete at fixed intervals. Several differences were observed between these results and those reported in studies from the UK laboratory.