EVALUATION OF POROSITY IN MORTAR BY X-RAY MICROTOMOGRAPHY (MICRO-CT) AS AN ADDITIONAL TOOL FOR MERCURY INTRUSION POROSIMETRY

Resumen

The evaluation of internal structures of cementitious materials represents a challenge for the engineering. The X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) is a technique that provides details of the object with a high resolving power (on the order of microns), allowing the visualization of the sample internal structure. This paper studies the evaluation of porosity of mortar by micro-CT and compares it with results obtained by mercury intrusion porosimetry, thus verifying the potential of each test in the identification of the size of pores. We evaluated the porosity of mortar with mixing proportions of 1:0:3, 1:1:6 and 1:2:9 (cement: lime: sand) by volume. The results allowed the characterization of the samples internal structures and the evaluation of mortars porosity. It was established that the micro-CT can be used as a complementary technique, because it identifies pores smaller than the ones identified by mercury intrusion porosimetry.