1 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Preferred orientation of ettringite in concrete fractures
Sulfate attack and the accompanying crystallization of fibrous ettringite [Ca{sub 6}Al{sub 2}(OH){sub 12}(SO{sub 4}){sub 3} {center_dot} 26H{sub 2}O] cause cracking and loss of strength in concrete structures. Hard synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction is used to quantify the orientation distribution of ettringite crystals. Diffraction images are analyzed using the Rietveld method to obtain information on textures. The analysis reveals that the c axes of the trigonal crystallites are preferentially oriented perpendicular to the fracture surfaces. By averaging single-crystal elastic properties over the orientation distribution, it is possible to estimate the elastic anisotropy of ettringite aggregates