Publication
The sodium sulfate crystallization attack in cementitious materials is addressed in this paper. Portland cement, sulfate-resisting cement, and calcined clay limestone cement were compared by the evolution of expansion, sulfate ingress property, and susceptibility to salt attack analysis. A representative sulfate exposure condition was applied to show the similar dam-age observed in the field, Na2SO4 solution of 3 g/L and uniaxial penetration approach were conducted under exposure to constant and cyclic conditions. The minor spalling damage was observed in sulfate-resisting cement paste of w/c of 0.4, large expansion and minor cracking were the main manifestation in Portland cement but only the efflorescence phenomenon was observed. Expansion and spalling were negligible in LC3 cement paste, which is attributed to its initial phase composition, capillary porosity, and drying property.