TY - JOUR A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph T1 - Determination of the diffusion coefficient and the hydraulic conductivity of porous media based on embedded humidity sensors JF - Construction and Building Materials N2 - Reinforced concrete and several other building materials deteriorate during their service life. Almost all deterioration processes are related to moisture. For understanding those processes, knowing the exact amount of the moisture content and the moisture transport characteristics is crucial. In fact, the moisture transport in porous materials is a two-phase flow; consisting of the vapour and the liquid phase. The two corresponding parameters are the diffusion coefficient and the hydraulic conductivity. By means of an inverse approach, these two coefficients are experimentally determined. The moisture transport of eight different screed types during hydration and evaporation is monitored based on embedded humidity sensors. The measured humidity profiles are converted into a pore saturation by adapting the approach of Hillerborg to the measured pore volume distribution. The summation of all pore saturations yields the total moisture content including the ink-bottle effect during desorption. The pore volume distribution was determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry as well as by gas adsorption. The measurement of the humidity and the pore saturation in the entire sample enables to invert the mass balance in order to extract the diffusion coefficient and the hydraulic conductivity. The determined diffusion coefficients of the eight investigated screeds are between m2s-1 and m2s-1. KW - Material moisture KW - Moisture transport KW - Embedded sensors KW - Diffusion coefficient KW - Partially saturated pores PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120092 VL - 263 SP - 120092 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-51029 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartelmeß, Jürgen A1 - Zimmek, David A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias A1 - Strangfeld, Christoph A1 - Schäferling, M. T1 - Fibre optic ratiometric fluorescence pH sensor for monitoring corrosion in concrete JF - Analyst N2 - In this communication a novel concept for pH sensing is introduced which is specifically adapted to monitor carbonation induced corrosion in concrete structures. The method is based on a ratiometric measurement principle, exploiting the pH sensitive colour switching of thymol blue in the basic pH regime and the emissive properties of two different (Zn)CdSe/ZnS core shell quantum dots. The transition point of thymol blue in a Hydrogel D4 matrix was determined to be at around pH 11.6, which fits ideally to the intended application. Next to the fundamental spectroscopic characterization of the ratiometric response, a new design for a sensor head, suitable for the incorporation into concrete matrices is presented. Toward this, a manufacturing process was developed which includes the preparation of a double layer of polymers containing either thymol blue or a quantum dot mixture inside a porous ceramic tube. Results of a proof-of-priciple performance test of the sensor head in solutions of different pH and in cement specimens are presented, with encouraging results paving the way for future field tests in concrete. KW - Fiber optic sensing KW - PH monitoring in concrete KW - Embedded sensors KW - Ratiometric fluorescence PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9an02348h VL - 145 IS - 6 SP - 2111 EP - 2117 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-50381 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -