Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a combination of laser ablation and optical emission spectroscopy. Due to the possibility of direct measurements on the sample surface with a minimum of sample preparation investigations of building materials can be conducted quite fast. In combination with a scanning technique (translation stage or scanning mirrors head) 2D element distributions of harmful species like chlorides and alkalis are evaluated with a sub-mm resolution. By scanning a surface of typically 100 mm x 100 mm the heterogeneity of the material may be considered. LIBS is capable to identify hot spots in element concentration with a resolution of 0.1 mm or even smaller. A LIBS-system for the on-site application on building materials is, in cooperation with system developers and companies which will use this technique for investigation on real structures, under test at BAM. We present an example. Further work will focus on providing guidelines to establish LIBS as a standard procedure for chemical investigations of building materials.
A big part of the infrastructure is made of concrete, which is a multiphase system made of cement, aggregates, water and pores. Concrete is often used in combination with steel as reinforced concrete. Environmental influences, especially the ingress of harmful ions in combination with the ingress of water, trigger different damage processes which reduce the designed lifetime of a structure. The ingress of chlorides from de-icing salt or sea water leads to corrosion of the reinforcement. In addition, the carbonation of the concrete may trigger the corrosion of the reinforcement. The ingress of alkalis from deicing salts may cause the expansion of the amorphous silica aggregates (alkali-silica reaction) through
formation of a swelling gel of calcium silicate hydrate if water is present. The ingress of sulphates may cause spalling of the concrete surface due to ettringite formation.
For the standard procedure in civil engineering cores are taken, cut in slices, grinded and the obtained homogenized powder is solved in acid and investigated by standard procedures.
BAM has developed the LIBS technique for the 2D evaluation of the chemical composition of concrete. The technique is established for automated laboratory use with high numbers of samples to investigate transport processes of harmful species (Cl-, CO2 , SO4 2-and alkalis) in concrete. Information about ingress depth and the quantitative values are important to estimate the remaining lifetime of the infrastructure. LIBS is a surface technique. To get information about the ingress depth, a drill core has to be taken and cut in the middle. The measurements are carried out at the cross section. The main advantages of LIBS are the direct measurement on the surface of the concrete, fast analysis (sample rate 100 Hz) with a spatial resolution of up to 100 µm, the consideration of the heterogeneity of the concrete and the possibility of automated measurements which save a lot of manpower and time. As an example the investigation of ingress profiles for standard diffusion and migration tests in civil engineering takes hours in comparison to just a few minutes using LIBS. At the same time a 2D-evaluation provides information about hot spots of elemental concentration which may not be found by standard methods.
The state of the art of LIBS technique for applications in civil engineering will be presented, including typical results of 2D investigation of concrete in laboratory. The performance is also demonstrated by examples for onsite applications using a mobile LIBS system. The road map to standardization is presented as well.
This paper will address the relevance of chloride measurements in practice for durability condition assessment and a description of the working principle of LIBS will be given. Examples of chloride profiles obtained by the common wet chemical analysis will be shown and compared with results from LIBS measurements as to demonstrate the accuracy of the LIBS-technique. The latter will be supported by clear graphs. In addition examples on the extra information resulting from measurements performed with LIBS for improvement of condition assessment and prediction will be shown.
The presented work discusses the accuracy of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in determining the total chloride content in cement pastes. LIBS as an emission spectroscopy method is used to detect simultaneously several elements present in cement-based materials. By scanning surfaces the variability in the spatial distribution of elements can be visualised. However, for a quantification of the results, studies are necessary to characterise possible influences due to the wide variation of the chemical compositions in which cement can occur. It is shown how the calibration can be done, how the calibration samples were produced, and which statistical parameters are necessary to describe the precision of the regression. The performance of LIBS is estimated by detecting chloride in validation samples. Therefore, 55 samples and 7 ets with changing mix ompositions were produced. The presented study deals with possible influences of different mix compositions, ncluding different cations of chloride, varying w/c-ratios and the artial replacement of Portland cement with last furnace slag (50% BFS) and limestone (30% LS). Comparing the LIBS results with otentiometric titration, n accuracy of±0.05 wt%/total has been determined.
Cracks are always present in reinforced concrete structures. In the presented research, influence of mechanical cracks on chloride ingress is studied. A compact reinforced concrete specimen was designed, mimicking the cracking behaviour of beam elements. Cracks of different widths were induced by means of mechanical loading. These cracked specimens were then subjected to weekly cycles of wetting and drying with NaCl solution. After the exposure, the specimens were cut, and chloride distributions were determined using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), an innovative technique which enables simultaneous determination of different elements with high spatial resolution and minimal specimen preparation. By combining element distributions of different elements, it is possible to discriminate between coarse aggregate particles, and the mortar matrix. It was found that the wider the crack is, the higher the ingress of chloride ions. This was, however, different for two tested concrete mixes. Due to highly inhomogeneous chloride distribution around the cracks, use of fine-scale experimental techniques for chloride mapping is advised, based on the presented study.
LIBS is on the step from a laboratory application to on-site analysis. A validated mobile LIBS-system for on-site application on building materials is under development at BAM in cooperation with industrial partners (system developers and companies), who will use this technique for investigation on building structures like bridges and parking decks. The system is designed to measure the content of harmful species like chlorine, sulfur or alkalis, to give the engineer a tool for the estimation of the condition of concrete structures and for quality assurance during concrete repair work on-site. In these work results of on-site measurements on a chloride contaminated bridge are shown. Further work will focus on providing guidelines to establish LIBS as a standard procedure for chemical investigations of building materials.
Die Laser induzierte Breakdown Spektroskopie (LIBS) bietet für die Analyse heterogener, mineralischer Baustoffe, wie z. B. Beton, deutliche Vorteile gegenüber konventionellen Methoden. Sie ermöglicht neben der Quantifizierung von Elementgehalten und -verteilungen im Baustoff auch die Differenzierung von Elementkonzentrationen innerhalb einzelner Phasen im Baustoff. So können beispielsweise die für die Alkali-Kieselsäure-Reaktion (AKR) interessanten Natriumkonzentrationen bestimmt und hinsichtlich ihrer Verteilung aufgelöst werden. Es lassen sich Natriumgehalte, welche sich in der Gesteinskörung befinden, separat von denen der Betonmatrix bestimmen. Der vorliegende Artikel befasst sich mit den Vor- und Nachteilen von LIBS als alternative Methode für die chemische Analyse von Baustoffen. Anhand von Beispielen aus der Praxis wird der derzeitige Stand der Technik dargestellt und ein Vergleich mit etablierten Messmethoden vorgenommen. Compared to conventional methods the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) provides significant advantages for analysis of heterogeneous, mineral building materials as e.g. concrete. Besides providing the possibility to quantify element concentrations and distributions in building materials, this technique enables also to differentiate concentrations within different phases of the material. It is possible to determine sodium concentrations and distribution directly, which e.g. is important when regarding Alkali-Silica-Reaction (ASR). Sodium contents provided by the aggregates can be distinguished from those provided by the concrete matrix. The present article is concerned with the advantages and disadvantages of LIBS as alternative method for chemical analysis of building materials. On the basis of samples from practice the current state of the art is shown and different measurement techniques will be compared.