Dr. Esteban Rougier Publishes His Work on How Gas Damages Concrete
Dr. Esteban Rougier Publishes His Work on How Gas Damages Concrete
Dr. Esteban Rougier, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), together with collaborators from the University of New Mexico and LANL, recently published new research examining how cracking and damage in concrete affect the movement of gases through the material. The study, titled “Correlating damage and cracking with air (gas) permeability in concrete using the Brazilian tension test,” was published in the journal Construction and Building Materials.
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials in the world and plays a critical role in infrastructure, industrial facilities, and containment structures. Understanding how concrete responds to stress and damage is particularly important in environments where hazardous gases may come into contact with concrete surfaces. As cracks develop, the material’s ability to prevent gas movement can be significantly compromised, potentially affecting both performance and safety.
In this study, the researchers investigated the relationship between mechanical stress, material damage, crack propagation, and the evolution of air (gas) permeability in concrete. Using the Brazilian tension test, a common method for evaluating the tensile strength and fracture behavior of materials, the team was able to observe how concrete damage develops and how those changes influence the flow of gases through the material.
The results revealed a strong correlation between concrete damage and gas permeability. As cracking progressed within the concrete specimens, air permeability increased dramatically—by more than six orders of magnitude. The researchers found that changes in air (gas) permeability directly corresponded to the development of damage and fracture within the concrete, providing valuable insight into how the material behaves under stress.
These findings improve our understanding of the connection between concrete cracking and gas transport, which is important for a wide range of engineering and infrastructure applications. The research may help engineers better predict the performance of concrete structures exposed to gases and contribute to the development of improved methods for assessing structural integrity and long-term durability.
The study represents an important step toward understanding the complex interactions between mechanical damage and fluid transport in concrete, helping to inform future designs and safety assessments for critical infrastructure systems.
This research work is possible due to the support received from both CSES and the New Mexico Consortium.
To read the entire article see: Correlating damage and cracking with air (gas) permeability in concrete using the Brazilian tension test.
Dr. Rougier is a New Mexico Consortium affiliate.