Report of RILEM TC 281-CCC: A critical review of the standardised testing methods to determine carbonation resistance of concrete
Open accessAbstract
The chemical reaction between CO 2 and a blended Portland cement concrete, referred to as carbonation, can lead to reduced performance, particularly when concrete is exposed to elevated levels of CO 2 (i.e., accelerated carbonation conditions). When slight changes in concrete mix designs or testing conditions are adopted, conflicting carbonation results are often reported. The RILEM TC 281-CCC ‘ Carbonation of Concrete with Supplementary Cementitious Materials ’ has conducted a critical analysis of the standardised testing methodologies that are currently applied to determine carbonation resistance of concrete in different regions. There are at least 17 different standards or recommendations being actively used for this purpose, with significant differences in sample curing, pre-conditioning, carbonation exposure conditions, and methods used for determination of carbonation depth after exposure. These differences strongly influence the carbonation depths recorded and the carbonation coefficient values calculated. Considering the importance of accurately determining carbonation potential of concrete, not just for predicting their durability performance, but also for determining the amount of CO 2 that concrete can re-absorb during or after its service life, it is imperative to recognise the applicability and limitations of the results obtained from different tests. This will enable researchers and practitioners to adopt the most appropriate testing methodologies to evaluate carbonation resistance, depending on the purpose of the conclusions derived from such testing (e. g. materials selection, service life prediction, CO 2 capture potential).
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Carbonation behavior of blended binders must be interpreted together with pore transport properties and chemical buffering capacity.
“Carbonation behavior of blended binders must be interpreted together with pore transport properties and chemical buffering capacity [6, 11, 18, 19].”
From Mechanical Properties and Chloride Penetration Resistance of Low-Carbon Concrete with Blended Binder Systems (2026) · cites this paper as [19]
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Kim, N., & Ryu, S. (2026) · American Journal of Civil Engineering · doi:10.11648/j.ajce.20261403.16
- Authors
- Bernal, S. A., Dhandapani, Y., Elakneswaran, Y., Gluth, G. J. G., Gruyaert, E., Juenger, M. C. G., Lothenbach, B., Olonade, K. A., Sakoparnig, M., Shi, Z., Thiel, C., Van den Heede, P., Vanoutrive, H., von Greve-Dierfeld, S., De Belie, N., & Provis, J. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- Federal Institute For Materials Research and Testing (DE)
- KU Leuven (BE)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Empa (CH)
- University of Lagos (NG)
- Graz University of Technology (AT)
- Hunan University (CN)
- OTH Regensburg (DE)
- Paul Scherrer Institute (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Bernal, Susan A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Materials and Structures
- Published
- 2024-09-03
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 8
- ISSN
- 0025-5432 (ISSN-L)
- 1359-5997
- 1871-6873
- OpenAlex
- W4402187909
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 75
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 5.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Materials and Structures (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DORA Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DORA PSI (Paul Scherrer Institute) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Lirias (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- ETH Zürich Research Collection
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R001642/1, EP/T008407/1)
- National Science Foundation (1903457)
- FWO (G062720N)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Concrete Corrosion and Durability
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Concrete and Cement Materials Research
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Concrete Properties and Behavior
- Keywords
- concrete carbonation, carbonation resistance, supplementary cementitious materials, carbonation depth, carbonation coefficient, concrete durability, service life prediction, test method comparison
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