Separation Method of Cement Paste Data from EPMA Data

Abstract

Recently, the deterioration mechanisms of concrete surface of irrigation canals in long-term service have been investigated using the area analysis of electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA). The obtained EPMA data, however, have not shown quantitative information such as a deterioration depth of cement paste portion because of containing both cement paste and aggregate data. Therefore, we have proposed a new method of separating cement paste data using the concentration of silicon and aluminum from EPMA data. As a result, we could separate cement paste data from EPMA data effectively and obtained the quantitative concentration depth profiles of calcium and sulfur that are needed to determine deterioration state.