Advances in Computed Tomography for Geomaterials: GeoX 2010

Application of Microfocus X-ray CT to Investigate the Frost-induced Damage Process in Cement-based Materials

M. A. B. Promentilla¹ — T. Sugiyama¹

¹ Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido UniversityKita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-kuSapporo 060-8628, [e-mail]

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a methodology to investigate the damage process in cement-based materials that have been subjected to freezing and thawing action. The microfocus x-ray computed tomography (CT), a non-destructive and non-invasive imaging technique, allows us to examine the cracks in the damaged mortar at a resolution of the order of 10 micrometers. Image processing and analysis of the microtomographic images are also applied to gain three-dimensional (3D) information of the internal microstructure. This information can be used to quantify the damage parameters on the basis of the 3D characterization of cracks in the damaged mortar. Representative samples of the analyzed volumetric data are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

 

KEYWORDS: freezing-thawing action, microfocus x-ray CT, image analysis, crack, mortar

1. Introduction

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a non-destructive technique to examine the internal structure of objects by creating three-dimensional (3D) images that map the variation of the x-ray attenuation coefficient. Although this technique is widely used as a medical diagnostic tool, it has also been shown to be very useful in material ...