Mineralogical Characterization of Dolomitic Aggregate Concrete: The Camarasa Dam (Catalonia, Spain)

The Camarasa Dam was built in 1920 using dolomitic aggregate and Portland cement with two di erent compositions: type A (dolomite and Portland cement) and type B (dolomite and sand-cement). The sand cement was a finely powdered mixture of dolomite particles and clinker of Portland cement. The minera...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Garcia, Encarnación, Alfonso Abella, María Pura, Tauler i Ferré, Esperança
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2020
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/174178
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/174178
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Dolomia
Ciment pòrtland
Dolomite
Portland cement
Description
Summary:The Camarasa Dam was built in 1920 using dolomitic aggregate and Portland cement with two di erent compositions: type A (dolomite and Portland cement) and type B (dolomite and sand-cement). The sand cement was a finely powdered mixture of dolomite particles and clinker of Portland cement. The mineralogy of concrete was studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray powder di raction. Reaction of dedolomitization occurred in the two types of concrete of the Camarasa Dam, as demonstrated by the occurrence of calcite, brucite, and/or absence of portlandite. In the type A concrete, calcite, brucite, and a serpentine-group mineral precipitated as a rim around the dolomite grains and in the paste. The rims, a product of the dedolomitization reaction, protected the surface of dolomite from the dissolution process. In type B concrete, in addition to dolomite and calcite, quartz and K-feldspar were present. Brucite occurred in lower amounts than in the type A concrete as fibrous crystals randomly distributed in the sand-cement paste. Although brucite content was higher in the type A concrete, type B showed more signs of loss of durability. This can be attributed to the further development of the alkali-silica reaction in this concrete type.