Measuring the Kinetics of Iron-Sulfide Mineral Oxidation through Dissolution Reactant Systems
Open Access
Author:
Hunt, Angelica Sarah
Area of Honors:
Civil Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Aleksandra Z Radlinska, Thesis Supervisor S. Ilgin Guler, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
aggregates concrete iron-sulfide minerals dissolution systems
Abstract:
The issue of iron-sulfide degradation in concrete aggregates has proven to be a major problem in concrete infrastructure, causing insufficient concrete durability and extensive structural damages which include expansion, cracking, and popouts. Over the years, there have been various reports of iron-sulfide minerals like pyrite and pyrrhotite causing oxidation reactions and leading to extensive residential concrete foundation damage in Connecticut and Quebec, Canada. In many of these cases, damages have been so serious to the structural integrity of the structures that immediate remediation has been required to repair the deterioration. The issue is not well documented despite reports of damage in the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe. Currently, there are limited existing standardized testing methods or mitigation strategies for the presence of iron-sulfide minerals in concrete aggregates because the mechanisms by which degradation occurs are not fully understood. The objective of this research is to experimentally measure the kinetics of iron-sulfide oxidation reactions in dissolution systems with oxidizing agents and analyze existing dissolution rate data available to assist in determining the factors that influence the deterioration of aggregates used in concrete infrastructure.
