Deterioration of mortars exposed to sulfate attack under electrical field

• The damage of mortars exposed to sulfate attack under electrical field was studied.
• The combined condition accelerated the damage process of mortars.
• The dissolution of portlandite and decomposition of C–S–H gel occurred.
• Electrical field accelerated the sulfate attack induced deterioration of mortars.

The damage process of plain and blended cement mortars subjected to sulfate attack under electrical field was investigated in this paper. The deterioration of mortars was investigated by measuring the loss of compressive strength. To identify the changes of microstructure and mineral phases after the test, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were performed on the selected samples. The results indicated that compared with sulfate attack alone, the combination of sulfate attack and electrical field accelerated the damage process of mortars, which can be explained through two different mechanisms. On the one hand, Ca2+ ions directionally moved and then leached out from mortars under the electrical field, leading to the dissolution of portlandite as well as the decomposition of C–S–H gel at the later stage. On the other hand, the electrical field accelerated the migration of sulfate ions and then they reacted with hydration products to form massive ettringite and gypsum, which resulted in the microcracks and strength loss of mortars. Moreover, the deterioration of the mortar blended with fly ash was still visible in spite of its better chemical resistance. The strength loss of limestone powder incorporated mortar increased in comparison with Portland cement mortar as a result of an increase in porosity.