Case study of the gradient features of in situ concrete

•We examined the gradient features of a 15-year old and a 5-year old road concrete.•A coarsening gradient of pore structure that results in an increasing liquid transport property is reported.•A three-layer morphology gradient of the in situ concrete is reported.•An inward moving hard layer presents in the outer portion of the concrete.

The recognition of gradient features of the properties of in situ concrete is important for the interpretation/prediction of service life. In this work, the gradient features: water absorption, porosity, mineralogy, morphology and micromechanical properties were studied on two in situ road concretes (15 and 5 years old, respectively) by weighing, MIP, XRD, IR, SEM/EDS and micro-indentation techniques. Results showed that a coarsening trend of the pores of the concrete leads to a gradual increase of liquid transport property from inside to outside. Although the carbonation of the exposed surface results in a compact microstructure of the paste, its combined action with calcium-leaching leads to a comparable porosity of different concrete layers. Moreover, the combining factors result in three morphological features, i.e. a porous and granular exposed-layer, a fibrous and porous subexposed-layer and a compact inner-layer. Micro-indentation test results showed that a hard layer that moves inward with aging exists due to the alterations of the mineralogy, the pore and the gel structure.