A quantitative measurement of concrete air content using image analyses

A proposed topology method is introduced to measure the air content of fresh cement paste and hardened concrete. The method takes advantage of chromatographic analysis in void areas that are highlighted using different color schemes and later calculated using built-in computer software. The air content measured by the topology method is compared with results obtained from the conventional ASTM methods. It is concluded that the proposed method is reliable, and costs less and is easier to operate compared with the ASTM methods. In addition, 3 dimensional pore models can be created using image post-processing techniques. The proposed method helps researchers in understanding the formation and existence of concrete pores. This paper reports a detailed test program demonstrating the standard operating procedure used for the proposed method and presents a comparison of results between the proposed method and conventional ASTM Specifications. It is also concluded that the air content increases with increasing size of pores and increasing percentage of coarse aggregates.