Concrete Petrography and a New Evo HD15

What exactly can concrete petrography do? Petrographers evaluate concrete, in bulk and in thin-section, using reflected light, transmitted light microscopy and occasionally x-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy to collect an incredibly large amount of data that includes the following:

classification of coarse and fine aggregate;
identification of portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials (including fly ash, slag, and silica fume);
mix design verification including estimates of the water-cement ratio;
evaluation of consolidation and mixing;
investigate for causes of low strength;
identify causes of surface scaling/spalling (including improper finishing);
determine the depth of carbonation and depth of hydrophobic materials;
classification of secondary deposits/mineralisations;
evaluate cracking and microcracking including thermal shrinkage cracking, early-age shrinkage cracking, and plastic shrinkage cracking;
evaluate concrete for thermal damage from a fire event; and
identification of durability mechanisms including alkali-silica reaction (ASR), delayed ettringite formation (DEF), chemical attack, rebar corrosion, freeze-thaw damage, and more.

Microanalysis Australia offers a range of petrographic services that can be utilized on concrete (cores or fragments) of any age and is not specific to either new or old construction. They are also available for the evaluation other building materials such as mortar/render, stucco, aggregate, flooring, and riprap.

For more information on how we can assist you with your concrete petrography please contact our Specialist Geologist/Petrographer Dan Cukierski or Rick Hughes on +61 8 9472 4880.

Microanalysis is excited to introduce you to Dan Cukierski, our Specialist Geologist/Petrographer.
Dan studied Bachelor of Science at the University of Illinois and a Master of Science in Geoscience from University of Iowa.

With several years experience working in the USA for CTL Group as a Petrographer and Supervisor, he brings with him exceptional knowledge and expertise in concrete petrography, thin sectioning and core analysis.

Ever wondered how ice crystals grow at the microscopic level? Ever want to see an ant roll its eyes?

Our new electron microscope is one of the latest in the range of ZEISS environmental SEM instruments, capable of high resolution imaging at low vacuum (2000 Pa, equivalent to air pressure at about 20 km altitude) with water injection into the analytical chamber.

Calibrations are complete and the LaB6 high intensity electron source is giving better than 3 nm resolution at 20 kV. See our NBS traceable graticule above and below.

Our new SEM is fitted with the same high quality, reproducible and trusted EDS detectors from Oxford Instruments as our first SEM, and at 80 mm2 area, the detector can be optimised at 300Kcps, building x-ray maps in minutes instead of hours. See oxygen x-ray map of a precipitate, below, acquired in under 5 minutes.

This month’s image is of a thin metal oxide.

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Image taken by Rick Hughes

Microanalysis Expands its Concrete Petrography

Welcome Dan Cukierski