Testing of hardened cement paste resistance to aggressive media by radiometric emanation method

A radon-labelled sample of hardened cement paste is immersed in an aggressive medium solution in a measuring cell. The carrier gas bubbles through the solution, entraps released radon atoms and carries them into a measuring chamber. The corrosion test is based on comparing changes in the rate of radon release from the sample and from the solution. The measurements showed that the radiometric emanation method sensitively indicated the rate of interaction of the hardened cement paste with the aggressive medium. The procedure proposed has the advantage that the rate of interaction can be assessed within a very short time. (J.B.)