Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, Vol. 31.

October1998, pp 568-574

A water sorptivity test for mortar and concrete

B. B. Sabir, S. Wild and M. O'Farrell
School of the Built Environment, University of Glamorg,an, Pontypridd, Mid. Glamorgan, UK, CF37 1DL

Paper received:July 8, 1997; Paper accepted:November 21, I997

RI~SU

A B S T R A C T

MI ~

This paper describes a test rig to measure the uni-directional water absorption of mortar and concrete. The test
data acquisition is controlled by purpose written software
installed on a PC and the results are utilised directly to
obtain the sorptivity measured in g/mm2/minl/2 . As an
example the apparatus was used to obtain the sorptivity of
mortar in which the ordinary Portland cement was partially replaced by ground waste brick obtained from different sources. The results presented demonstrate the validity
of the test, and the apparatus and the methodology are
shown to be of sufficient sensitivity in detecting the differences between the sorptivities of the various mortars
tested. The variation in the sorptivity with curing time and
mixture composition was determined. The paper also gives
the results of total water absorption tests conducted on the
sorptivity test specimens, after being reconditioned, and
the results of compressive strength tests for all the mortars
investigated.

Cet article d&rit uu appareil d'essai pour mesurer l'absorption unidiwctionnelle de l' eau par le mortier et le bdton. Les donn&s r&ultant des essais sont contr31&s au moyen d'un logiciel
sp&ialement confu installd sur PC, et ces r&ultats sont directement utilis& pour obtenir la sorptivitd mesur& en
g/mm2/minJ/2. A titre d'exemple, on a utilisd l'appareil pour
ddterminer la sorptivitd d'un mortier dans lequel le ciment
Portland ordinaire avait dtd partialement remplacd par les briques
de r&up&ation partialement concass&s. Les r&ultats pre'sent& ici
ddmoutwnt la validitd de l'essai, et le fait que l'appareil et la
mdthodologie ont une sensibilitd suffisante pour ddtecter les diffdfences entre les sorptivit& des diff&ents mortiers dtudi&. Les
variations de la sorptivitd en fonction du temps de cuw et de la
composition du mglange ont dtd ddtermin&s. L'article prdsente
@lement les r&ultats d'essais d'absorption totale de l'eau mene's
sur les @ouvettes utih's&s pour les essais de sorptivitd, apt& leur
reconditiormement, ainsi que les r&ultats d'essais de r&istance a
la compression pour tousles mortiers dtudie's.

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N

also affect the transport properties but these, in general,

contain pores which are discontinuous and do not allow
water movement by capillarity, and hence do not contribute to sorptivity. However, despite the higher porosity
at the interracial zone, it is generally found that water
movement in concrete is predominantly controlled by the
bulk of the hardened OPC paste, which is the only continuous phase in concrete [11. Sorptivity is also related to
absorption, with the latter being sometimes used as an
indicator of the volume of the capillary pore space or open
porosity, though open porosity is more effectively measured by mercury intrusion.
Some of the earlier work on the measurement of sorptivity of mortar and concrete was carried out by Ho and
Lewis [2-4] and Hall [5-6]. A more recent review by Hall
[7] gives the theoretical backgrourid and practical aspects of
assessing the sorptivity of mortars and concrete in the laboratory. These works and others [8] have demonstrated that
useful information for mortar and concrete can be
obtained using simple testing arrangements. Furthermore,
it is found that the tests yield reproducible results which

The durability of concrete largely depends on the ease

with which fluids enter and move through the matrix. For
example, deterioration due to chloride ions from de-icing
salts or seawater is caused by the transport of a chloride
solution into the material. Although, in general, permeability is taken as an indicator of a concrete's ability to
transport water (or oxygen and carbon dioxide), more precisely there are two mechanisms controlling the uptake and
transport of water. Permeability, which is a measure of the
flow of water under pressure in a saturated porous
medium, and sorptivity, which characterises the material's
ability to absorb and transmit water through it by capillary
suction. Whilst permeability is an important parameter for
water retaining structures, a more important parameter
(which is directly related to durability) for above ground
structures is sorptivity. The principal feature of the matrix
structure of concrete that relates to the transport of water is
the pore system of the cement paste, particularly in the
vicinity of the aggregate-paste interface. Aggregates can
1359-5997/98 9 RILEM

568

Sabir,Wild,O'Farrell
ised drying procedure for all specimens. Furthermore, as
water absorption and capillary suction depend on porosity,
any non-uniformities in the latter could lead to different
sorptivities in samples obtained from what is supposed to
be the same material. It is, therefore, essential that materials
under test be consistent and homogeneous. In practice the
point of origin, and frequently the very early readings, are
omitted when determining the slope of the graph. This is
because there is an increase in the mass of the specimen
caused by the filling of the open surface pores on the
inflow face and the sides of the specimen when it is submerged. In order to reduce these effects to a minimum, it
is essential that the specimen be submerged in water to no
more than 2-5 m m [1l].

describe the material's behaviour, with regard to variations

in composition and curing conditions, in a rational and
meaningful way.
The work described in this paper originates from a
major project funded by the European Commission under
the Copernicus programme. The research programme,
which is now in its final stage, examined the potential of
recycling waste brick as a partial pozzolan replacement of
OPC in concrete and mortar [9, 10]. The paper introduces
an automated testing system for the measurement of sorptivity in mortar and concrete. The test is validated by carrying out sorptivity measurements on mortar samples in
which the OPC is partially replaced by ground brick
obtained from Britain, Denmark, Lithuania and Poland.
The sensitivity of the testing system was verified by detecting the difference in behaviours of mortars with different
compositions and curing times.

3. TEST APPARATUS

2. CAPILLARY SUCTION AND SORPTIVITY

It is frequently found that ira mortar or concrete surface is exposed to wetting by water then the cumulative
water absorption i is proportional, during the initial
absorption period, to the square root of elapsed wetting
time t:

i : S~/7
S is the sorptivity measured in g per m m 2 (of wetted
area) per mini/2. It is easily determined from the slope of
the linear part of the i versus ~t curve. Some materials
with extremely coarse pore structure experience little capillary suction and may show significant deviation from linearity after prolonged wetting. Capillary suction can only
be measured in partially dry mortar or concrete. Sorption
does not take place in saturated materials, and in totally dry
materials substantial absorption of water by the gel will distort the results. The sorptivity will depend on the initial
water content and its uniformity throughout the specimen
under test. It is important, therefore, to keep this in mind
both when relating laboratory measurements to field
behaviour and also in ensuring a consistent and standard-

Hall [7] described three possible test configurations to

measure the rate of uni-directional water absorption in a
porous medium: horizontal in-flow in which there are no
gravitational effects but absorption is affected by hydrostatic forces; infiltration where absorption is partly due to
capillary suction and partly to gravitational forces; and the
capillary rise case where the effects of capillarity and gravity
forces are opposed. For most building materials, the forces
due to capillary action are dominant in all these configurations, and due to simplicity and ease of operation, the capillary rise method is chosen in the present study. The apparatus, which is shown in Fig. 1, consists of a suspension
frame constructed of rigid copper wire, which is attached
to the sensor of an electronic balance. The other end of the
frame is rigidly attached to a light aluminium tray containing a central hole, 45 m m in diameter. The specimen is
placed centrally on the aluminium tray with the hole facilitating exposure to water of the test surface. The balance
(Sartorius LC 3201D) is placed on a rigid table and is controlled by purpose written software, which is installed on a
PC. The balance has a sensitivity of 0.001 g and a response
time of less than ls. The readings are shown on a digital
display. The test specimen on its suspension mechanism is
positioned centrally over a reservoir containing water. The
weight gain by the test specimen is automatically recorded
at specified intervals. These readings are recorded in the
computer system and can be retrieved, after the test is
completed, in both numerical and graphical forms.

4. SPECIMEN PREPARATION AND TESTING

PROCEDURE
The specimen used in the present study consisted of 52
mm diameter and 15 m m thick discs cut (wet) from the
central portion of cylindrical cores obtained from 100 mm
mortar cubes. Four specimens were retrieved from each
core and the remaining outer portions were discarded. The
mortar discs were dried to constant weights in a temperature controlled drying cabinet containing silica gel. The
temperature in the cabinet was kept constant at 40~ and
the sihca gel was renewed every 2 days. The time required

Fig. 1 - Test Apparatus.

569

Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et

Constructions, Vol. 3 1 , October 1998

Table 1 - General data for the brick materials

Mix Designations Countryof Origin Description

Raw Materials

FiringTemperature

to achieve constant weight varied

B 10, B20 and B30
Britain
Red, Fletton LowerOxford clay
1025~
between 22 and 26 days. It was found
facing brick
that, irrespective of the initial moisture
DIO, D20 and D30
Denmark
Yellow,
60% yellow
1050~ for 6 h
content of the specimens, approxivacuum
burningclay, 20%
extruded
red burningclay
mately 80% of the weight loss occurred
and 20% sand
within 5 days.
The total drying times of the variLIO, L20 and L30
Lithuania
Red extruded UK merge clay
975 - 1025~ *
"mester
ous specimens varied with the compopetring" with
sition of the mortar and curing history.
perforations
The temperate regime of drying
PIO,
P20
and
P30
Poland
Red
Clay, sand,
980 - 1045~
adopted in the present study was prebasalt,
bass
PFA
ferred to the standard oven drying at
105~ used in total absorption tests, in 9 Determined on the basis ofFe203 and C a O contents and co~our.
order to avoid any modification to the
added by running it down the side of the reservoir at a
capillary pore structure that would be caused by the higher
slow rate until the water surface was just in contact with
drying temperature. An ideal arrangement would have
the underside of the specimen when an increase in the balbeen to dry the samples at ambient temperature, but this
ance reading was observed. This increase is due to surface
would have taken too long and would have extended the
tension forces and the event was used as a reference point
drying times in an uncontrollable manner. An alternative
to indicate contact of water with the test surface.
would have been to chemically dry the specimens, but this
The test surface was visually examined to ensure that
was rejected as it introduces another factor to the system.
no air was trapped under the specimen. If this occurred,
After drying, the specimen under test was placed cenor very occasionally, if the free water surface was signifitrally on the horizontally aligned aluminium holder over
cantly above the bottom surface of the specimen (sigthe water reservoir. The suspension system is self-levelling
nalled by a decrease in the balance reading due to buoyand the test specimen always rested in a horizontal configancy effects), then the test was abandoned and the
uration. Water, at room temperature, was then added to
specimen reconditioned for a repeat test.
the reservoir until the free surface reached a level approxiThe weight measurement system used enabled the
mately 5 m m below the test surface. At this point the
acquisition of data at predetermined time intervals without
weight detecting system was activated, and water was
causing any disturbance to the test rig. This eliminated any
random operator errors inherent in tile generally adopted
Table 2 - Chemical compositions of the ground bricks
manual methods of weight measurement. In the tests conOxide (%)
810-B30
D10-D30
LIO - L30
PIO - P30
ducted in the present study, weight measurements were
54.83
69.99
68.79
72.75
SiO2
taken at one minute intervals over a total test time of
0.97
0.85
0.84
0.55
TiO2
approximately one hour with total mass changes in the
19.05
10.62
9 15.23
15.89
AI203
range 5-8 g. The water reservoir was sufficiently large to
6.00
4.02
6.28
4.97
Fe203
ensure that any changes in buoyancy of the specimen
MnO
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.02
undergoing test were negligible.
MgO
CaO
Na20
K20

BaO
P205
Cr203
SrO
SO3
L.O.I.

1.77

1.39
8.86
1.02
2.61
0.05
0.11
0.01
0.03
0.04
0.25

9.39
0.50
3.15
0.04
0.20
.03
.05
2.90

1.48

2.02
1.79
0.26
3.71

0.04
0.07
0.02
0.01
0.13
0.19

1.20
0.87
0.27
2.17
0.05
0.10
0.02
0.01
0.07
0.36

Table 3 - Mineral compositions of the ground bricks

Mineral (%)

B10 - B30

D10 - D30

L10 - L30

P10 - P30

Quartz
Feldspar
Haematite
Cristobalite

49
5
10
12

60
23
6
12

43
24
20
13

88
3
5
4

Spinel

Gypsum
Anhydrite

17
6

+ denotes a trace

- denotes absence.

4-

5. MATERIALS AND MIXTURE DETAILS

In total, four different ground brick materials, one from
each country participating in the research programme,
were the subject of testing. Table 1 gives the descriptions
and country of origin of the various bricks used. Chemical
and X-ray diffractometry analyses were carried out, see
[10], on the ground brick. The chemical compositions and
mineralogical differences between the four ground bricks
are shown in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. The OPC in the
control mortar was partially replaced with 10, 20 and 30%
ground brick. In all, thirteen mortar mixtures with proportions 1:3:0.5 (OPC:sand:water)were investigated.
Standard sand (DIN EN 196-1) was used throughout the
investigation. The mixture designations were based on the
country of origin (Britain B, Denmark D, Lithuania L and
Poland P) and the OPC replacement level (10, 20 and
30%) as indicated in Table 1.
The ground brick was obtained by plate grinding 2050 m m pieces of brick and then subjecting the resulting

570

Sabir, Wild, O'Farrell

5.0
4.5
4.0

o
X

7 days

3.5
/

3.0
2.5

2.0

~
~ _ . ~ e

s
SOda s

~'

Fig.2 - Effect of curing

time on cumulative
water absorption for
ground brick mortar
(B30).

1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

t o.s, (rain 0.s)

2.0

material to ball milling to the required particle size. The final material had a specific
surface in the range 320-350 m2/kg, see
[10], which is approximately the same as
that of OPC.
From each mixture, four 100 m m
cubes were prepared for each curing time.
The cubes were cured in water at 20~ at
each of the curing times of 7, 28 and 90
days. Three cubes were used for compression strength tests and the fourth was used
to produce a cylindrical core from which
four discs were cut for the sorptivity and
absorption measurements.

6. RESULTS A N D D I S C U S S I O N
6.1 Sorptivity
Typical plots of cumulative water
absorption against the square root of time
are shown in Fig. 2. These plots give the
water absorption for the B30 mixtures cured
at 7, 28 and 90 days. Each set of three plots
shown refers to the three samples tested
from each of the mixtures. The tests conducted on the three samples at each of the
three curing times give practically identical
slopes, particularly during the early part of
the test. This demonstrates the reproducibility of the behaviour as obtained from different samples of the same mortar. The results
also clearly show the influence of curing
time on the sorptivity of the mortar.
For the majority of samples tested, the
relationship between cumulative water
absorption and the square root of time of
exposure begins to deviate from linearity
after about 20-30 minutes. In adopting a
systematic methodology for determining

t.8
1.6

..

,o,

1.4
1.2
1.0

o.~

0.6

9--"

0.4

0.2

t'

0.0

,e*a

9 '~*X*
:W

(a)
I

2.0

1.6/r,
x

t.,
t.2 41 9 e2o

":'~

1.0
,E~

0.8

,~

0.6

0,

o . o~

a 7~'*~&.*

,o

j[~

.,

="
: *
.de*

.x" *

9 _,~,/~ .=:.

;:-:.::,:::*"

0.2
0.0

(b)

,,X* ~ ~,,~

..,.-

,~.

,,4.*

i'i:'"
0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

(c)
2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

t 0.s, (min o.s)

Fig. 3 - Cumulative water absorption for mortar containing various ground bricks
at different replacement levels: (a) 10%, (b) 20% and (c) 30%.

571

Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et

Constructions, Vol. 31, October 1998

Table 4 - Sorptivities in g/mm2/minl/2 10 "4 for control

and ground brick mortars

the sorptivities for the various mixtures tested, it was

decided to base the calculations on the first 16 minutes
of elapsed test time. For all the samples tested, this duration of time produced linear relationships which gave
correlation coefficients greater than 0.996. Typical plots
of cumulative absorption over the first 16 minutes for
mortars with varying OPC replacement levels by ground
brick cured at 90 days are shown in Fig. 3. The mean
slopes of such plots for all the mixtures investigated
(three samples each) at different curing times are shown
in Table 4.
Fig. 4 shows the change in the mean of the measured
sorptivity with curing time. Analysis of variance was carried out on the results for the sorptivity obtained from the
individual tests. The analysis was performed on series of
results grouped according to brick source together with
the control mortar at each of the curing times of 7, 28 and
90 days. It was found that, with the exception of one
result, the differences between the means of the sorptivities
for the mortars, with varying amounts of ground brick,
were significant at the 0.01 level at all curing times. The
exception was in the case of the Pl0-P30 series for which
the difference between the means of the sorptivities measured at 90 days was only just significant at the 0.09 level.
On examination of Fig. 4(d), one may attribute this to the
unexpected sharp drop in sorptivity for the P30 mortar
observed at 90 days. A closer examination of the results for
the P30 mortar at all curing times, however, revealed that
the coefficients of variation between the individual measurements, including those obtained at 90 days, were all
within 3%, and this behaviour could not be attributed to
possible experimental errors. As the level of significance in
this case is high (> 0.05), we may conclude that the sorp-

Curingtime (days)

Mixture

28

90

Control

3.58

3.58

3.58

BIO
B20
B30

4.51
4.71
6.21

4.29
4.32
4.58

4.22
4.08
3.48

DIO
D20
D30

4.97
5.67
5.85

4,5 7
5.11
5.32

3,84
4.10
4.85

LIO
1.20
L30

3.81
4.56
4.84

3.42
3,96
4.54

3.21
3,80
4.33

PIO
P20
P30

4.47
4.73
5.38

4.22
3.91
4.95

3.99
3.69
3,45

tivity after 90 days of curing is not influenced by P-type

ground brick.
It can generally be seen from Fig. 4 that the control
mortar exhibits greater resistance to water absorption by
capillary suction than the mortars containing ground brick,
the sorptivities of which increase with increasing level of
OPC replacement by ground brick. However, with
increasing curing time the sorptivities of ground brick mortars decrease, and at 90 days and for certain replacement
levels some mortars exhibit sorptivities below that of the
control mortar. The above behaviour confirms previous
reports by the authors [12] of the pozzolanic effect of
ground brick which produces pore refinement at extended
curing times, but is not manifest at the early ages when the
ground brick imparts increased porosity to the mortar.
It is generally accepted [13, 14] that water absorption of
concrete is reduced as the duration of moist curing

4,~

3-

2 i..~_LlO
_
ii
i

Or

(a)

7 - -

[-~L$0

i ~

i~P1o

i+

(c) I

(d)

(b)

,(1~

lOO

Curing tim

P20

lO

,oo

Curing time (days)

Fig. 4 - Variation ofsorptivity with curing time for mortars with ground brick from: (a) Britain, (b) Denmark., (c) Lithuania and (d) Poland.

572

Sabir, Wild, O'Farrell

Table 5 - Total water absorption after 24 h immersion
in water expressed as a percentage of initial mass

Table 6 - Compressive strength for control

and ground brick mortars (MPa)

Curingtime (days)

Mixture

28

90

Control

7.21

7.03

6.61

BIO
B20
B30

7.93
8.36
8.91

7.57
8.09
8.65

7.25
8.09
8.28

DIO
D20
D30

7.98
8.39
8.51

7.79
8.23
8.44

LIO
L20
L30

7.68
8.23
8.61

PIO
P20
P30

8.03
8.43
8.68

Mixture

28

90

Control

52.2

65.3

67.0

BIO
B20
B30

43.8
39.4
31.2

61.2
55.4
45.2

74.0
66.2
55.7

7.58
8.01
8.12

DIO
D20
D30

40.3
30.1
28.9

55.0
45.0
35.6

65.2
55.0
49.1

7.39
7.96
8.45

7.06
7.69
8.05

LIO
L20
L30

44.7
33.5
27.8

59.4
48.5
40.5

69.1
61.5
55.1

7.52
7.74
8.26

7.62
7.62
8.34

PIO
P20
P30

39.8
34.5
28.3

55.6
50.1
39.8

65.5
62.7
57.5

increases. Furthermore, Parrot [13] has observed that the

influence of moist curing time on the rate of water absorption of OPC concrete is very small beyond 3 days.
However, if the OPC in the concrete is partially replaced
by pozzolans (i.e. 30% PFA or 50% GGBS) absorption
rates are initially much greater and continue to fall significantly with increased specimen curing time up to at least
28 days. The current observations follow similar trends to
those observed by Parrot [13]. It is suggested that the
observed reductions in sorptivity with increased curing
time (up to 90 days) of the ground brick mortars (which
are conditioned in an identical manner to the control) is
indicative ofpozzolanic activity which occurs much more
slowly than does cement hydration and has therefore a
much greater effect at extended ages.
10 -

6.2 Total water absorption

The disc specimens used for the sorptivity tests were
reconditioned, by oven drying for 24 h at 105~ for use in
the water absorption tests. The specimens were immersed
in water at 20 + 2~ for a period of 24 h and the total mass
of water absorbed was determined. Four samples were used
for each measurement and the results are given in Table 5.
Analysis of variance carried out on the absorption results
on the same basis as that used for the sorptivity measurements, showed that the differences between the means of
each set of four results were always significant at the 0.01
level. Fig. 5 shows the variation in the total absorption
with curing time. It is seen that, irrespective of curing time
and source of brick, the mortars showed increased absorp10

8-

!--Con,ro,!
i
i
I " ~ LIO

L---L~O ~

1~83~ j

Curingtime (days)
7

:"

="

(a)

s (c)

10

10

I , C-~ontrol~

=~

-.-oto

9 ~ i-~Plo

- ~ - D20

| ~- a - P 2 0

<

, (b)

s/(d)
Curing time Idays)

,0o

Curing t;Oe (days)

,oo

Fig. 5 - Variation of absorption with curing time for mortars with ground brick from: (a) Britain, (b) Denmark, (c) Lithuania and (d) Poland.

573

Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol.31, October1998

tion with increasing level of OPC replacement by ground

brick. It is also seen that, as with the sorptivity results, the
total absorption generally decreases with increasing curing
time. The similar behaviours of total absorption and sorptivity indicate that ground brick alters the matrix structure
with respect to both total porosity and interconnected capillary pores in similar ways at all ages.

alters the structure of the pores and the interconnected

capillary pores at all ages and in a similar manner. Finally, it
has been shown that ground brick reduces the compressive
strength, with greater reductions for the higher levels of
OPC replacements. With time, however, this deleterious
effect diminishes, and after 90 days of moist curing some
compressive strengths are greater and some sorptivities are
lower than those of the control, particularly those with
10% replacement of OPC with ground brick.

6.3 Compressive strength

The results for the compressive strength of the mortars
obtained from 100 mm cubes are given in Table 6. Three
cubes were tested from each mixture at each of the curing
times of 7, 28 and 90 days. Analysis of variance were also
carried out on the compressive strength results. It was
found that the differences between the means were always
significant at the 0.01 level with the exception of the Pl0P30 mortar strengths obtained at 90 days, the differences
between the means of which were significant only at the
0,05 level. It can be seen that at the early curing times, partial replacement of OPC by ground brick, irrespective of
source, results in decreased strength. The reduction in
strength increases with increasing level of replacement by
ground brick. With increasing age, however, it is found
that there is a trend for the strengths to converge towards
that of the control mortar in a similar manner to that of the
sorptivity. Tiffs is especially noticeable at the lower levels of
replacement, and mixtures B10 and L10, in particular,
achieve strengths at 90 days, which are greater than those
of the control. It should be noted that at 7 days the control
mortar has achieved 4/5 of its 90 day strength and it is,
therefore, not surprising that the sorptMties of the 7 day
and 90 day mortars are similar, particularly when the effect
of specimen drying is taken into account.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

7. CONCLUSIONS
The paper introduced a novel test rig and testing
methodology for the measurement of sorptivity of mortar and concrete. The arrangements have been shown to
yield reproducible values of sorptivity obtained from different samples prepared from the same mixture. The
tests have shown that at short curing periods, ground
brick increases the sorptivity of mortar relative to that of
the control. The greater the replacement level of OPC
by ground brick, the greater the sorptivity. However, the
sorptivity of ground brick mortar decreases with curing
time and for certain replacement levels some mortars
exhibited sorptivities below that of the control. The
above observations serve to demonstrate that the test has
a high degree of sensitivity and enables the changes in
capillary porosity to be detected.
From the material behaviour point of view, the increase
in sorptivity at the early ages is attributed, in part, to the
residual porosity in the ground brick. At this stage very little, if any, pozzolanic activity has taken place. Similar
effects, due to ground brick, were also obtained on the
measured absorption. This suggests that ground brick

574

The work described in this paper originates from a

major European research project examining the feasibility
of recycling brick wastes as pozzolans for mortar and concrete. The research is funded by the European
Commission, under the Copernicus programme, whom
the authors wish to gratefully acknowledge. The authors
would also wish to thank J. Golaszewski, Silesia Technical
University, for performing the water absorption measurements. The collaborative efforts of the European partners
in the research programme are also acknowledged.

REFERENCES
[1] Larby, L. A., 'Microstmcture of the interracial zone around aggregate particles in concrete', Heron 38 (1) (1993) 69-81.
[2] Ho, D. W. 8. and Lewis, R. K., 'Concrete quality as measured by
water sorptivity', Civ. Eng. Trans., Inst. Engs. Aus. CE26 (1984)
306-313.
[3] Ho, D. W. S., 'Influence of slag cement on the water sorptivity of
concrete', in 'Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag and Natural Pozzolans in
Concrete', Proceedings of an International Conference
(American Concrete Institute, 8P-91, Detroit, 1986) 1463-1473.
[4] Ho, D. W. S. and Lewis, R. K., 'The water sorptivity of concrete:
the influence of constituents under continuous curing', Durability
of Building materials (4) (1987) 241-252.
[5] Hall, C. and Kam Min Tse, T., 'Water movement in porous
building materials - VII: The sorptivity of mortars', Building
Environment (2l) (1986) 113-118.
[6] Hall, C. and Yau, M. H. R., 'Water movement in porous building materials - IX: The water absorption and sorptivity of concretes', Ibid. (22) (1987) 77-82.
[7] Hall, C., 'Water sorptivity of mortars and concrete: a review',
Magazine of Concrete Research 41 (147) (1989) 51-61.
[8] Kelham, 8., 'A water absorption test for concrete', Ibid. 40 (143)
(1988) 106-110.
[9] Wild, S., Khatib, J. and Sabir, B.B., 'The potential of fired brick
clay as a partial cement replacement material', in Proc. Int.
Congress Concrete in the Service of Mankind, Concrete for
Environment Enhancement and Protection, Theme 6- Waste
Materials and Alternative Products, Ed. IK. K. Dhir and I. D.
Dyer (E and FN Sport, Dundee, 1996) 685-696.
[10] Wild, S., Gailus, A., Hansen, H., Pederson, L. and Szwabowski, J.,
'Pozzolanic properties of a variety of European clay bricks',
Building Research Information 25 (3) (1997) 170-175.
[11] Neville, A. M., ' Properties of Concrete', 4th edn (Longman,
England, t995).
[12] Wild, S., Khatib, J. and O'Farrell, M., 'Sulphate resistance of
mortar containing ground brick clay calcined at different temperatures', Cement and Concrete Research 27 (5) (1997) 697-709.
[13] Parrott, L.J., 'Water absorption in cover concrete', Mater. Struct.
25 (149) (1992) 284-292.
[14] MaWs, C. F. and Ferraris, C. F., 'Capillary transport in mortars
and concrete', Cement and ConcreteResearch 27 (5) (1997) 747-760.