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Use of anthocyanin solutions in portland cement concrete to identify carbonation depth

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Abstract

A method is proposed which comprises placing a portland cement concrete or mortar sample with a harmless solution, based on a variety of anthocyanins, which acts as an indicator yielding a color which is visibly different in zones where an alkaline reserve exists (pH ~ 12) (green) from that observed in carbonated areas (pH ≤ 9) (blue). We firstly experimented with various solutions containing anthocyanins extracted from flowers and fruits, after which food colors commercialized in the European Union were utilized seeking to prepare a reproducible method. The tested products are three food colors coming from grape, black carrot and red cabbage obtained by means of extraction and later dehydrated by spray dying. The solutions which seem most appropriate to us contain 2.5% of color dissolved in a liquid where alcohol and water are mixed at a 70/30 ratio.

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Acknowledgements

The products have been provided by the company SECNA (Sociedad Española de Colorantes Naturales y Afines-Spanish Natural Color Society) to whom the authors express our gratitude.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Eduardo Torroja de Ciencias de la Construcción (IETcc-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Servando Chinchón-Payá

  2. International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering CIMNE-UPC, Madrid, Spain

    Carmen Andrade

  3. Instituto del Agua y las Ciencias Ambientales, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Servando Chinchón

Authors
  1. Servando Chinchón-Payá
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  2. Carmen Andrade
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  3. Servando Chinchón
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Correspondence to Servando Chinchón-Payá.

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Chinchón-Payá, S., Andrade, C. & Chinchón, S. Use of anthocyanin solutions in portland cement concrete to identify carbonation depth. Mater Struct 53, 101 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-020-01518-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-020-01518-4

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