Abstract:
Water absorption into cement mortar with different water to cement ratio was studied using
neutron radiography in order to assess the durability and stability of these mortars. While the samples
absorb water, neutron radiography images were acquired regularly as the absorption time elapses. The
time evolution of water front position or penetration depth and the water content distribution along the
flow direction were determined based on the specific differences in the interactions of neutrons with
various components of the cement mortars and absorbed water. The obtained results were discussed in
terms of the capillary theory to obtain the characteristic parameters of water propagation in the cement
mortars. It’s shown that neutron radiography is a powerful method to study a moisture transport in
porous media.
