Erosion damage and expansion evolution of interfacial transition zone in concrete under dry-wet cycles and sulfate erosion.

• The expansive model of ITZ under dry-wet cycles and sulfate erosion was established. • The mechanical properties evolution of ITZ under sulfate erosion was calculated. • The cohesive force had the largest influence on the internal stress of concrete. • The plastic zone width and final expansion internal stress of ITZ were affected by water-cement ratio. Interfacial transition zone (ITZ) is of paramount importance to the durability of concrete. However, the evolution of damage characteristics and mechanical properties of ITZ under dry-wet cycles and sulfate erosion were not fully investigated in the literature. Therefore, this paper presents the expansive model of ITZ based on cylindrical cavity expansion theory, following by calculation of mechanical properties evolution of ITZ under sulfate erosion. The expansion ratio, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were utilized to analyze the internal erosion and expansion characteristics of concrete with the water-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The results indicate that the expansion ratio of concrete increases with the erosion age and w/c. The new diffraction peaks appear in the XRD pattern after sulfate erosion. As compared with Poisson's ratio (γ) and internal friction angle (φ), cohesive force (C) has the largest influence on the internal stress and plastic zone width. The final internal stress and plastic zone width are affected by w/c, and the damage degree of concrete with 0.4 w/c is the minimum. This study provides new insights into damage mechanism of concrete and ITZ under dry-wet cycles and sulfate erosion, the results of which provide new perspectives for improving the durability of concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]