New test predicts durability of cement in minutes instead of hours

Created at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the test measures the behaviour of water droplets on cement surfaces using computer vision on a device that costs under $200. The researchers said the new study could help the cement industry move toward rapid and automated quality control of their materials.

The results of the study, led by Illinois civil and environmental engineering professor Nishant Garg, are detailed in npj Materials Degradation.

“Concrete is one of the most consumed materials on our planet, second only to water,” Garg said in a statement. “The concrete used to build our infrastructure degrades over time via exposure to deicing salts; freeze and thaw cycles; and ingress of water – all of which can lead to corrosion of the rebar that is used to strengthen the structures. Ultimately, this leads to failure, sometimes catastrophically, as seen in the 2021 condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, where 98 lives were lost.”