Measurement of the saturated surface dry state of fines

New materials for use in concrete or in the construction sector are constantly appearing. These materials may have different composition or properties from the existing materials. This challenges the test methods since they may not be appropriate for the new materials. In this paper a test method for measuring the saturated, surface-dry (SSD) water absorption of particles in the size range 1-100 μm is described.

Quantitative identification of the SSD state is very important for the water balance of concrete materials, however, existing test methods such as EN and ASTM does not work for particles in this size.