Measurement of the Surface Permeability of Basement Concretes

摘要

The performance of seals between concrete sections is determined by the surfacepermeability of the concrete. A portable surface permeameter suitable for field use was developed, tested and used to make surface permeability measurements on concrete in new houses. The operating principle is based on measurement of the air-flow induced by a pressure difference across a temporary test seal applied to a surface. As seal performance depends on surface permeability, sealing will be a practical passive radon-exclusion measure only if there are low-cost surface preparation methods, and only if sealing details and procedures can produce high resistance seals even in the presence of surface defects.