5.1 The durability of concrete largely depends on the ease with which fluids, both liquids and gases can enter into and move through, the concrete.³ Adsorption and absorption of a liquid into empty or partially empty pores occur by capillary attraction.⁴ The continuity of the pores and their size, as well as the volume of the voids, are factors that affect the sorptivity.⁴

5.2 This test method is intended to compare the relative performance of concrete mixtures exposed to wetting and drying. It is not intended to compare the performance of concrete mixtures that will be submerged continuously.

5.3 This test method tests a concrete that is essentially dry, as contrasted to the condition of the concrete in Test Method C1585, in which much of the capillary water is retained.

5.4 This test method determines the water absorbed into dried concrete in the first 30 minutes as an indicator of the susceptibility of the concrete to water intrusion. This test method subjects all of the surfaces of the specimen to water thereby giving a value for bulk sorption of the specimen which gives an indication of the potential durability of the concrete mixture.

5.5 This test is applicable to hydraulic cement concrete mixtures with or without supplementary cementitious materials or admixtures.

5.6 This test method permits for the use of both cores and cast specimens. The results for cast specimens are not equivalent to those obtained from cores. Results can differ because, compared with cores, cast specimens have smoother surface texture, no damage from coring, and a greater amount of paste exposed at the surface.

5.7 This test is a measurement of the bulk sorption of concrete and has not been evaluated as a technique to assess the effectiveness of surface treatments applied to the concrete.