A review of recent applications of EPMA to evaluate the durability of concrete

Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) is a promising method for the evaluation of various kinds of material transport and phase changes. It can be used for the accurate estimation of the diffusion coefficient in concrete and for the verification of advanced models describing the material transport of various elements because of its ability to measure elemental distributions with a high spatial resolution. Recently, a quantification method of element concentration by EPMA was introduced and a. standard for the methodology including sample preparation was established by the JSCE. However, the device and methodology are still under development. Therefore, it is worthy to make a review of the application of EPMA for concrete. The basic configuration and principle of EPMA, characteristic examples of applications for the durability of concrete, techniques and problems related to methodology, and the future of this method are covered and discussed in this paper.