Abstract:There are a large number of new and old concrete interfaces in prefabricated concrete structures. The template effect causes the enlargement of cement mortar porosity in the interfacial zones, which weakens their mechanical properties and durability. In order to quantitatively describe the porosity distribution characteristics of cement mortar in interfacial zones, new and old concrete specimens with smooth vertical interfaces and different water cement ratios were prefabricated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to obtain the gray images of each specimen at different positions from the interface. Digital image processing (DIP) tools were used for image information enhancement and binarization. Thus, the ratio of pore pixels to total pixels was obtained, namely nominal porosity. With test results, the distribution characteristics of nominal porosity in the interfacial zones of new and old concrete with smooth vertical interfaces were analyzed. On the basis of the stable relationship between nominal porosity and real porosity, a porosity distribution model was established for the interfacial zones of new and old concrete with smooth vertical interfaces. Furthermore, considering the continuous variation of new and old concrete contents in the chiseled section, the porosity distribution model of chiseled interfacial zone was established. Results show that the nominal porosity reached the maximum at the interface, then decreased gradually towards the interior of concrete, and finally tended to be stable. The overall variation trend could be characterized by Gaussian function. With the increase in water cement ratio, the nominal porosity of each position from interface to interior concrete presented a relatively increasing trend, but the relative nominal porosity from the interfacial zone to the interior stable zone was nearly the same for the concrete with different water cement ratios.