Cement will mix with more water than is required to eventually combine during hydration of cement paste. As such, some voids will be left behind after the hydration process which affects the strength and durability of concrete. With the presence of air voids in concrete, it is vulnerable to penetration and attack by aggressive chemicals.
Good quality concrete is characterized by having minimal voids left by excess water and therefore, water absorption test for precast concrete pipes is adopted for checking the quality of concrete in terms of density and imperviousness.
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This question is taken from book named – A Self Learning Manual – Mastering Different Fields of Civil Engineering Works (VC-Q-A-Method) by Vincent T. H. CHU.
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