Because of the difficulties associated with the absorption tests, on the one hand, and, on the other, because permeability tests measure the response of concrete to pressure, which is rarely the driving force of fluids entering concrete, there is a need for another type of test called sorptivity test. Essentially, the sorptivity test determines the rate of capillary-rise absorption by a concrete prism which rests on small support in a manner such that only the lowest 2 to 5mm of the prism is submerged.