DURABILITY OF CONCRETE

STRUCTURES
PRESENTED BY

SACHIN M
VIII SEM,CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Mr.T.CHANDRASHEKARAIAH
Selection Grade lecturer

DR AMBEDKAR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

 INTRODUCTION
 FACTORS GOVERNING DURABILITY
 BEHAVIOUR OF CONCRETE
 CAUSES FOR DETORIATION
 DESIGN FOR DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
STRUCTURES
 RECOMMENDATION
 CONCLUSION
 REFRENCES
 INTRODUCTION

During the recent past , the

problem of early deterioration
of concrete structure has posed
a serious problem all over the
world. In India also, this
problem is being witnessed in
the past few years, especially in
coastal and industrial area as
well as in other aggressive
environments.
 Durable concrete can be defined as one that
is designed, constructed and maintained to
perform satisfactorily in the expected
environment for the specified designed life.
 A detailed investigation of deteriorated structures is
essential before planning its remedial measures. The
investigations involve initial inspection, condition survey for
cracks and other defects, sampling, measurement of
concrete cover and assessing the material strength. The
intensity of damage can be assessed on the data collected
through Various investigations including Non Destructive
techniques.
 Mix design
 Concrete cover
 Curing
 supervision
 Quality of material used
Mix design
Concrete cover
Curing
Supervision
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The behaviour of concrete depends on several processes.

1. Physical
2. Chemical
3. Biological
Physical process leads to gradual deterioration of
concrete, and governs its long term behavior.

•CRACKING

•ABRASION
• Acid attack
• Sulphate attack
• Alkali attack
a) Environmental factors

Exposure conditions

The general exposure conditions are as given below:

•Mild conditions
• Severe condition
• Very severe conditions
•Extreme conditions
 B. Temperature and humidity

•An increase in temperature increases the rate of reaction

•The rate of corrosion is maximum, when relative humidity is 90-
95%.
•Carbonation of concrete takes place rapidly, when the relative
humidity is around 50-60%.

C. Water
•Water is essential for most of the processes leading to concrete
deterioration.
•Constant wetting and drying is more detrimental to concrete than
submerged conditions.
•The concentration of aggressive substances in the pore structures
increases as a result of cyclic wetting and drying leading to
corrosion.
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Aggressive elements :
Aggressive elements in nature include water and air. The usual
substance present in water and their actions detrimental to concrete
are listed below.
•Oxygen dissolved in water.
•Carbon dioxide
•Chlorides.
•Acids in water.
•Alkalis in water.
•Sulphates.
•Aggressive fumes from industrial processes.

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 Marine conditions: Marine conditions are more severe than those
occurring on land. Seawater contains MgCl2, MgS04, CaSO4, KCl, K2SO4.
The mean concentration of these salts is about 35 gm/L. Apart from
these salts, sea water also contains dissolved oxygen and carbon
dioxide to add to corrosive process.
The marine, environment may be classified in four zones according to
exposure conditions :

•Marine Atmosphere Zone

•Splash Zone
•Tidal Zone
•Submerged Zone

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 CAUSES OF DETERIORATION
Concrete normally provides excellent corrosion protection to
embedded reinforcement. The high alkalinity of concrete, i.e. above pH
12.5, results in the formation of protective oxide film on steel bars.
However, unless concrete is well compacted and dense, it is susceptible
to carbonation, and looses its capacity to protect reinforcement. Some
of the causes for deterioration of concrete structures are,

•Design and construction defects

•Poor quality materials
•Inadequate supervision
•Environment
•Corrosion of reinforcement
•Inadequate understanding of materials

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What is corrosion of reinforcement?

Corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete is an

electrochemical process which requires access of an
electrolyte and oxygen to steel.
Concrete is known for its weak tensile strength. To
counteract this we incorporate reinforcement bars in
concrete. Nowadays reinforcement bars are the most widely
used measures in structures. Reinforcement bars is not an
inert material, they do undergo chemical reaction which may
lead to failure of steel which indirectly has an effect on
concrete. Therefore corrosion of reinforcement is an
important factor.
CAUSES OF CORROSION IN REINFORCED
CONCRETE STRUCTURES

 CARBONATION

 CHLORIDE ATTACK
 Reduction of ph in cover concrete which causes
loss of passive oxide layer

 Low pH caused by reaction of Calcium

Hydroxide in concrete with atmospheric Carbon
Dioxide
 Caused by chlorides breaking up passive oxide
layer

 The moisture in concrete pores will act as

electrolyte, and the area adjacent to concentration
of chloride ions on the reinforcement steel will
become cathode initiates corrosion.
Structures which are affected by corrosion.
Bridge Pier affected by corrosion.
 1. Epoxy Coating
2. Using High Performance Concrete
3. Providing sufficient cover
4. Assuring Good Workmanship
5. Using Mineral Admixtures
 THE TWO IMPORTANT CRITERIA FOR THE
DURABILITY OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES ARE

CONTROL OF DEFLECTION
CONTROL OF CRACKING

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 CONTROL OF DEFLECTION

FOR FLEXURAL MEMBERS – THE DEFLECTION

IS CALCULATED BY CONSIDERING THE SHORT
TERM DEFLECTION, DEFLECTION DUE TO
SHRINKAGE AND DEFLECTION DUE TO CREEP.

VERTICAL DEFLECTION LIMITS

CANTILEVER 7
SIMPLY SUPPORTED 20 SPAN UPTO 10M

CONTINUOUS 26

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 1. Shape & size of members
Care should be taken to minimize any cracks that may
collect or transmit water.

2. Exposure condition
Exposure Nominal concrete
cover not less than
(mm)
Mild 20
Moderate 30
Severe 45
Very severe 50
Extreme 75

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 3.Freezing & thawing

Where freezing & thawing actions exist, enhanced durability can be

obtained by the use of suitable air entraining admixtures

Nominal maximum size Entrained air percentage

aggregate(mm)
20 51

40 41

4.Exposure to sulphate attack

Table 4 of IS 456(2000) shows recommendations for the type of
cement, maximum free water/cement ratio and minimum cement
content, which are required at different sulphate concentration in near-
neutral ground water having pH of 6 to 9.

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 5.Concrete mix proportion
The free water-cement ration is an important factor in governing
the durability of concrete and should always be the lowest value.
Appropriate values for minimum cement content and the maximum free
water-cement ratio are given below,

Exposure Plain concrete Reinforced concrete

Min. cement Max. free Min. grade Min. cement Max. free Min. grade
content W/C ratio of concrete content W/C ratio of concrete
Kg/m3 Kg/m3
Mild 220 0.60 - 300 0.55 M20

Moderate 240 0.60 M15 300 0.50 M25

Severe 250 0.50 M20 320 0.45 M30

Very sever 260 0.45 M20 340 0.45 M35

Extreme 280 0.40 M25 360 0.40 M40

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 CRACKING
A crack is a complete or incomplete separation of concrete
into two or more parts produced by breaking or fracturing. The
crack in concrete is one, which cannot be completely prevented
but can only be controlled and minimized.

There are two types of crack

1. Cracks that occurs before and during hardening of concrete
2. Cracks that occurs after hardening of concrete.

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METHOD OF CRACK CONTROL
Method of crack control
To control the crack width the important factors to be
considered are the following

1.Maximum and minimum spacing of

reinforcements
2.Maximum and minimum area of steel in the
member
3.Curtailment of reinforcement bars
4.Anchorage of reinforcement bars
5.Cover to reinforcement.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS
•Good quality concrete mix with the lowest water cement ratio
compatible with practical placement and finishing techniques should be
used.
•Concrete should be properly placed, consolidated and cured.
• Over stressing of structures should be avoided.
•Application of flexible surface coatings to avoid concrete surfaces,
which can effectively control the ingress of chlorides, sulphates, carbon
dioxide, oxygen and moisture, can be considered as an effective
corrosion control measure.
•Exercising adequate care at every stage of planning, analysis, design
and construction for the expected exposure conditions.
•The performance of structures should be monitored regularly from
the stage of commencing.

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 CONCLUSION
Durability of concrete structures should be considered as a
significant aspect of structural design. A designer should be aware of the
constructional aspects of structures, as well as, in order to foresee
durability problems due to any peculiarities of structural loads, layout as
well as environment.

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 REFERENCES
1. “Concrete technology”, Shetty.M.S
2. “Limit state design of reinforced concrete”, Varghese.P.C

3. IS 456 (2000)

4. Sivasundaram, V. "Thermal Crack Control of Mass Concrete"; MSL Division

Report MSL86-93 (IR), Energy Mines and Resources Canada, Ottawa, 1986,

5. Malhotra, V.M. "Superplasticized Fly Ash Concrete for Structural

Applications"; ACI Concrete International, Vol. 8, No. 12, December 1986,

6. Giaccio, G.M. and Malhotra, V.M. "Concrete Incorporating High Volumes of

ASTM Class F Fly Ash"; ASTM Cement, Concrete and Aggregates,

7. “CORROSIVE DAMAGE IN MATERIALS & ITS PREVENTION” , Dr. T.

K. G. NAMBOODHIRI

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