Advances in studies on concrete durability and countermeasures against freezing-thawing effects

This paper is a meta-analysis of recent domestic and foreign research on freezing-thawing effects on concrete durability. The main theories on the mechanisms of freeze-thaw damage to concrete are introduced： the hydrostatic pressure theory, the osmotic pressure theory, the critical water saturation degree theory, the dual mechanism theory, and the micro-ice-crystal lens model theory. The influence laws of freezing-thawing on the mechanical properties of concrete are summarized, and countermeasures to improve concrete durability in freezing-thawing circumstances are presented. This work provides valuable references for future engineering constructions in cold regions.

Durability of Lining Concrete of Subsea Tunnel under Combined Action of Freeze-thaw Cycle and Carbonation

Through the fast freeze-thaw cycle test,accelerated carbonation test,and natural carbonation test,the durability performance of lining concrete under combined action of freeze-thaw cycle and carbonation were studied.The experimental results indicate that freeze-thaw cycle apparently accelerates the process of concrete carbonation and carbonation deteriorates the freeze resistance of concrete.Under the combined action of freeze-thaw cycle and carbonation,the durability of lining concrete decreases.The carbonation depth of lining concrete at tunnel openings under freeze-thaw cycles and tunnel condition was predicted.For the high performance concrete with proposed mix ratio,the lining concrete tends to be unsafe because predicted carbonation depth exceeds the thickness of reinforced concrete protective coating.Adopting other measurements simultaneously to improve the durability of lining concrete at the tunnel openings is essential.

Durability of sea-sand containing concrete:Effects of chloride ion penetration

This paper describes an orthogonal experiment on the effect of water/cement ratio,water consumption per cubic meter,curing time,and type of sand on the response＂resistance to chloride ion penetration＂.A sea-sand containing concrete was used for the trials.An analysis of chloride ion diffusion coefficients at different factor levels was performed.A predictive model of chloride ion diffusion in concrete is developed through regression analysis.The experimental results show that when the water/cement ratio varies from 0.45 to 0.60,and the water consumption per cubic meter varies from 185 to 215 kg,and the curing time varies from 30 to 180 d then the size of the effects fall in the order（most significant first）： curing time,type of sand,water consumption per cubic meter,and water/cement ratio.Chloride ion penetration is reduced,and better durability of the concrete is observed,with longer curing times,less water consumption per cubic meter,and a smaller water/cement ratio.

Durability of Reinforced Concrete Structures under Coupling Action of Load and Chlorine Erosion

Diffusion behavior of chloride ion in reinforced concrete under bendingmoment was studied by taking the ratio of bending moment to ultimate flexural capacity asload level indicator. The function relationship between load level and chloride iondiffusion coefficient was established, based on that the limit state equation of the chlorideion critical concentration and chloride ion concentration on surface of the steel bar wasestablished. Then by applying Monte-Carlo method the corrosion probability ofreinforcement under different load levels in splash zone was calculated. Calculation resultsdemonstrated that compared with the durability reliability index considering loading effect,the reliability index without considering loading effect could be 100% higher. Inconsideration of requirement for concrete durability, some revision suggestion was putforward. It was recommended that for beam members with different design life in splashzone, the corresponding minimum cover thickness should be adjusted properly as well aswater-cement ratio limit.

Chloride Resistance of Concrete under Complex Stress and Environment

The presence of stress is shown to have a significant impact on chloride ions in concrete. Reinforced concrete is usually durable and cost-effective which has resulted in its widespread use for construction, however, the concrete subjected to environment and load has become increasingly apparently that attacked by aggressive agents such as chloride ion. In this study, the coupling influences are stress effects and environmental problems on the coastline concrete durability have been investigated. A series of cyclic of a wet-dry cycle and submersion tests were performed onto the stressed concrete to obtain an understanding of the physical mechanisms causing the accumulation of chlorides in the interior pores of concrete under different stress types and exposure environments, based on the same duration. Specimens were prepared and subjected to NaCl solution in a wet-dry cycle and submersion, the chloride in the tension zone is gradual with increasing the stress level, as well as the chloride ion in the wet-dry cycle, is increasing the number of cycles. The apparent diffusion coefficient of each specimen was calculated respectively, the profile of concentration at a different section of tension and compression zones were presented in influence factors of the number of cycles, the length of drying phase, and periodic wetting cycles with sodium solution was discussed. After employed Fick’s second law, the results suggested Da in a wet-dry cycle is much higher than the Da in submersion zones.

Durability of Concrete under Multi-damage Action

Several different experiments,including freezing-thawing,freezing-thawing+drying-wetting,and drying-wetting,in salt solution and in water respectively,were designed to determine the durability of concrete.The durability damage features of concrete in the above experiments were studied.It is demonstrated that the damage extent of concrete under freezing-thawing and freezing-thawing+drying-wetting in salt solution is larger than that in water.Thus,freezing-thawing and freezing-thawing+drying-wetting in salt solution are stricter and more effective methods to evaluate the durability of concrete in salt-existing environment in cold regions.The damage extent of concrete under freezing-thawing+drying-wetting shows an ultra-superposition effect.The order of concrete durability deterioration degree in these experiments is determined.It shows that effects of multi-damage factors are greater than those of single-damage factor.

Durability and Micro-structure of Reactive Powder Concrete

Durability of traditional reactive powder concrete （RPC） with rich cement and high volume of fly-ash reactive powder concrete （FRPC） were studied. The X-diffraction and scanning electron microscope （SEM） measurement was imployed to analyze the microstructure. The results show that both types of RPC have higher compressive strength, less volume shrinkage ratio and better carbonation-, chloride-, freezing-resistances than the conventional concrete. The results of X-diffraction indicate that they basically have C-S-H as the main composition without Ca（OH）2 crystal and ettringite. SEM results show that hydration products of FRPC is mainly Ⅲ-C-S-H which is piled up closely like densely arranged stone body and it has very compacted structure, in addition, Ca/Si ratio of C-S-H gel is lower than 1.5.

Modeling Boundary and Edge Effect of Chloride Diffusion for Durability Design of Concrete Structures Exposed in Marine Environment

According to the Fick＇s second law of diffusion, six analytical solutions of chloride profile in concrete were studied and discussed with regard to different boundary and initial conditions. In those analytical solutions, the most prevailing error-function solution which is based on semi-infinite assumption is the simple one, but may under-estimate the chloride content in concrete and over-rate the life time prediction of concrete structures. The experimental results show that compared with other solutions, the chloride content in concrete predicted by error-function model is the minimum, and the calculation difference produced by different analytical models should not be ignored. The influence of models on chloride content prediction is more than other environment and material coefficients in some time. In order to get a more realistic prediction model, modification to error-function model is suggested based on analysis and calculation examples concerning the boundary and edge effect.

Prediction of the Residual Strength for Durability Failure of Concrete Structure in Acidic Environments

According to the results of accelerated tests of acidification corrosion depth and compressive strength of concretes subjected to sulfuric acid environments,the acidification depth laws of concretes were predicted based on the grey system theory.Thus,the remaining compressive strength was calculated when the acidification depth reached the protection layer thickness of concrete structures,which indicates that the limit state of durability failure can be defined based on strength degradation,and the calculation process was illustrated by an example.The calculated results show that the remaining compressive strength values in the durability failure limit state for the concrete structures exposed to p H=2 and 3 sulfuric acid water environments and wet-dry cyclic sulfuric acid environment with p H=2 are 74%,72%,and 80% of initialstrength,respectively.The method provides references for the durability evaluation of concrete structure design under the acidic environments.

A Simple Mix Proportion Design Method Based on Frost Durability for Recycled High Performance Concrete Using Fully Coarse Recycled Aggregate

Durability design of recycled high performance concrete（RHPC） is fundamental for improving the use rate and level of concrete waste as coarse recycled aggregate（CRA）. We discussed a frostdurability-based mix proportion design method for RHPC using 100 % CRA and natural sand. Five groups of RHPC mixes with five strength grades（40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 MPa） were produced using CRA with four quality classes, and their workability, 28 d compressive strengths and frost resistances（measured by the compressive strength loss ratio and the relative dynamic modulus of elasticity） were tested. Relationships between the 28 d compressive strength, the frost resistance and the CRA quality characteristic parameter, water absorption, were then developed. The criterion of a CRA maximum water absorption limit value for RHPC was suggested, independent of its source and quality class. The results show that all RHPC mixes achieve the expected target workability, strength, and frost durability. The research results demonstrate that the application of the proposed method does not require trial testing prior to use.

Durability of Seawater Mixed Concrete with Different Replacement Ratio of BFS （Blast Furnace Slag） and FA （Fly Ash）

Using seawater in concrete can be considered as one of the sustainable approaches in construction industry not only to save the freshwater resource but also to promote the use of abandoned seawater resource, especially in the construction at the uninhabited area close to the sea where the procurement of fresh water is difficult. In this study, durability against chloride attack of seawater mixed concrete with different replacement ratio of BFS （blast furnace slag） and FA （fly ash） is discussed and the life time until the occurrence of corrosion crack is evaluated. The results show that： （1） Chloride penetration rate of seawater mixed specimens with BFS and FA is lower than that of freshwater mixed OPC （ordinary Portland cement） specimens; （2） Oxygen permeability of seawater mixed specimens with BFS and FA is almost the same or lower than that of freshwater mixed OPC specimens; （3） Total life time （corrosion incubation period and propagation period） of seawater mixed specimens with BFS and FA is almost the same or only slightly shorter than that of freshwater mixed OPC specimens. From the results, it was confirmed that the usage of seawater in concrete mixing is feasible in concrete with the appropriate BFS and FA replacement ratio.

Theoretical Study of Similar Experimental Method for Durability of Concrete under Artifi cial Climate Environment

Based on the similarity theory,a new experimentalmethod named Similar ExperimentalMethod for Durability of Concrete（SEMDC）was established.The existing experimentalmethods for durability of concrete were summarized,and the merits and demerits of these experimentalmethods were analyzed.Major factors affecting the durability of concrete were found through literature review.These factors were analyzed and the similarity criteria were established according to the similarity theory,and then the SEMDC was established according to the rules of these criteria.The various influentialfactors of the experimentalmethod were analyzed and the merits and demerits of this new experimentalmethod were discussed.According to SEMDC,changing the geometry shrinkage ratio was the only way to accelerate the test in order to keep the experiment similar to the reality.There were few other parameters which need to be changed in SEMDC,making the test easy to be achieved.According to SEMDC,time shrinkage ratio was the square of geometric shrinkage ratio,so an appropriate increase of the geometric shrinkage ratio could accelerate the test.Finally,an example of experimentaldesign for durability of concrete was devised theoretically base on SEMDC theory.

Service Life Prediction of Lining Concrete of Subsea Tunnel under Combined Compressive Load and Carbonation

Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay subsea tunnel is the second self-built tunnel in China with the designed service life over 100 years.The durability of lining concrete are one of an important factors to determinate the service life of tunnel.Considering the main environmental loads and mechanical loads of subsea tunnel,the durability properties of lining concrete under combined action of compressive load and carbonation has been studied through the critical compressive load test,accelerated carbonation test,natural carbonation test and capillary suction test.The tests results show that critical compressive load apparently accelerates the carbonation and deteriorates the anti-permeability of concrete.Under the combined action of critical compressive load and carbonation,the durability of lining concrete decreases.Based on the carbonization life criteria and research results,for the high-performance concrete with proposed mix ratio,the predicted service life of lining concrete for Jiaozhou bay subsea tunnel is about 80 years which fails to reach the required service life.It is necessary to adopt other measurements simultaneously to improve the durability of lining concrete.

Oyster Cementation as Protective Covers for Exposed Marine Concrete

Cored concrete specimens from seawall exposed to marine environment for 22 years were evaluated by carbonation depth test,rapid chloride permeability test,absorption of water test and microstructure examination.The results show that concrete exposed to marine environment has smaller carbonation depth and carbonation depth of concrete exposed to tidal zone is less than that in splash zone.There are similar water absorption rate and chloride permeability for concrete exposed to splash zone compared with concrete exposed to splash zone removed 3mm surface layer.However,concrete exposed to tidal zone with bio-films has lower chloride permeability and water absorption rate than those of concrete exposed to tidal zone removed 3mm surface layer.In addition,Results of FE-SEM and EDAX indicate that concrete exposed to splash zone has loose structure,exposed finer aggregate and concrete exposed to tidal zone covers by dense structure of oyster cementation and shell.Microstructures analysis further verified that concrete covered with oysters and their cementation has beneficial effects to durability of concrete.

Deterioration of Concrete by the Oxidation of Sulphide Minerals in the Aggregate

Cases of degradation of concrete associated to iron sulphides in aggregates were recently recognized in the Trois-Rivi6res area, Canada. The aggregate used to produce concrete was an anorthositic gabbro containing various proportions of pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite. Quantitative microanalysis on sulphide minerals show that pyrrhotite contains small amount of Ni, Co, Cu and As substituting for Fe in the mineral structure. Considering element substitution, x value in the chemical formula （Fe~.xS） was calculated to 0.099 in the pyrrhotite studied. Petrographic examination of damaged concretes showed the presence of oxidized pyrrhotite. The observation of polished samples shows, in several cases, that the pyrite is intact while the pyrrhotite presents evident signs of oxidation. In the presence of water and oxygen, pyrrhotite oxidizes to form iron oxyhydroxides and sulphuric acid. The acid then reacts with the phases of the cement paste and provokes the formation of gypsum and ettringite. These minerals were observed by SEM-EDS （scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer） and their precipitation causes a volume increase that creates expansion and cracking of the concrete.

Water Absorption and Chloride Ion Penetrability of Concrete Damaged by Freeze-thawing and Loading

In order to investigate water and chloride ion transport in damaged concrete, three types of concrete were prepared, freeze-thawing（F-T） cycling and compressive loading were adopted to induce damage to concrete. Ultrasonic pulse velocity technique was used for evaluating the damage degree of concrete, and the defects of damaged concrete were also detected by X-CT. Water absorption and chloride ion penetrability were used for describing the transport properties of damaged concrete. Effects of damage degree on the water absorption rate and chloride ion penetrability were investigated in detail and the relationships were also established. The results show that the water absorption of concrete makes various responses to damage degree due to the difference of concrete type and damage method. For same concrete with similar damage degree, the water absorption rate of F-T damaged concrete is usually larger than that of concrete damaged by loading. The chloride ion penetrability of damaged concrete increases linearly with increasing damage degree, which is more sensitive to damage degree if the original penetrability of sound concrete is higher.

Durability of Concrete Made with Manganese Slag as Supplementary Cementitious Materials

This paper discusses mineral composition and pore microstructure characteristics of water-cooled manganese slag and its effects on durability of concrete. The Mn slag has an alveolate pore structure, and the ground Mn slag is characterized by multiangular shape which consists of a＇-C2S, C3M82, CaO.MnO-2SiOu and C2AS. Experimental results show that the Mn slag has potential hydraulic reactivity. Concrete made with Mn slag as supplementary cementitious materials （SCMs） exhibits very low strength loss and weight loss in the synthetic seawater corrosion and freezing-thawing cycle tests. The research provides useful reference for knowing about Mn slag and for applying Mn slag to improve the durability of concrete.

Research on the Fatigue Flexural Performance of RC Beams Attacked by Salt Spray

The fatigue flexural performance of RC beams attacked by salt spray was studied. A testing method involving electro osmosis, electrical accelerated corrosion and salt spray was proposed. This corrosion process method effectively simulates real-world salt spray and fatigue loading exerted by RC components on sea bridges. Four RC beams that have different stress amplitudes were tested. It is found that deterioration by corrosion and fatigue loading reduces the fatigue life of the RC and decreases the ability of deformation. The fatigue life and deflection ability could be reduced by increasing the stress amplitude and the corrosion duration time. The test result demonstrates that this experimental method can couple corrosion deterioration and fatigue loading reasonably. This procedure may be applied to evaluate the fatigue life and concrete durability of RC components located in a natural salt spray environment.

Control of repair effect and hydrogen embrittlement risk by parameters optimization for BIEM

Bidirectional electromigration rehabilitation(BIEM)is a novel electrochemical rehabilitation method involving the injection of inhibitors into steel bar surface.The BIEM effect and hydrogen embrittlement(HE)risk depend on the electrochemical parameters(current density and duration)and operating condition(stress level and concrete cover thickness)of reinforced concrete structures.Experiments were performed in this study to investigate the relationships between the aforementioned factors.For a small current density group,a linear relationship was established between electric flux and chloride extraction.For a large current density group,the reasonable current density,stress level,and treatment time were obtained.Finally,the querying method of electrochemical parameters combined with treatment time and current density was proposed.

Application of Non-destructive Testing to Evaluate the Performance of Bridges Structures

Bridges are important elements in road system and can influence the entire economy of cities and region. Usually, these structures have high financial investments for their constructions, in this way, maintenance and conservation become so important. Inspection is a technical activity that covers several operations, including performance analysis; examination; final performance report, other operations may be necessary, such as maintenance work, recovery, strengthening and rehabilitation. Technical examination together with some test methods allows a critical and parametric judgment of the bridge performance by minimizing the subjectivity of visual evaluations, and permits a more detailed diagnosis. This paper discusses the methodology to perform tests to complement the assessment recommended by DNIT （Brazilian National Department of Transport Infrastructure）, which consists only on a visual judgment. This approach provides technical basis to classify the bridges as its need and urgency of maintenance.