Durability of Concrete Pipe in A Marine Environment

Durability of Concrete Pipe in a Marine
Environment
Index
Acknowledgements
Abstract 1
Scope 2
Field Inspection of Pipes 3
Core Tests 8
Laboratory Investigations 11
Data Analysis and Design Life Considerations 14
Conclusion 16
Appendix 1 Detailed Results of Field Inspections

Appendix 2 Core Test Results
Appendix 3 Reports of Laboratory Investigations
Appendix 4 Estimation of Chloride Diffusion Coefficient for Spun Concrete
This report was prepared for the Concrete Pipe Association of Australasia by
C. A. Baker Concrete Technology, July 2000
Acknowledgement
The cooperation of the pipeline owners, in particular the Drummoyne City Council, the
Hobsons Bay Council and Melbourne Water, in the provision of information and pipeline
history relevant to the field inspections has been greatly appreciated.
Abstract
The performance of reinforced concrete pipe exposed in the tidal zone of a marine
environment has been studied, leading to the conclusion that a 100 year life can be obtained
from concrete pipe with a minimum cover to reinforcement of 15 mm.
This conclusion is based largely on the results of about 30 field inspections of concrete pipes
which have been in service for periods up to 69 years. Also utilised is data available from
laboratory investigations, both on samples taken from the field and from research programs
carried out by CPAA member companies.
Spun concrete (ie formed in a horizontally rotating mould and cured before stripping) has
been found to have very low chloride diffusion coefficients which, as could be theoretically
predicted, results in passivation for long periods before corrosion is initiated.
Initiation of corrosion has been found, somewhat unexpectedly, to be followed by very long
periods – up to 50 years – of minimal propagation which results only in minor corrosion and
does not cause loss of serviceability. The reason(s) for this long term durability has not been
positively established, but may derive from the high cement content low water cement ratio
concrete in pipes and the high degree of compaction achieved.
1
Scope
The objective of this study is to assemble data relevant to the durability of concrete pipe
exposed in the tidal range of a marine environment, and, if possible, to provide a realistic
estimate of service life in such exposures.
The core of the study carried out was a series of field inspections of pipes having relevant
service, the longest being almost 70 years. This was supported by laboratory test data and
leads to some theoretical considerations. The data obtained, and conclusions drawn therefrom
are presented below under the headings of
• Field Inspection of Pipes
• Core Tests
• Laboratory Investigations and
• Data Analysis and Design Life Considerations.
For the range of diameters included in the study, concrete pipe manufacture in Australia has
been predominantly by processes in which the pipe is formed and cured in a horizontally
rotating mould. Observations, analysis & conclusions of the study should be understood to
refer only to concrete produced in this way.
2
Field Inspection of Pipes
Introduction
In 1987/88 a study of the performance of concrete pipes in a marine environment was carried
out by Humes Limited and reported in WTSO813 of 8 July 1987 and WTS1038 of 29 July
1988. A total of 17 marine installations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart were
“inspected” –13 operating drainage lines and 4 specimens recovered from sites and examined
in the laboratory. The Humes reports contained detailed notes, including photographs,
describing the pipe condition at the time of inspection. Copies of all these inspection records
are included in Appendix 1 – Pipes 1 to 17 inclusive.
This study has now been updated – 8 of the 13 operating lines have been revisited and the
current pipe condition recorded, again with photographs, adjacent to the original report (the
other five sites were not revisited because either the pipes were relatively young or the cover
to reinforcement relatively high). In addition, a further 9 aged pipes were inspected in some
detail and reports of their inspection, using a similar format to that in the original report, are
also included in this Appendix – Pipes 18 to 23 and 25 to 27 inclusive. Pipe Report No. 24
contains general comments on a further 6 pipes which were inspected in less detail.
Inspection Comments
All inspections and re-inspections were carried on pipes in the tidal zone which are fully or
almost fully immersed at high tide. Three slightly different installation conditions existed –
pipelines which ended flush with a sea wall, pipes which projected less than one pipe length
through a sea wall and pipes which extended, exposed, across a beach.
All re-inspected lines were still operating.
All pipeline owners advised that no maintenance had been carried out on any of the inspected
lines since 1987/88, although in a couple of cases changes to sea wall location had occurred.
Whilst the 1987 inspections included some inspection of the larger diameter pipes at a (short)
distance from the outlet, tightened safety regulations meant that all the year 2000 inspections
occurred within a couple of metres from the outlet.
In the “new” year 2000 inspections cover to reinforcement was measured by covermeter, not
exposure of reinforcement as was done in some cases in 1987. Covermeter readings are not
necessarily accurate to the nearest millimetre and hence are reported as approximate.
The following tabulation summarises the pipe condition at its latest inspection.
3
Summary of Field Inspection Results
No Location Dia. mm Year of Age Min. Condition at Time of Inspection

Inspection Years of Cover mm
Service at
Inspection
NSW
1 Rockdale 1350 1987 33 21 Pipes in very good condition.

Council, (triple
Ramsgate line)
2 Sutherland 900 1987 25 22 Pipes in good condition.

Council,
Cronulla
3 Drummoyne 450 2000 33 14 Apart from end damage pipe in

Council Five good condition.
Dock Bay
4 Drummoyne 375 2000 33 10 One crack near end, showing

Council Five corrosion. Some other rust
Dock Bay stains.
5 Sutherland 1350 1987 17 14 Pipes in good condition.

Council,
Woronora Inlet
6 Drummoyne 900 2000 53 13 Some cracking up to 300 mm

Council, Hen & from end. Otherwise in good
Chicken Bay condition.
7 Drummoyne 1500 2000 43 25 Pipes in very good condition.

Council, Hen & Reo exposed at extra lifting hole
Chicken Bay but no propagation evident.
8 Drummoyne 1200 2000 53 25 Pipes in good condition, heavily

Council, coated in marine growth. Minor
Sydney Harbour cracking 200 mm from end of
outlet pipe.
9 Kogarah 750 1987 38 15 Rust stains on reinforcement.

Council Pipes broken at outlet due to
subsidence but no damage
apparent caused by reo.
4
Inspection Years of Cover
Service at mm
Inspection
Victoria
10 Port Phillip Bay 1875 2000 38 21 Pipes in very good condition.
11 Williamstown 300 1987 35 6 Side cast pipe (not spun). Pipe in

disuse and only broken sections
available. Corroded areas of
reinforcement but much of the
wire still bright.
12 Altona 1200 1996 39 10-20 Pipes in excellent condition. No

(MMBW) sign of cracking or spalling.
Queensland
13 Maroochydore 525 1987 27 12 Rust stains on reinforcement but

Shire pipe in good condition.
14 Maroochydore 300 1987 18 10 Reinforcement corrosion

Shire showing where pipe had been
structurally damaged.
15 Wynnum 225 2000 69 Min.5 Good condition, unchanged since

mostly 15 1977. Corrosion penetrated
along exposed reinforcement but
no spalling.
16 Victoria Point 600 1987 8 20 Corrosion on the end spiral but

adjoining spirals were clear. No
damage to concrete.
Tasmania
17 Sandy Bay 1050 1987 66 15 No corrosion damage to concrete.

(45 yrs (10 mm No significant reinforcement
service) in places) corrosion when pipe exhumed in
1966. Some corrosion initiation
since 1966.
5
Inspection Years of Cover
Service at mm
Inspection
NSW
18 Drummoyne 750 2000 30+ 15 Excellent condition.

Council, Five
Dock Bay
19 Hen & Chicken 450 2000 30+ 12 Some rust stains, no cracking or
Bay, Five Dock spalling.
20 Drummoyne 450 2000 30+ 13 Pipe in excellent condition.

Council, Five
Dock Bay
Victoria
21 Williamstown 381 2000 About 50 12 Pipes in excellent condition.

Thompson St 525 23 Some rust staining near end in
both cases but no cracking or
spalling.
22 Williamstown 450 2000 Unknown 10 Pipeline across beach has end

Railway (“very damage, but most of lengths in
Terrace old”) good condition.
23 Beaumaris 675 2000 40+ 13 Pipe in good condition. No

serious cracking & no spalling.
NSW
24 Drummoyne Various 2000 30-40+ Various All 6 pipes are typical exposure,
Council generally in good condition.
25 Kogarah Bay 1200 2000 35 Pipes not subject to damage. In

Hurstville generally good condition.
Queensland
26 Shakespeare St 1500 2000 35 Pipes in good condition.

Mackay
27 Chain St 1500 2000 29 Pipes in good condition.

Mackay
6
Conclusions
There has been no detectable change in the condition of the 9 re-inspected pipes except some
increase in corrosion at damaged pipe ends exposed on a beach. Apart from those with
damaged ends all pipes ending flush with the sea wall appear unchanged in the last 13 years.
The above tabulation shows pipes with cover to reinforcement of 15 mm or less have a
current service life in excess of 40 years with several cases of more than 50 years, and one
example of nearly 70 years with a cover down to 5 mm in places. The evidence of unchanged
condition over the last 13 years establishes that at least the buried lengths of all these
pipelines can be expected to be in service for many more years.
The rust spotting is evidence of initiation of corrosion in many of the pipes, but in none of the
buried pipe cases has corrosion advanced to the extent of causing cracking or spalling of the
concrete and hence no repair has been necessary
.
The marked difference in pipe condition when the pipeline is run across the beach may arise
from physical damage (the 1987 investigation of reinforcement condition a factor?), wet/dry
cycling or temperature gradient effects. As the wet/dry cycling also occurs in buried
pipelines, temperature variation is probably the prime cause. The difference in line condition
where the pipe was enclosed in a precast concrete surround (Pipe No. 23) and exposed on the
beach (Pipe No. 22) is dramatic.
7
Core Tests
Two nominal 100 mm diameter cores were cut from the approximately 55 year old 900 mm
diameter flush joint protruding through the sea wall into Hen and Chicken Bay at Five Dock,
Sydney – Pipe No.6 in the field inspection series detailed in Appendix 1.
The first core, taken near the crown of the pipe, was found to have an external crack so a
second core was recovered from nearby, around the 10 o’clock position, as is shown in the
attached photographs.
Both cores showed a wall thickness of 54 – 57 mm and contained three lengths of

approximately 4.5 mm diameter reinforcement – 2 spirals and one longitudinal. Cover to the
straight was 8 –10 mm in the core from the crown of the pipe and 14 – 18 mm in the other
one. There was no evidence of corrosion on any of the exposed steel when the cores were
recovered, but subsequently the ends showed light rust.
The outside surface of the cores was slightly roughened by erosion and the inside was coated
with marine growth. Minor voids were visible under the occasional flaky aggregate particle.
The crack in the “crown” core was visible to a depth of about 20 mm and was not oriented to
the reinforcement pattern – it appeared to be more of a “craze crack” shape.
Both cores were forwarded to Taywood Engineering Limited for testing; one for a chloride
ion study, the other (cracked) one for a petrographic analysis. A copy of the Taywood report
on these tests is attached as Appendix 2.
The chloride test results show that “chloride ion levels in the concrete are significantly
higher, by a factor of 10, than the commonly accepted threshold for corrosion initiation of
0.06%/ wt of concrete” The pattern is unusual in that the chloride concentration is highest in
the centre of the core and the report “suggests that the chloride was cast in to the pipe
concrete and that surface levels are lower due to washing out”. It is also possible, but
unlikely, that the high levels developed by diffusion during the first (30 –35?) years and that
the alteration of the sea wall configuration some 20 years ago changed the exposure
somewhat, allowing washing out.
The Petrographic examination gave several interesting results:
“Minimal carbonation”.
“Significant chemical change due to sulphate attack. However, the sulphate attack
products do not appear to be expansive”.
The “cement paste in the vicinity of the reinforcement was extremely well compacted
with minimal voids, less than 1% of material, and these voids were typically filled
with sulphate reaction products”.
“One of the two reinforcement sections examined showed no corrosion products.
The other section had minor degradation”.
8
The report concludes that “The apparently low incidence of corrosion initiation may be due
to a combination of bound chlorides raising the corrosion activation level, the very dense
cement
9
Core Tests
51_98
900 mm pipe after coring
51_100
Core taken near the crown of the pipe
10
matrix, which promotes a stable passive film, and saturated concrete, which restricts oxygen
ingress required for corrosion processes.”
Overall the evidence from the limited core testing not only reinforces the conclusions from
the visual inspection of this pipe viz. That it has not deteriorated in some 55 years in the tidal
zone, but also supports other data showing steel in concrete pipes to remain passivated at
chloride concentrations far beyond normal expectations. The lack of significance of the
external crack is also important.
11
Laboratory Investigations
Data relevant to marine exposure is available in four reports of “laboratory” investigations, as

follows: -
Werribee Seawater Test Site - This was a 15.5 year exposure of laboratory prepared
concrete pipe specimens in the tidal zone at Werribee beach.
Townsville sewer pipe – A lab analysis of sewer pipe samples in a mangrove swamp
for 11 years.
Wamberal Estuary Pipeline – Laboratory tests on a 19 year old pipe in acidic soil.
Chloride Tank Tests – A program of exposure of pipe sections to a high chloride
solution in a laboratory situation.
Each of these “case studies” is summarised below.
Werribee Seawater Test Site
In 1968, concrete pipe specimens were exposed in the tidal zone on the Werribee foreshore
reserve adjacent to the MMBW sewerage farm. The objective of this test series was to study a
number of factors that could influence pipe durability in a tidal zone marine environment.
Specimens were prepared with a range of variables, including some manufacturing process
alternatives and hence some results are company confidential. The test was concluded in
1984 and reported in Humes Concrete report RC 0719 of 21st August 1984. An edited version
of this report is attached in Appendix 3.
Whilst the report conclusions with respect to types of nibs and nib caps, coated
reinforcement, cover, porosity and cracking are of great interest, only three of the test
specimens could be described as conventional or standard pipes. Individual reports on these
pipes – Nos. 3, 4 and 5 – are attached, as are some photographs.
The performance of these “standard” pipes, after more than 15 years exposure in the tidal
zone, leads to the conclusion that 9 mm of cover prevents corrosion of the reinforcement, but
that 2-3 mm is inadequate. Corrosion of the steel nibs was evident but this had not lead to
corrosion of the structural reinforcement.
Townsville Sewer Pipe
Report RC.5267 of May 1974, attached in Appendix 3, describes a study of samples taken
from a 900 mm diameter sewer outfall in Townsville after 11 years of service.
Whilst some of the theory described in the report reflects the available technology of the
1970s, the report is relevant in that it shows no corrosion of the reinforcement except that
arising from corrosion of the nibs, and it does provide some data on chloride diffusion
(discussed in Appendix 4). The severe nib corrosion reported reflects the practice of the
1960s to use “gilded” (brass) nib caps which were not at that stage recognised as responsible
for setting up galvanic cell corrosion.
12
Wamberal Estuary Pipeline
In the mid 1980s pipes recovered from the Wamberal Estuary after 19 years service in a site
with a ground water pH of 3.7 were laboratory evaluated. Although the service conditions
were much more aggressive than a normal marine exposure there was chloride present and
the results thus have some relevance.
In addition to in-house testing by the pipe companies Unisearch Limited carried out an
independent examination. Appendix 3 contains the “General Conclusions” of the Unisearch
Report and various test certificates showing concrete permeability, chloride profile, cement
content and pipe strength.
The Unisearch conclusion includes “the present cover requirements are conservative, and
that a minimum value of 10 mm could be safely adopted, without any reduction of the service
life of the unit” and “the line at the time of exhumation still possessed a considerable degree
of integrity and that its life was in no way exhausted.”
Whilst this study is not directly related to normal marine exposure because of the highly
acidic ground conditions, it demonstrates the low permeability of spun concrete and the
retention of structural strength well beyond the initiation of corrosion.
Chloride Tank Tests
In 1981 a program was commenced for long term testing of reinforced concrete exposed to
chloride concentrations well in excess of seawater. This program included both beam
specimens of cast concrete and short lengths of 375 mm diameter spun pipes. Eight spun pipe
specimens were placed both vertically and horizontally in a pool containing a 5% chloride
solution, half were continuously partly immersed, the others cycled wet/dry on a monthly
basis. Two levels of cover –10 mm and 20 mm – were used.
The specimens were examined in detail after around 5.5 years and the results reported in
Humes report RC 1311 of 21st January 1987. The abstract (which deals mainly with the beam
samples) and all sections of the report dealing with the pipes are included in Appendix 3
The test continued until January 1998 – a total of nearly 17 years – when the pipes were
broken open and the reinforcement condition studied. During the period 1991 to 1998 the
wetting/drying cycling was not carried out for about 4 years – there was no drying cycle
during this time.
A final examination was made in 1998 and it was considered that the pipes laid horizontally
were the most relevant -
Pipe No 3 –10 mm cover, continuously partially immersed
Pipe No 4 - 10 mm cover, cycled
Pipe No 7 – 20 mm cover, continuously partially immersed
Pipe No 8 – 20 mm cover, cycled
Some photographs and original worksheets relating to these pipes are also included in
Appendix 3.
13
The significance of these results is that pipes continuously partially immersed in the 5%
chloride solution for 17 years are still in very good condition, particularly in the barrel
section, even with only 10 mm cover. Classical theory would not predict this result. The
cycled pipes are in much worse condition, but the thorough drying over one month for each
cycle is far more severe than in the 12 hour cycle of a normal marine tidal/ splash zone.
14
Data Analysis and Design Life Considerations
The currently accepted theory for design life of reinforced concrete structures exposed in
marine conditions is based on a two stage corrosion process –
1) a “time to initiation” of corrosion of the reinforcement. This is a period when the

chloride ion concentration at the steel surface builds up to a critical level,
depassivating the steel so that the corrosion process commences.
2) a propagation stage when corrosion proceeds to a level where the build up of
corrosion products leads to cracking or spalling of the concrete, or the steel is
severely reduced in section. At this time the concrete product becomes
unserviceable or has unacceptable damage and requires remedial action. This
period is sometimes called the “time to repair”.
The time to initiation is considered to be predictable by Fick’s Diffusion Law, where the
chloride concentration at a distance from the product surface is dependent on three factors –
the chloride concentration at the surface, the chloride diffusion coefficient and the length of
time of exposure. In the attached Appendix 4 the available data are used, over a range of
assumptions, to estimate the chloride diffusion coefficient, the result being a typical value of
1.3×10-7 mm2/sec, with a variability of the order of ±0.6. This value is then used to predict
the time to initiation for a range of covers from 10 to 20 mm. The calculated times are
consistent with the observations in the field inspections and the technical data in Appendices
2 and 3.
The time to repair does not have a theoretical basis for calculation, but is known to be
dependent on a range of factors including water-cement ratio, void content, steel
reinforcement diameter and orientation, wet/dry cycling and the presence of supplementary
cementious material. However a time of 5 to 20 years is often postulated.
The data assembled in this report do not support the adoption of this sort of time frame – it
would predict a maximum service life for covers of 10 mm of the order of 30 years. As is
established in the Appendices the observed life of every such pipe examined far exceeds this
time.
Recent research by Baweja et al proposes a modification of the above two-stage process

originated by Beeby many years ago, in which a third stage is identified. In this phase,
subsequent to the initiation stage, corrosion proceeds at a slow rate, with negligible corrosion
product build up, and hence no real deterioration of the product takes place. Appendix 4
includes an extract from the relevant published paper.
The performance of all of the pipes inspected accords with this theory, and, as shown in
Appendix 4, this period has been in excess of 50 years. The reason for this long period of
minimal propagation in concrete pipes needs extensive further research for positive
15
identification. However, it is not a totally illogical expectation because of several factors
which differentiate spun concrete from typical higher water-cement ratio cast concrete. These
include
• The very low water-cement ratio of horizontally spun concrete, either centrifugally
cast or made by the roller suspension process, usually well below 0.35.
• The density of the concrete, resulting in low chloride diffusion rates and low oxygen
availability.
• The well compacted cement paste in the vicinity of the reinforcement, with virtually
no voids present.
• The relatively small diameter of the reinforcement which limits bursting forces.
16
Conclusion
There is both visible and theoretical evidence to establish that buried concrete pipes made by
processes long enough established in Australia to provide reliable service data, when exposed
in the tidal range of a marine environment with a minimum cover to reinforcement of 10 to
12 mm, have a service life in excess of 70 years. It is logical to extrapolate from that fact to
predict a service life of 100 years for similar pipes with 15 mm cover.
This service life will not be achieved for pipes exposed to atmosphere across a beach unless
the pipeline is suitably protected.
17
Appendix 1. Detailed Results of Field Inspections
Pipe No. Location
1 Ramsgate (Rockdale Council area) NSW

2 Cronulla (Sutherland Council area) NSW
3 Five Dock Bay Drummoyne NSW
5 Woronora Inlet NSW
6 Hen & Chicken Bay Five Dock NSW
7 Five Dock Bay Chiswick NSW
8 Drummoyne Bay NSW
9 Kogarah NSW
10 Port Phillip Bay Brighton Victoria
11 Port Phillip Bay Williamstown Victoria
12 Port Phillip Bay Altona Victoria
13 Maroochydore Queensland
14 Maroochydore Queensland
15 Wynnum Queensland
16 Victoria Point Redland Bay Queensland
17 Sandy Bay Tasmania
19 Hen & Chicken Bay Five Dock NSW
23 Port Phillip Bay Beaumaris Victoria
24 Six Pipes in the Drummoyne Council Area NSW
25 Kogarah Bay Hurstville NSW
26 Shakespeare Street Mackay Queensland
27 Chain Street Mackay Queensland
A1.1
Pipe No. 1 - 1987
50_6
50_8
A1.2
Pipe No. 1
Inspection Report 1987
1350 mm diameter triple FJ Pipeline near Ramsgate-Rockdale Council area, Sydney.
Age about 33 years.
Inspection point at pit about 500 - 1000 m from outlet; tide rises to an average mid height of
pipe.
Internal cover over reinforcement 21 mm to straight and 25 mm to spiral. Pipes in very good
condition. No damage observed. Pipeline invert covered with sand, rocks, and salt water,
to about 150 mm depth. Normal high tide level at the point of inspection rises to about mid
depth of pipe.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of inspections
A1.3
Pipe No. 2 - 1987
50_115
50_83
50_12
A1.4
Pipe No. 2
900 mm FJ pipeline near Cronulla in Sutherland Council area, Sydney, age about 25 years.
Tide comes about mid depth of pipe. Inspected pipe at inlet pit where the top section of the
pipe had been removed to build pit. Reo exposed was corroded. Internal Cover to straight
was about 22 mm.
No corrosion areas were visible on any other parts of the pipe wall.
Reinspected pipe at outlet, where it ended at sea wall. Pipeline was in very good condition.
The invert was covered with debris and drainage water to 75 mm deep.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of Inspections.
A1.5
Pipe No. 3 - April 2000
51_2
A1.6
Pipe No. 3
450 mm diameter FJ pipeline, Drummoyne Council area, Five Dock Bay.
Age about 20 years. Normal high tide would cover the pipe.
Pipe wall was 40 mm thick and reinforced with 4 mm plain wire.
The internal cover to the straights was 20-24 mm and the external, to the spirals was
14-16 mm. The reinforcement showed corrosion in spots but no cracking or spalling of the
concrete had occurred.
Note corrosion penetration about 50 mm along exposed straight.
Inspection Report April 2000
This pipe enters Five Dock Bay just north of Thompson Street.
The exposed straight observed in 1987 has disappeared, but, apart from further damage at the
end, the pipe was generally in good condition, with no evidence of cracking or spalling away
from the end.
The freshly exposed section shown in the photographs showed no sign of steel corrosion.
A1.7
Pipe No. 3 - 1987
50_16
50_14
A1.8
51_6
51_4
A1.9
51_12
A1.10
Pipe No. 4
Drummoyne Council area, Five Dock Bay, 375 FJ pipe of about 20 years old.
The tide covers the pipe daily.
The pipe wall was 32 mm and was reinforced with 4 mm plain wire. The internal cover to
the straight was 10 mm, and the external, to spiral was 14 mm. The reinforcement shows
spots of corrosion but no cracking or spalling of the concrete.
This pipe enters Five Dock Bay just north of Dening Street.
Rust staining has occurred up to 200 mm from the exposed end of the pipe - probably no
change since the 1987 inspection. However there is a circumferential crack, together with
signs of corrosion of the spiral, about 50 mm from the end of the pipe.
Removal of some of the marine growth did not reveal any sign of corrosion, cracking or
spalling in the barrel beyond the end 200 mm.
A1.11
Pipe No. 4 - 1987
50_85
50_84
50_86
A1.12
51_10
51_12
A1.13
Pipe No. 5 - 1987
50_88
50_89
50_87
A1.14
Pipe No. 5
1350 mm FJ pipeline, Cronulla, in Sutherland Council area.

Pipe outfalls in Woronora river. Age about 17 years.
Tide level normally to mid-depth but maximum tides cover the pipe. Inspected about 40
metres into pipeline. No corrosion damage apparent on pipes. Wall thickness approximately
82 mm with internal cover to reinforcement measured at 14 mm to straight and 18 mm to
spirals.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of Inspections
A1.15
51_14
A1.16
Pipe No. 6
Drummoyne Council area - Hen & Chicken Bay.
900 mm dia pipeline flush joint (pipe on left).
Age about 40 years. Normal high tide covers pipe to at least mid height. Pipe wall 56 mm,
5 mm dia plain wire reinforcement.
Cover varies from 18 to 24 mm to external spiral and down to 13 mm on internal straight.
(Reinforcement spiral on the end was exposed prior to examination). Newly exposed
reinforcement showed a few corrosion spots but very little corrosion propagation. No
cracking or spalling of the concrete.
(The adjacent pipe on right is a pipe placed at a much later date when the sea wall was
reconstructed).
These pipes are located opposite to Kerin Way and project about one metre through the sea
wall.
The 900 mm pipe, now over 50 years old, internally shows rusting spirals and circumferential
cracking up to 300 mm from the end of the pipe, but there is no evidence of corrosion further
along the barrel. Externally there is no sign of corrosion. The pipe was cored for further
examination.
The adjacent 675 mm pipe, now around 25 years old, shown no sign of corrosion, spalling or
cracking.
A1.17
Pipe No. 6 - 1987
50_90
50_91
50_92
A1.18
51_16
51_18
A1. 19
51_20
A1. 20
Pipe No. 7
Drummoyne Council area - Hen and Chicken Bay.
1500 mm diameter pipeline flush joint.
Age about 30 years. Normal high tide would come near to top of pipe. Reinforcement
diameter about 7 or 8 mm.
Cover to reo 25 mm, corroded where exposed at hole but no cracking or spalling. (All pipes
had a subsidiary lifting hole knocked through them). Pipes in very good condition.
This pipe is located adjacent to Swannell Avenue in Five Dock Bay, not Hen and Chicken
Bay as reported in 1987.
This pipe, now over 40 years old, is in excellent condition, and, as can be seen in the
photographs, its condition does not seem to have changed since 1987, although the exposed
reo may have corroded further.
A1. 21
Pipe No. 7 - 1987
50_93
50_94
50_95
A1. 22
51_22
51_24
A1. 23
51_26
A1. 24
Pipe No. 8
Drummoyne Council area - in harbour at Drummoyne. 1200 mm diameter pipeline flush

joint.
Age at least 40 years. Normal high tide would regularly cover the pipe. (Concrete headwall
was built at the entrance).
Reo diameter about 4 mm - one small piece exposed at EW inlet point showed no evidence of
corrosion. Cover 25 mm.
Pipes in excellent condition. Invert covered with sand, rubbish and sea water. Pipes heavily
encrusted with oysters to about 2/3 height.
Note vertical misalignment at pipe joint.
This pipe is located on the beach at the rear of 68 St. Georges Crescent and is accessed from
Queen Victoria Street.
This pipe, now over 50 years old, is in good condition although there is some sign of
cracking 200 mm from the end and rust spots up to 375 mm from the end. Beyond this length
removal of marine growth did not reveal any evidence of corrosion.
A1. 25
Pipe No. 8 - 1987
50_96
50_97
50_98
A1. 26
51_28
51_30
A1. 27
Pipe No. 9 - 1987
50_99
50_100
50_101
A1. 28
Pipe No. 9
Kogarah Council Area.
750 mm diameter flush pipe. Pipes were part of an outfall now broken because of subsidence
of the sand bedding. Age about 25 years. 5 mm diameter reinforcement. Pipes would be
partially covered by each high tide. Cover to reo about 15 mm internal and about 16 mm
external. Pipes now showing cracking or corrosion. Reinforcement corroded where exposed
at broken end and corrosion has penetrated about 50 mm along exposed straights.
Spirals where freshly exposed are generally clear with only isolated corrosion spots with no
significant propagation.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of inspections.
A1. 29
51_36
A1. 30
Pipe No. 10
(AMENDED - 29 July 1988)
1875 FJ Class X Type D, Meek Street, Brighton (MMBW Main Drain) outfall into Port
Phillip Bay. Circular reinforcement, having 21 mm cover. High tide would regularly come
to the half pipe height.
An off-take was inspected 75 m from the outfall. The reinforcement, exposed when the off-
take was installed, was corroded. The straights showed corrosion into the concrete for 50
mm when the edge was further removed. No corrosion had taken place thereafter.
The pipeline was in excellent condition and was dated 60 61 SR (judged as June 1961),
Sulphate Resistant or Type D Cement. The age of the pipe was 25 years and the MMBW
Drawings are the 4960 Series dated 1964.
The 1988 inspection point was not accessible so the inspection was carried out on the pipe at
the sea wall, a position where, even at low tide, the pipe is more than half immersed.
Because of heavy rain prior to the first visit, insufficient pipe was examinable (see the muddy
water in the photograph). However on a later visit the pipe was found to be in good
condition.
A1. 31
Pipe No. 10 - 1987
50_102
50_103
50_104
A1. 32
Pipe No. 10 - March 2000
51_89
51_90
A1. 33
Pipe No. 11 - 1987
50_105
50_106
50_107
A1. 34
Pipe No. 11
Williamstown, Point Gellibrand, Port Phillip Bay. 300 mm side cast pipe (not spun pipe) laid
around 1951.
The pipeline is approximately 35 years old. This date was given by Victorian Railways.
Pipeline laid partly exposed over beach. It is now disused and has been damaged and broken
up by wave action or vandalism. Where pieces of the pipe wall are still intact there is general
corrosion of reos at 6 mm cover.
The pipe had several longitudinal cracks. Corrosion had progressed up to 80 mm along the
spirals from the longitudinal crack.
Carbonation levels were measured at 2 mm at invert and 20 mm at overt.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of inspections because it could not be
located and, presumably, the small pieces have been scattered.
A1. 35
Pipe No. 12 - 1987
50_108
50_109
50_110
A1. 36
Pipe No. 12
1200 FJ X Class Mulga Street, Altona (MMBW Main Drain) outfall into Port Phillip Bay.
Pipeline was 30 years old and had a 75-80 mm wall, which was reinforced with an oval grid.
The pipeline was in excellent condition. High tide would regularly cover 60% of the
pipeline. The reinforcement observed where an inlet pipe had been branched in showed 20
mm cover to the spiral. This was at 10 o’clock position, so cover would have been less at the
top and invert (1957 design has minimum cover of 9.5 mm).
The pipe inspected in 1987 was not accessible because in the late 1980s the drain was
extended by Melbourne Water, at local Council request. A short length of Black Brute was
used for the extension, so that the outfall pipe is now polyethylene.
However Melbourne Water carried out a CCTV inspection in 1996 and their Drainage
Department have advised that there was no sign of cracking or spalling in any of the concrete
pipes.
A1. 37
Pipe No. 13 - 1987
50_70
50_72
A1. 38
Pipe No. 13
525 RJ, 42 mm wall outfall into the Mooloola River, Maroochy Shire, Sunshine Coast,
Queensland. The pipeline was in the tidal zone and laid half exposed over beach. The
pipeline’s age was 27 years, with inner cover to straights of 12-19 mm. The concrete section
examined was in good condition with no cracks or spalls. When the concrete was removed
from the sample the reinforcement showed local areas of corrosion.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of inspections because the above
inspection was made on laboratory samples, not in-service pipelines.
A1. 39
Pipe No. 14 - 1987
50_111
50_112
50_113
A1. 40
Pipe No. 14
300 S&S (mortar joint) pipeline outfall into the Mooloola River, Maroochy Shire, Sunshine
Coast. The pipeline was in the tidal zone, had a 30 mm wall and was date stamped 20/2/68
(18 years old). Although this pipe was generally in good condition it had suffered some
structural damage with a piece of concrete knocked off and a crack had occurred at this point.
This had allowed corrosion to progress, along the crack which was over a straight. The
straight was corroded away and part of the spiral was also corroded away.
Corrosion had penetrated generally along the straights in isolated spots about 100 mm from
the pipe end, but only where the cracks had occurred were the spirals severely corroded.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series of inspections because the above
inspection was made on laboratory samples, not in-service pipelines.
A1. 41
Pipe No. 15 - May 2000
51_70
A1. 42
Pipe No. 15
225 mm diameter pipeline exposed on beach, between low and high tides near Glenora
Street, Wynnum. Outfall into Moreton Bay.
Age noted as 56 years.
The pipe wall was 28 mm, generally 15 mm cover which went down to 5 mm on the inside.
The top of the pipe had been broken and this was further extended to expose the
reinforcement. This reinforcement was converted to rust up to 50 mm from the hole.
Thereafter it was clean and bright. No spalling was evident.
Inspection Report May 2000
The beach has been eroded, and the segment of pipe described in the 1987 report is no longer
there. However, the original pipeline, now 69 years old, still emerges a short distance from
the sea wall, and, apart from a small amount of surface erosion, the condition of the pipe is
visually the same as that of the segment inspected previously.
A small piece of concrete broken off to expose the reinforcement showed uncorroded steel at
a cover depth of 12 mm.
A1. 43
Pipe No. 15 - 1987
51_74
51_76
A1. 44
Pipe No. 15 - May 2000
51_72
51_38
A1. 45
Pipe No. 16 - 1987
51_78
51_80
A1. 46
Pipe No. 16
600 mm FJ at Victoria Park near Ward Street, Redland Bay.
Pipe projecting through retaining wall at beach level. Eight years’ service.
Circumferential crack evident near invert about 30 mm from pipe end - between first and
second spirals. No other deterioration evident. The internal concrete was “trenched” to the
reinforcement and inside cover measured 20 mm. The end spiral was partly corroded away,
but the second and third spirals were bright, showing no corrosion. The spiral reinforcement
was 5 mm plain wire.
This pipe was not included in the Year 2000 series inspections because of the relatively
young age of the pipes.
A1. 47
Pipe No. 17 - 1987
50_82
A1. 48
Pipe No. 17
1050 mm diameter pipe exhumed from a Hobart (Sandy Bay) sewerage by-pass line in 1966.
Pipe laid in 1921 - age now 66 years but time in service 45 years. Pipe subject to intermittent
sea water access externally.
Reinforcement when exposed in 1966 showed no significant corrosion although recent

examination of a section of the pipe which has been in storage outdoors showed some
initiation of corrosion. The pipe shows no evidence of any cracking or spalling or damage
from any corrosion propagation.
As this pipe has not been exposed to marine conditions since the 1966 examination the
above report has not been updated.
A1. 49
51_91
51_92
A1. 50
Pipe No. 18
750 mm diameter, 51 mm wall spigot and socket or spigot and butt pipe projecting through
the sea wall into Five Dock Bay, near Moore Street, Drummoyne, cover to reinforcement
about 15 mm.
Age as advised by Drummoyne Council - at least 30 years.
This pipe had been fitted at some stage with a hinged plastic cover to prevent ingress of sand
into the pipeline, but all that remained was the plastic collar.
The pipe would be fully immersed at high tide.
The end of the pipe, at the invert, had been damaged, possibly by the opening and closing of
the valve. In this area, cracking had occurred and rusting was evident. Beyond this point,
and where the pipe was covered by the sea wall there was no evidence of cracking, spalling
or corrosion.
A1. 51
51_46
51_44
A1. 52
Pipe No. 19
450 mm diameter, 42 mm wall concrete pipe projecting through the sea wall into Hen and
Chicken Bay opposite Cecil Street, Five Dock. Cover to reinforcement about 12 mm.
Age as advised about 30 years (but the pipe looks much newer hence there must be some
uncertainty about its age).
The pipe would be fully immersed at high tide.
There were no visible cracks or spalling but a number of rust spots were visible, suggesting
that corrosion had been initiated at least in the length protruding through the wall.
A1. 53
51_48
51_50
A1. 54
Pipe No. 20
450 mm diameter, 42 mm wall FJ concrete pipe projecting through the sea wall into Five
Dock Bay near Moore Street, Drummoyne. Cover to reinforcement about 13 mm.
Age advised by Drummoyne Council as 30 years plus.
The pipe is fully immersed at high tide.
This pipe is in excellent condition; there are no visible signs of cracking, spalling or
corrosion.
A1. 55
51_52
A1. 56
Pipe No. 21
381 mm diameter by 35 mm and 525 mm diameter by 42 mm wall FJ pipes with outlets in the
sea wall opposite Thompson Street and just west of the Williamstown Cricket Ground at
Point Gellibrand. Cover to reinforcement about 12 mm.
Hobsons City Council advised as follows “The older 381 mm diameter pipe was constructed
in the 1940s or 1950s and the newer 525 mm diameter round about 1977. There is no
maintenance history on either pipe. End walls may have been extended at various times
which could mean that the pipes at the sea wall may be relatively recent”.
Pipes would be fully immersed at the highest tides.
Apart from some rust spots over about a quarter of the circumference within 100 mm of the
pipe end, the 525 mm pipe was in excellent condition. The 381 mm pipe showed somewhat
more rust staining, extending back into the pipe only for a distance of about a metre, but steel
exposed at the end showed no sign of corrosion. Neither pipe showed any sign of cracking or
spalling.
A1. 57
51_82
381 mm Pipe showing rust staining confined at the end
51_84
381 mm Pipe showing no steel corrosion on freshly broken surface
A1. 58
51_86
381 mm pipe
51_88
525 mm pipe
A1. 59
51_56
51_58
A1. 60
Pipe No. 22
450 mm diameter by 42 mm wall FJ pipes in an apparently disused line across the beach in
the vicinity of Railway Terrace, Williamstown. Cover to reinforcement about 10 mm.
Hobsons Bay Council advised that “This outlet serves a short length of very old drain,
possibly constructed by the railways. There is no construction or maintenance record”.
The pipes are fully immersed at high tide.
As is shown in the photographs pipes are badly damaged at the ends with exposed and
corroding reinforcement. However the undamaged barrel lengths show no sign of
circumferential cracking or spalling and 75 mm from the end the 4.55 mm plain wire
reinforcement is bright steel showing no sign of corrosion.
A1. 61
51_94
51_95
51_96
A1. 62
Pipe No. 23
Inspection Report May 2000
675 mm diameter by 51 mm wall FJ concrete pipe fully encased in in-situ cast concrete of
minimum thickness 250 mm, running across the beach at Haydens Road, Beaumaris
(Nautilus Street Drain). Cover to reinforcement about 13 mm internally. Steel plate etc. has
been secured to the inside of the pipe about 200 mm from the outlet.
Melbourne Water advises that this pipe was laid in the 1950s and hence age is in excess of 40
years.
The pipe would be fully immersed at the highest tides.
A crack, showing rust, was observed from about 6 o’clock to 9 o’clock about 40 mm from the
end of the pipe - presumably a corroded spiral. There was no other evidence of corrosion,
cracking or spalling and generally the pipe was in excellent condition. As expected, the
presumably unreinforced surround showed no evidence of corrosion at the cracks and
crevices.
A1. 63
51_66
675 mm diameter pipe ex Five Dock
51_68
600 mm diameter pipe ex Five Dock Bay
A1. 64
Pipe No. 24
Several other pipes in the Drummoyne, Chiswick and Five Dock area. These include:
- 675 mm diameter pipe at Five Dock Bay just south of Thompson Street, Drummoyne (see
photo).
- 675 mm diameter pipe at Five Dock Bay just north of Thompson Street, Drummoyne.
- 600 mm diameter pipe at Five Dock Bay opposite Wither Street, Chiswick (see photo).
- 1200 mm diameter pipe, fitted with plastic flap, at Hen and Chicken Bay near Hill Street,
Five Dock.
- 450 mm diameter pipe at Hen and Chicken Bay near Cecil Street, Five Dock.
In every case these pipes, aged up to 40 years, conformed to the general pattern of being
sound and in good condition except at the exposed end where cracking and rust staining was
common. No evidence of spalling was seen in any inspection.
A1. 65
Pipe No. 25 - June 2000
54_8
Outlet Pipe
54_11
Pipes close to outlet
A1. 66
Pipe No. 25
Inspection Report June 2000
1200 mm diameter by 68 mm wall Class “S” FJ pipe adjacent to Donnelly Park Boat Ramp,
Kogarah Bay, Hurstville, Sydney.
Age 35 years.
Tidal zone exposure, projecting a short distance through the wall.
Subsidence at pipe joints under the reclaimed parkland was noted in addition to subsidence at
the outlet. The outlet subsidence had caused pipe cracking and subsequent corrosion at the
outlet pipe. The pipeline had been subject to vehicular traffic with noticeable cracking in at
least one pipe length.
Further inside the pipeline was in satisfactory condition.
A1. 67
Pipe No. 26 - June 2000
54_14
A1. 68
Pipe No. 26
1500 mm diameter pipe located in the sea wall at Shakespeare Street, Mackay, Queensland.
Age 35 years.
Tidal zone exposure.
Inspection in 1980 showed a localised crack and imminent spall, with the remainder of the
pipe in good condition. This pipeline was still in service in June 2000 and appears to be in
good condition.
A1. 69
Pipe No. 27 - 1980
54_17
Condition at 1980 inspection
54_20
Condition at June 2000 inspection
A1. 70
Pipe No. 27
1500 mm diameter FJ Class Y six cell pipeline at Chain Street, Mackay, Queensland.
Age 29 years.
Tidal zone exposure.
A detailed inspection in 1980 reported the pipes to be in excellent condition. A recent re-
visit indicates that this situation has not changed.
A1. 71
Taywood Engineering Report No. 1303/00/8819 dated 29 June 2000.
Appendix 3. Reports of Laboratory Investigations
1. Final Inspection of Werribee Seawater Test Site – April 1984

RC.0719 of 21st August 1984.
2. Townsville Outfall Sewer Main

RC.5267 of 9th May 1974.
3. Report of Examination of Reinforced Concrete Pipe Exhumed from Wamberal Estuary

Unisearch report dated July 1984.
4. Inspection of Reinforced Concrete in Chloride Solutions at Higher Concentrations than

Seawater – September 1986
RC.1311 of 21st January 1987.
Plus extracts from the final examination in January 1998.
A3.1
52_1
Pipe No. 3 - Oval grid, 9 mm cover min.
52_3
Pipe No. 4 - Oval grid, 9 mm cover min.
A3.7
52_5
Pipe No. 5 -Central grid
A3.8
Chloride Tank
53_18
Test Arrangement
53_20
Cover removed for inspection of samples
A3. 29
Chloride Tank - Pipe 3
10 mm cover; continuously partially immersed
53_1
53_3
A3. 30
10 mm cover, cycled
53_5
53_7
A3. 31
20 mm cover; continuously partially immersed
53_9
53_11
A3. 32
20 mm cover, cycled
53_13
53_15
A3. 33
Appendix 4. Data Analysis and Service Life
Considerations
• Estimation of Chloride Diffusion Coefficient for Spun Pipe Concrete
• Discussion of Time to Initiation of Corrosion
• Discussion of Propagation and Time to Repair
• Extracts from Papers −

“Specification of Concrete for Marine Environments: A Fresh Approach” by
D. Baweja, H. Roper and V. Sirivivatnanon. ACI Materials Journal July-August 1999.
“High Performance Concrete and Reinforcing Steel with a 100 Year Service
Life” by Donald W. Pfeifer. Concrete in Australia, September-November 1999.
A4.1
Estimation of Chloride Diffusion Coefficient for Spun Pipe Concrete
There is very little published data concerning the diffusion coefficients of spun concrete.
Recent American data on low water cement cast concrete quotes values of 7.7×10-7 mm2/sec,
whilst Browne (ACI SP-68) quotes 1.0×10-7 mm2/sec for high quality concrete. A Bamforth
paper (Edinburgh 1993) shows calculated diffusion coefficients of 0.47×10-7 mm2/sec for
water cement ratios down to 0.24, and for GGBS concretes down to 0.042×10-7 mm2/sec,
with a note that the latter should be viewed with caution because of the assumptions made.
None of these values is indicated as being derived from spun concrete, which, because of its
manufacturing process, would be expected to have, if anything, lower values than those
quoted.
Gourley and Bieniak (Aust. Inst. Eng.Symposium 1983) quote measured values of
1.0×10-7 mm2/sec for finely cracked roller suspension (i.e. spun process) concrete piles.
Harrison and Gourley (Concrete Institute Australia “How to Specify and Produce Concrete
for Durable Structures, 1994”) quote a value of 1.0×10-7 mm2/sec.
The data available from the laboratory examinations of the Townsville and Wamberal pipes
enables calculation of diffusion coefficients via a transformation of Ficks Second Law, which
reads
Cx = Cs { 1 – erf x }
2√( DtT)
where Cx = the chloride content at depth x mm
Cs = the chloride content at the surface
T = the time in seconds
Dt = the diffusion Coefficient in mm2/sec
The Townsville test data, when graphed, shows chloride concentrations (Cx) of 0.06% at
20 mm depth and 0.004% at the reinforcement depth of 48 mm, at an age of 11 years.
Assuming the commonly accepted level of 1.5% for Cs the diffusion coefficients calculate as
0.7 and 1.8×10-7 mm2/sec respectively.
Similar calculations for Wamberal show a coefficient of 1.9×10-7 mm2/sec.
It seems reasonable to adopt a value range of 0.7 to 1.9×10-7 mm2/sec. As is shown later, this
is also consistent with the results of the field inspections and other data in this report.
Time to Initiation of Corrosion
The use of Fick’s Law to determine time to initiation requires the use of two data – the ratio
Cx/Cs where Cx is the chloride content at the steel position which causes depassivatition and
corrosion initiation (the threshold level) and Cs is the chloride concentration at the surface of
the concrete and the chloride diffusion coefficient Dt.
A4.2
Whilst there is general agreement in the published technical literature that the threshold level
Cx is around 0.3% of the cement content, quoted values range from 0.25% to 0.4%.
Similarly, the level to which surface concentrations build up has an even larger range of
reported values – from 1.5% to 4.2% of cement. This leads to a possible range of Cx/Cs of
0.06 to 0.27. a range which produces a variation in computed time to initiation by a factor of
2.9.
Using an intermediate value of 0.2, and the estimated value for Dt of 1.3×10-7 mm2/sec the
calculated years to initiation in sea water are
Time in years
Cover mm Cx/Cs = 0.06 Cx/Cs = 0.2 Cx/Cs = 0.27

10 3.5 7.5 10
15 7.9 16.5 23
20 14 30 40
25 22 47 62
An examination of the field inspection data, made on the assumption that the absence of any
visual sign of corrosion (i.e. no sign of rust spots, cracking or spalling) indicated that
initiation had not occurred gave the following result:
- Pipes with less than 15 mm of cover – a group of 11 pipes, nine of which showed that
initiation had occurred at the time of inspection, whose ages ranged from 20 to 30 years. Two
pipes (No 5 with 14 mm cover aged 17 years and No 20 with 13 mm cover aged 30 years)
showed no visible evidence of initiation of corrosion.
- Pipes with 15 mm or more cover - 7 pipes showing no sign of initiation, including

Pipe No 18 – 30 years with 15 mm cover,
Pipe No 10 – 38 years with 21 mm cover,
Pipe No 8 – 53 years with 25 mm cover.
With minor exceptions, these observations conform closely with the upper sector theoretical
predictions above, and, considering the degree of uncertainty in the parameters, must be
considered as providing strong evidence that the onset of corrosion is generally predictable
by Fick’s Law.
The Werribee sea water exposure tests detailed in Appendix 3 also fit this pattern, with
observations of rust spotting at less than 15 years with low cover to reinforcement.
The chloride tank exposure tests with 10 mm cover, as described in Appendix 3, also fit this
pattern, with initiation of corrosion within 5 years of exposure. Using Fick’s Law and
assuming a 5% surface chloride concentration and a threshold level of 0.3% the use of a
diffusion coefficient of 1.3×10-7 mm2/sec gives a calculated time to initiation around 3.5
years.
A4.3
Propagation, Time to Repair and Service Life
There is very little published data on the prediction of the remaining useful service life during
the propagation stage after initiation of corrosion for reinforced concrete in marine
exposures. This is not surprising in view of the large number of relevant parameters which
make the problem very complex, and the consequent difficulty in laboratory simulation of
field performance.
Based on limited and largely unquantified properties of concrete values as low as 5 years
have been postulated, whilst other estimates go as high as 20 years.
Recent literature (D.W. Pfeifer, extract attached) tabulates the corrosion propagation time to
produce cracking against the average current densities (or resistivity) during that time and
Baweja et al (extract attached) report research work leading to a proposal of a two stage
propagation process – a high resistivity low currrent stage called the “active stage” in which
little corrosion occurs, followed by a “breakaway stage” during which the resistivity
increases rapidly and general corrosion occurs. The Pfeifer data states that the time to
cracking i.e. the time to repair can be as long as 100 years if the current densities are
sufficiently low.
There does not appear to be any published data on the current densities during propagation
applicable to spun concrete, but the service history observed during the field inspections can
be used qualitatively to establish an estimate of the length of the Baweja nominated “active
stage”. In particular the performance of Pipes Nos. 6, 12, 15, 17, 21 and 23 have
reinforcement covers in the 10–15 mm range with current service lives of 53, 39, 69, 45, 50
and 40+ years. Initiation would have occurred inside 10 years so the current propagation
periods at low current flow range from 30 to 60 years.
Several of these pipes (Nos. 6, 12 and 15) were in the reinspected group and have shown no
change in condition in the last 13 years and it seems logical that this “active stage” will
persist in the future. Extrapolation to a total service life of 100 years seems a reasonable
interpretation of the available evidence.
The reason(s) for the abnormally long low current flow propagation period can only be
speculated on without further specific research, but it can be noted that spun concrete is
differentiated from typical cast concrete by a number of factors including:
• The very low water-cement ratio of horizontally spun concrete, either centrifugally
cast or made by the roller suspension process, usually well below 0.35.
• The density of the concrete, resulting in low chloride diffusion rates and low oxygen
availability.
• The well compacted cement paste in the vicinity of the reinforcement, with virtually
no voids present.
• The relatively small diameter of the reinforcement which limits bursting forces.
A4.4

Durability of Concrete Pipe in A Marine Environment

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Durability of Concrete Pipe in A Marine Environment

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Durability of Concrete Pipe in a Marine

Appendix 1 Detailed Results of Field Inspections

All re-inspected lines were still operating.

No Location Dia. mm Year of Age Min. Condition at Time of Inspection

1 Rockdale 1350 1987 33 21 Pipes in very good condition.

2 Sutherland 900 1987 25 22 Pipes in good condition.

3 Drummoyne 450 2000 33 14 Apart from end damage pipe in

4 Drummoyne 375 2000 33 10 One crack near end, showing

5 Sutherland 1350 1987 17 14 Pipes in good condition.

6 Drummoyne 900 2000 53 13 Some cracking up to 300 mm

7 Drummoyne 1500 2000 43 25 Pipes in very good condition.

8 Drummoyne 1200 2000 53 25 Pipes in good condition, heavily

9 Kogarah 750 1987 38 15 Rust stains on reinforcement.

10 Port Phillip Bay 1875 2000 38 21 Pipes in very good condition.

11 Williamstown 300 1987 35 6 Side cast pipe (not spun). Pipe in

12 Altona 1200 1996 39 10-20 Pipes in excellent condition. No

13 Maroochydore 525 1987 27 12 Rust stains on reinforcement but

14 Maroochydore 300 1987 18 10 Reinforcement corrosion

15 Wynnum 225 2000 69 Min.5 Good condition, unchanged since

16 Victoria Point 600 1987 8 20 Corrosion on the end spiral but

17 Sandy Bay 1050 1987 66 15 No corrosion damage to concrete.

18 Drummoyne 750 2000 30+ 15 Excellent condition.

20 Drummoyne 450 2000 30+ 13 Pipe in excellent condition.

21 Williamstown 381 2000 About 50 12 Pipes in excellent condition.

22 Williamstown 450 2000 Unknown 10 Pipeline across beach has end

23 Beaumaris 675 2000 40+ 13 Pipe in good condition. No

25 Kogarah Bay 1200 2000 35 Pipes not subject to damage. In

26 Shakespeare St 1500 2000 35 Pipes in good condition.

27 Chain St 1500 2000 29 Pipes in good condition.

Both cores showed a wall thickness of 54 – 57 mm and contained three lengths of

The Petrographic examination gave several interesting results:

Data relevant to marine exposure is available in four reports of “laboratory” investigations, as

Each of these “case studies” is summarised below.

Werribee Seawater Test Site

Townsville Sewer Pipe

Chloride Tank Tests

1) a “time to initiation” of corrosion of the reinforcement. This is a period when the

Recent research by Baweja et al proposes a modification of the above two-stage process

Pipe No. Location

1 Ramsgate (Rockdale Council area) NSW

Inspection Report 1987

1350 mm diameter triple FJ Pipeline near Ramsgate-Rockdale Council area, Sydney.

Age about 33 years.

Inspection Report 1987

Inspection Report 1987

450 mm diameter FJ pipeline, Drummoyne Council area, Five Dock Bay.

Pipe wall was 40 mm thick and reinforced with 4 mm plain wire.

Note corrosion penetration about 50 mm along exposed straight.

Inspection Report April 2000

Inspection Report 1987

The tide covers the pipe daily.

Inspection Report April 2000

Inspection Report 1987

1350 mm FJ pipeline, Cronulla, in Sutherland Council area.

Inspection Report 1987

Drummoyne Council area - Hen & Chicken Bay.

900 mm dia pipeline flush joint (pipe on left).

Cover varies from 18 to 24 mm to external spiral and down to 13 mm on internal straight.

Inspection Report April 2000

Inspection Report 1987

Drummoyne Council area - Hen and Chicken Bay.

1500 mm diameter pipeline flush joint.

Inspection Report April 2000