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Repair. Protection and Waterproofing of Concrete Structures

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Repair" Protection and Wa.terproofing of Concrete Structures

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GOPHER: 'gopheUhomson.com IFTP:flp.thlomson.oom IEMAIL f~ndflt@k~osk.thlomson.oorn
A service of

I(!)P

Repair.Protection and Wa terproofing of Concrete 'Structures

Third edition

P.H.Perkins

Am lirnp11i'!L 01 O·~W·!l1{i,~ .11\ Ma!1

E.& 'FN SPON

lort1ldorn· Weifltieim·

Nlew '{ork: ~Tokyo ~ Mel bou me ~ Madras

Published by IE& FN Spon, .m ~mprllflt oJ !(ha:~.m.ul &H;1iU,2-(i Ei;il:lnd.;1iry Rn,w, LOim.ilCIIt SE:iI!8HN, UK Chapman&:: HlIl], 2--6 l3otmdaryRow; Chapman&:: HlI~.~ GmbH" Pappelallee Chapman
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London SEI SIil'J, UK 3" 69469 We~nheim., Ge.rm1llny

HlI[~ USA. 115 FiftlbAv'l'11l1e,.New York".NY 10003, USA Chapman &; Hall iap,lJ[l, ITl'-Ja.pall(, Kyowa Uuilding.. 3F,.2-,2-1 Hieakawacha, Ch~yoda~lkilJ, '['(lky~ H12, J"'p;n:n Ch;n:pman& HlI~~llstralia, [02 Dodds St~g~, S()1.l~hMiiUboIU~l(l,Victoria A
3205, Australia Chapman &:: lI~] Ind]"" RSeshlld:ri" 3:2Second Main Ruao:\,0'[' East, H M~adir<ll" 035, ]l:ildull 600 Hi::;trilbuted in the. USA and Can<l!cla. y Van Nostrand b Reo1lO.1rl,.

nSf'Hth

AveIUl!\!,New York, NY 10000."USA

S~ond edition 1986 Ihh\cI eclmon 1.Wi'

e 1991

P.H,Pe.rki115 dmoUSBN

ISBN 0-203-4/5i'2-0Master

ISBN0 4[ 9 2{I2al~.3 (Pr.un~~d~tion~

ISBN 0-203-18396-4 (A.dooo eRe<l!cle.r ormat) F

Apllrl hom any fair dea~il'lg flo'r ~h~ pUirposes of research o.rprlvat!\! ~tUldy, or criticism. or revi.ew, a:spe.r.ri~red under-the UK COF~yri:gh.tIDe5-~gtlSnd a Pa~!~ts Ad" 19S5,,~hus puIbHcatj:o~.lmaiY nor be :~PMd:~LI;!\!di, stored, or tiI:;tInsmitite.cI, any form. or by :;tiny means, wHhont tbeprlerpermeslon in unwrutin;g oJ lh~ p[Lb]islw.rs, or rnth~ c,."'ll<1(): of ~pl'(lgraphi:c mprodiuClion Liceinsing Aglili'lr.;:yn th~ UK" or in "'t;coutanc!\! wi&h~'h(l t!\!rms of ~U01!i'Ices i iLS5U.edby the' appreprlate Re.produ.ctim:l .Rights Organiz1!Iti.on outside the UK., Enq[Liries cOllce'ri'li:ng :r.gprodiuCluon{l1lJ~~de~h~Wnn:s :s~a~.h():re should be Sl'11~ to the ptlb.lishe.m. atthe London address prlnted on this. pa;g~Ihe ptlb]isher makes nerepresentation, express (1"[ iml]J]ied" w:ith ~ard to th~ at;l;uracy ~f.' th~ul'lfornlali(lln l;orltaui'I!\!dinlhus book andi r cannot lIcreF~t any leg1!i~ respClllSihility ("II 1:i1lhili~y Siny errors m for Olnuss~rn1St~1at'm.."1J.y be luad!\!" Acataloguereoord
for this book i~ available from th~ EirWsh [;ilirnry Qn~yin accordance wHh~he terms of the licences issued bythe Copyri:gilJt

Library ofCoi'lgr(lsS Catalog Card! NUlmb(l~~ 97-{~660~9

Contents

pJ)~J'ace~o the .Fll[g~Et;Ulion. Preface jothe Second Edition Pr,eJil.C€tothe Third EdiHo.m 1 Ge'oeral (lh1>ervi\Jj~l(lln1> 1.1 [nt:r(ldluctiol1l
1-2 The r~8pon8ibmtie8

xv

x\d xviii 1
]

1.3
1.4 1.5

of the engineer or ofuerprofes8ional~ Basi; procedure for ililvestig~tiol1LS-migattioI1l not

].

involved whenUtigat~.(In ]$ Ci.Il:li:t:emplated The ,enginee:r as am. expeTt wHne$$ 1-6 The pl1€p<1lration of spedficaJ:iollil 1.1' The contract documents Invijations totender 1.8 1.9 Insurance-backed guat.:untees .:und.wan~ntee$ 1.W Nahofia~ <una Ewt'()pea:rn St.andi:lrd!s <und Codes of PrEct:ice 1-11 Health and. SaJely regulatieas I.'!nd product specif:i.c';;Iti.oIlt 1.12 Delirliitions 1.13 lRerereJilce.5 1.14 Further :rea,dirng
Procedure :2,

2. 2. 4 7

'7 8 9 9 10
12 13

13 IS

G,i!lsic dil<ltilJdeTh~~ics ~M ci)nCte~e <'jn,d H1I(ilrtilJtaiid t~e~T oo~5time:u;tal!d assnciated mOl!~e:riO!iW5 2.1 Introducrkm
CO<.f!i!st:i:t:t1ent ma~eri<IJ~s

2.2

Por~hmd Qem.ernlS 2,2., 'l The ac;ttion of <Ic]ds, on Portland ,oememt ::;L2"2 Solutions of sulphatee and their em~don ForUill1ld cen1Le.nt: 2.2,3 The ef.lied of solutions of ehlorldes on PI):rUarnd cement v

15 16 16
il7

18 18

vi
2"3 2.4 2.5

Contents
I'":~igh<'Ilumina. cemernts (HAC) C(i:r[{1$10fi-r.eS~$tai:itt cement Aggregatesrrom narnral soureesfor concrete and mOrrill' Adrnixmres 2.6.1 Acoe]eratI)rs. 2.6.2 Setretaro.ers. 2.6.3 Water-redudrnga.dm:b:.tures!w~lrhbJi]Ji,ty aJids I p]ilst:idzecrs 2.6.4 Supe:rplasti(Jizing admixtures. 2.6.5 Air ,entrai.ning adm]xture$ 2.6.6 Pigments Addihons 2.7.J. Pulverizedmel <Ish (Pfil) 1 .. .. 72 Ground granl!lMed 'Ma$tfumaiCe s]ag (gg~) 2.7.3 Conde~s-ed si]Ji(:-<'I fume 2.7..4 . Polymers Wate:r formhcing (Orll,crete andmotttar

18
2f)
'2]

22 22 23
L3

24 24
25
26

2.7

26
27 27

28

2.8

29
3'0'

AS~(ldIded Millterials 2.9 St·eel re~:i1If("r>Cement 2.. J 9 Galvalilized[\e~nf(Jr·oemerlit 2.9.2 FU$~on-:b(lfided epoxy-o)at~ reinforcement 2. 9.3 Sta:in]ess.~.steel r.e~nf(J[cemernt 2.9,4 Spacers C(l:[I\(,s~on inl:li:ihiw:rs 2.9.5 2.10 Non-ferrOl!lS meMls iin C(lrncr.e'~ 2. HJ1I. Aluminium <und akmr'JiJinium. alloys. 2.10.2 C(lppel' 2.10.3 PhOB-ph(Jr-:bl'onze 2.HM B:ra~'>S 2.10.5 Lead 2.HJ6 Zinc 2.11 J oJinltfillers and sealants 2.12 Jo]n,t fillers 2"13 Soea Iantts 2.13.11. In situ ,compoumds 2.13.2 Pr.e'Eotm.eo. seali:l!nts 2.14 Rea,ch \i"er'esincS 2.14.11. IntTI)o.ucti(Jrn 2.14.2 Epoxy resins 2.14.3 Polyes.terr,esil:l.tS 2.14.4 Pol )'ur.elli.;une res~:ns 2.14.5 Polymerized concrete

30

3n
31

32
32 33

33 34
34

34
34

35 35 35
35 36

37
38 38

38 38 39
4f)
.4()

Contents
2.15 Curing C(Impounds f~Jrr ~Jncret:e<uno.monar C 2.15.11. Spray-applied membranes 2.15.2 Shee'~ rnatedab 2.15.3 W-et/walter curirng Reference Further rea.dirng

viii

40
4] 4]

4]

2.16 2.17 :3

42 42
45

~acw'r:s .8JffecH~g t~e dutabHHy ,ofre~n~Qr1lCled()Qne[1e'te 3,1 Int:r{)ducti{)rn 3,2 C~l:[[O$ton or steel reinoorcemernt in. ,ooncrete 3,2.] Intmducti(Iri1. 3,2.2 De'lldop:men,tof crack$. in C~lncret:e 3,2.3 High perrneabiMy .;und! or high porosity 3,2 ..4, Cover C~}at~1'f onc~te or rn.ortM c 3.2.5 Caibonahon (If C(Jnc['e'~e 3,2 ..6 Ch~oride-indI]Joed C~1'r[(J$ion ofreh:li:f(1'r>Cement 3,2.7 Stray electri,c currents De~eTi(I[<lHon ~l:Jf oorncrete the 3,3.] lntmduchon Physk'a] damage 3,.4,.] AlbraS~~ln 3..4.2 Fr:eeze~t!haw 3,.4,.3 Tl:lierrn<llsheck 3..4.4 High -velociry water 3,4.5 Cavirnhon 3,.4,.6 . WateT containing ahrasi ve matter ]n sl!lspel1L$~on 3..4.7 [mpa:ct from a.high..cvdodity 'i,,,,at·err jet Chenr'IJic;-<ll <Itltad::on ,concrete Intmducti(Iri1. AtttaiklJy acids 3's.2 Ammonium wmpounds 3.5.3 3,SA M<lgtr'lesium compoumds Sulphaltes 3.5.5 Chl(Jrides 3's.6 Sodium hydroxide (c;-<lustiicoda) s 3.5.7 DistiUeda.n.d. demi1:lJ.era]ized w<lter 3,s.8 M(10damd waters 3,s.9 Sea w<lter 3.5.10 3.5.]1 Sew.:JJge----,dornesti,cand. trade dTIuenls 3.5.]2 VariOl!lS,compounds 3,s.12.1 EmU .;undvegemb]e jl!lices 3.5.]2.2 Milk and dairy products 3.5.12.3 Sug~r 3.5.12APe'~[o]eltlll1L (1'il;;

45
46 46

47
.4;8 4;8

5] 5]
52
52

48 49 50 50 50

52
53

54
54 54 5.4
55

s.s.i

56
57

57 58

58 58

59

60 6] 6]
61
(j.]

62. 62

viii
35.13
3.6 3.7 4 Reference

Con ten te
3.5.12.:5 Urea Alkali-silica reaction 3.5.13.1 Summary of A5R problem
62 62 64

further reading

650 650

lfilv,es1tiga.tru.o:nal'ld diagn.osrus of defects .hl .reht~oroed

CO:Rcre~e

67

4.1 4.2

4.3 4.4.

4.:5

Ineroduction GenE'J.'1l1 utline of iheprooedlue o 4.2.1 Irdtial discasalons <Ind.preliminary inspection 4.2.2 DetaHed inspection, sampling and testing 4.2.3 The engiineer's report tofue client The preliminary inspection Detailedinspection, sampling and tl:esti:J.1Lg 4.4.1 Ineroducelon The nmnber, location and type of samples 4.4.2 Depth of carbonatiion 4.4.3 4.404 Type and .grading of aggJ."egJlJt:e Cement c:cmtent of the concrete 404.5 CemeIlI:l:~ype 404.6 Chloride content of the concrete 4.4.7 Sulphate content or the concrete 404.8 4.4.9 Assessment of voids and compaction of the concrete 404.9,] Honeyeombed concmte 4.4.10 Addmana~ tests on the concrete 4.4. 10.1 Orlgmal wa~r mnrent: 4.4.10.2 Water absorption 404.]0..3 Initlal surface absorption tes~ ({SAT) 404.].0..4 Rehound hammerjest 4.4.10.5 UUraoollli.c pulse yelodty~es~'S 4.4.10.6 Radar (impulse radar) Tests for ihe ddectiion and diagnosis of relnforeement

6'7 6'7 6'7 68 686869 69 70 70

7]

71

72
72

72

73 73 73 74 74 75 75
76 76 76
76

cerrcsien General cons·:iideratiions 45.1 Depth of carbonatiion 45.2 Cracks and crack pal'rerns 45.3
45.4

7'7 7'7
'J7 78 80 80

45.5 45.6

4.6

45./ Cracking jureiJnrorced concrete structures

Cever-meter surveys The half-cell pOi~e:nt~al easurements m De~rm:inatii.o:ll of less of section oif rebars due to corrosion Radiography

81

Contents
4.6.1
4.6.2 Structural cracklng

ix
8]
81 8] 84 85 87 87 87

4.6.,3

Non-structural ,cr<JiJckiing 4.6.3.] Drying shrinking cracking

4.7 4J3 4.9 5

4.6.3.2 Thermal cmll:trnctioncrnckill,g 4.6.3.3 Map·'P'a~l'el'n craeklng (crazing) 4.63.4 Cracking due to bad. wOllkm<IDl;sh:ip 4.6.3.5 Cracking due to alkali-sllieareacdon Diagnosis of non-structural dereds

4.7. ]fu~.l'od!.1ildio.n The engineer's report tofrle client

FurU1I!erreading

88 88 88
89

NOll~stl'lu,;turall\ep<lim to re:infuKed.ooll!Cl\ete 5."1 Definition 5.2 Preparations far .l\emooia]. work 5.2.] Contract: docurrtents 5.2.:2, Tend.e.ring 5.3 The execution or th.e repairs 5.3.1 Preparaeory work 5.3.:2, Grouting (bond coa~) 5.3.3 The mortar mix 5.3,4 The app]kation o!f~he mortar 5.3.5 CUlling 5.3.6 FiJ:n:ishiiA"lg procedures 5.3.7 Repairing non-struetaralcracks wii,th grou,t: Oll mortar 5.3.;8 Repairing 'live' cracks 53.9 Repairs toohoneycombed concrete 5AFurU1I!er reading

90 9'0 90 90

91
92 92
94 94

95 % 96

rn
98 99 99 11.01

Part:

11.

Gene'ralbuHdhtg

stm.ctures

101 10] 102

6.1 6.2

Ineroduction 6.1.1 Definition of Eail.me lLnvesligations for structural defoecl's 6.2.1 Ineroducelon 6.2.:2, Indications of structural defects lLnyesHga~io:n procedure 6.2.3
6.2,4

102

102
102-

6.2.5
6.2.6

Impulse radar S1i.U1'V~y Core~esting $m streng~lll Leadtests

103 103 104 105

Repair n:u~thocts 6,3 Crack Injection 6,3.1 IntTI)ducti(I11l 6,3.2 Essenhalfeaturesof ,rad:\:: Jinjectklfi 6,3.3 The inj~cijOrll pr()oess 6,3.4 Pr.epilratir,ul1(1'fthe cracks pdor to linjechon 6,3.5 LoCan(lrnlof Jinjectkln polints and sutfaC€ sea]ling 6.3.6 Inject~on of the res~.n {'i,3.7 F~rnil] work~o]llf\o\ling irnjiectiorn t'i,4 Repairs l!l$]ng epoxy-bonded steel plate:;; 6,4.1 IntTI)ducti(I11l 6.4.2 [nfo:rrnati~lnon the tec.hn:iCJ!ue The use ofnbr~~re]nEor(ed plastJi(S 6,5.1 Carbon fihre .oompos].t·es Cathedic pDJ't~(:t~on of['e~nforceltl~nt 6,6.1 Intmducti(I11l 6,6.2 Generalprindples ·of cafn(ldkpwtection Re-il]ka]JizaH~lnand chloride ,extraction 6,7.1 IntTI)ducti(I11l 6.7.2 Re-~lka]JizaHon 6,7.3 Chloride extraction I :removal Monitoring cornlS]~lno:f rebat"$ .afler oomph~'~ion ~l'frepairs

1()6

106

106
1(}6

107
107 H)7 107

Uo

110

lIO
110
Ull

t'i,S
6,6

]U ]U
llU

112
114 114

t.S

il14

B4

t.\S

us
116

lrutT()du(ti(In !PrdJirninaty 8Jssessrnenl t'ic 11 The effect of fire on ,ooncre~eand Sled r.e~nf(I[oeme:nl 6,12 On-$],te testing 6,13 Exeouti(In ofr,epillt"$ 6,13.] Repair milterials .:und. execution of work
6,9 6,10

U7
117

n9
1120 12)()
122.

6,14

6, 15
6,16 6,17

Introduction InvestJigilt~ol:l!S Samp]Jing and tesHng Cracks and ,rack~:ritg 6,17. il Causes of cracking 6, 17.2 Conos~on of re:bars 6, 17.3 Conos~on .of p~stress~.mg cables 6,17.4 Deffb:;1tsn deck membran~ <lind.oJints i j

1122 1123 1126 1127 127

127

127 128

Contents
6.17.5 6.18 6.19 Failu['eor partia] failure ~1:f (tven:u;~nt Foiin,tf;; m and bel"lnngs Alkali -silica reac~on Repairs 6.19J Patch repaiirs 6.19.2 Ca:thodic pro:frectiorfl 6.19.3 Jo:inlt$an.d. bel:'lnngs {i19.4 WateTprcoof membrilines 6.19.5 Strengthening with epoxy-bonded stedp]ates 6.19.6 Post-'tensioned bridges Remerli<'ll work~or ASR damage 6.19.7 1'2R :il29 130

un

un
130

131 tsi 132 132

6.20 6.211 6.22 6.23 6.24

'7

[ntt(Kluctiorn [n~st]gat~ol:lbS Examples ~1!f repair

]33

References
Further readimg

il33 US 137 :il37

1411.

Co!aHn:gs (billttler sy.st"emls) .~(I!r1ei:fifol~ed cl)lI1I(:re~e l

7.1 7.2

7.3 7.4

7.5
7.6
7. 7

7.8
7.9 7.10 7.11
8

[ntr()auctiOrfl C(1,ating m<lte.r]als in general use 7.2.1 Material types 7.2.2 DeSirable ebaracteristics Reas.otllsOOr Il$Jing coMing-s as pi"llr"lt o:U:li:cr~'tte of repeirs Basic r~qu~['emen1ts fortiheappUcahon or all 'OOI:'lHngcs Coating-s forL1S€ after general repairs to conCr€te. C(1,ating over cracks C~1,ating-s."ItOresist the imgress or chloride iOril$ COl:'lting-s(Darnel' system.r'JJs)o pr{)tect C(]fiI:c['ebegainst t a clThemJica~anack CoMing-$. to iinhibit the forntatk.ln of e,fl]oresoefil:oe Refur·en(e Further rea.dirltg

l,n
143

143
143

143
144

145
148

148
149

1sn
150
15] 11.5.2

RepiIJir.s~o,eu~cl1etefl,U(lirs<lJtJldwuis

IntroauctiOI:li to Parts 1and 2:

152
11.52

8.]
8.2

IrrvesHgat~ons Diagnli;.x;;isi"IInar'ecom:mendat:i(1ns f(1:[repair 8,2.1 Sudace wel"lrahms~on

152 153
154

xii

Contents
R2.1J PaBCh repa]t$ 8.2.1.2 New topp~rftgorover-slab Dampness in gNH!lnd-strpp~l'rted fleor s]<'Ibs· Thermal instd<'ll:i()fil Cra:zJrng or 'map .cr<lcking' Sl]ppery~oo:r $l!lda,oe Cracks De:fe'tive joi.nts De'[edtve a[:f~ascaused by chem]C;-i'll ttta/Ck a Debondi]og/loss 0'[ adhesion of toppirngs De:fe(:t$.ln the g[(l'und support to industr~a] floors Speda~ problems $,3.] Seepage of liquids. thwugh the slab 8.3.].] Wet trades $,3.1.2 Bab:mie,s and extema~ suspended! access ways Floors of muUi -storey car parks

154
156
157

8.2.2 8.2.3 8.2.4 8.2.5 8.2.6 8.2.7 8.2.8 8.2.9 8.2.10 8.3

19$

15'9 159 160 161 163 163 166

166

162

166
167

8.4

169
t7il

8.5 8J;)

lrutti)ducti()m

17]

8.7
8.8

IrrvesHgatkM1S 8.6.] Types of constructiom 8.6.2 [ns,pectiorfl Diagnosis

172

172 172
174

Remedia] wll)tk
8.8.] 8.8.2
Patch repa]t$

174
174
jlO]on:;

Repairs to

174
174

8. 9

8..$.3 Cornp]ete refur'bics,hmernt Furll:iH~rreadirng

176

9.1 9.2

Intt(Kiucl:if.Iri1

178
1.7$ 179 182

Irrvest:igat~ons 9.2..] Teslimgfo:[~eali"lge (liquid ]oS$) 9.2..2 Roof leakage

9.2..3
9..2...4 9.2.5

Locationof

le<'lkage

[nfi]trat:i~ln

183 183 185

C(lrroskmof re~rnfo'rcemefit

9.2..6

184

Contents
9.2..7 9.2.8
[:.,Iydrogern su]phide cOtt{)s:i(II1l SIl!l.dgedigestion tanks Damage h) .ooncrete lby freeze-thaw 9.2.9 A[k",U-siH:ca tead~on 9.2.10 9.2.11 Samp]ing a.md.lesting 9.2.12 h'ltpu]seradar sm~v~y Dlagnesis Repairs .;und.r'emedial work 9.• t1 Work required toremed y /reduce leakage! infi]traH~ln R.emerlli:11 work to joints R.emedli"11 worklO cracks 9.·1".3 9.4,.4, R.emedii"ll work to sp:a]led comcrete
9.4,,5

xiiii 186 187 187 187 188 19] 191

im
19] 192

193
194: 195 196 i96 197 19,8 19,8 19,8

Honeycombed concrete

9.5
9.6

R.emedia] worl: n~quired byhydrogen sl]~phide CO[I"{lakln 9.4.6.] Kntmdu,cH.{ln 9.4.6.2 Rep.airme1th.ods Repairs to ri)~l:fslabs S:p'eda~ repair rndh~lds· 9.6.1 Cathodic pmtechorn 9.6.2 Chloride ,extraction 9.6.3 R.e-0ilk,a]izaUon of ,ooncrete 9.40.6

199
199

9.7

9.8 9.9

9.10

9.11

9.12

Int"t(Kiucti(Jrn Traonginmlti'll:iOril .;uncidamprn.ess/,oondens<ltion 9.S,] Infi]uation 9.. .. $2 Dampness/ condensation Repa[rn:'IiE:~:t:h(Jds 9.9.1 General conside[aH~lns: basements 9.9.2 Repairs to honeycombed concrete 9.9.3 Repairs to cracks .;undjoints Chloride induced C~lnos1on of relbars 9. HL] General consJiderEitJi(lns 9.UU Cathodic pnl:ttectiorn Ol:herremed~a] mea;Sllt'es: basements 9.11.1 Conuo] ()f gr{)und water ]ec:ve] 9.11.2 GrOl!l1timg sub-soil fot' groltrnd wateT the control 9.11.3 Improvem.ents~(' f]{1(lrdril!~(jJ,age 9.] 1.4 Control of vapourtTansmi.:css:ion Pedestriarn SlJibways

2l)n 202 20'2 202

204

2M 205
205

206
2()6

206
2().6

2(J6

207
20'7 2l)7
2()$

Contents
210 9-13 [nh:uducuoIlt 9.14 Considerfltion.of the problems 9.14.11. The Si"IUS ($ulp~atesa.nd c~Lo:rid,es)n. sea I 9.14.2 C~~oride$k(im S-ea,,'!!aterin. co:tu:;~te 9.15 Causes ofde~eFio[~tJjon 9.15.] Physka] damage' 9.15.2 COFifosionof sted re~fif()rc;ernernl 9.15.3 Chem](-ill atlt<ld< 9. 16 [nvest:igat~on<s 9.17 Meltiodsofrepair 9-17.1 G€neral 9.17.2 Cafh~ldiiC protect~on 9.18 Fudher readirng 210

210
2:]]

212 213
213

214 216 217 21$

218

219 220

Preface to the First Edition

Wru~ethere are examples of reinforced concrete structures bunt towards the end of the nineteenth century and the early pad of the twen Heth" concrete as a general constructional material om y beganto be used on a larger seale after the end ofthePirst Worki War. The militaryrequirements of Ule SecondWcrld War and the large development and rebuilding programme which foUowed if" established concrete as the major ceastructlonel material, Structures erected In the 19.20sand 1930s are now behveen.40 and 50 years old, which will be within the memory of many readers of fhisbook .. The use of arelatively new building materiel inevitably brings problems which were not antid pared initially and disa ppcintments are common. Reinforced concrete is no exception and. due to the increasing age of the early structnres.the need for repair and renovation is Increasing. \lVhitefue structure and architecturel design of buildings varies widely from one countryto another, the principles of repair are more universally applicable. Therefore theautbor hopes that the contents of the book will be useful to a very wide range of persons who are responsible for the maintenance 0.£ concrete structures ofall types. The opinions andreeommendatlons in his book are those of the authol'. but he is indebted toms colleagues in the Cementand Concrete Association and to staff in the leadingflrms which specialise in the repair, protection and wareli].1ffiofing oJ all types of concrete structures.To all these people the author expresses hils sincerethanks, He also wishes to thank the staff of the Cement and Concrete Associations 0.£ Austealia, New Zealand and South. Africa for their helpin compiling the relevant sections lin Appendices 1 and 3. IPhiUp ['llPerkms

]976
xv

Preface t,o the Second Edition

Since the author's f]rst book on the repair, weterproofing.and protection of concrete stractures was publisbedin ]97'6, the need for repairsto this type of structure has increased dramatically llithas been. estimated thatin 1L982,the value of repairs and maintenance to buildings in the UKam.ounted to some £SxllY and ifeivil englneering structures were included this WD1!dd rise to.£1 x ]010 (£]0000 million), These figures relate to types of buildings and structures 'Of which concrete forms only a part The disturbing featureis that in most cases the structures are not more than abou t 25 years old. The problem is not confined to the United Kingdom. \!VhHethe structural design of reinforced concrete varies-to some extent from 'One country to another, the materials used, Portland cement" agg][lega tes and. steel reinforcement, are essentlally similar. The ca uses underlying the deterioration. are basically the same in all countries and the principles involved in dealing with. the deterioration are also similar, This book isiruendedto deal many willi "non-structural' repairs, that is repairs which are intended to restore long-term durabili.ty, but which will not increase toooy S]gnilicant degree 'the load bearing capacity of the structure, Mention is made of certain aspects of the execmlon of structuralrepairs but the calculations necessary for-the design are notincluded. However, 'One of the first and ..most imp.ortant steps in the iin:vesti~Jtion of a deteriorated slnJJC'frure is to decide whether structural snengthening of the structure is needed. f'Or lhiisreasontheauthorrecommends that all suehinvestigations shook! be carried OU.t bya Chartered Civil or StruchttaJ] En.gJneer with. considerable experience in this type of work It should. be remembered that the invesHgation and diagnosis and subsequent p.reparation o·fs'pecfficaH.on for' remedial work to a deteriorated structure is quite different to the design of a new stru.cmre.

an

xvi

xvi]
RcinforcedoonCl1',e~e tructureswhichhave s beenproperly designed and constructed and which opera~e under normalcondifioms of exposlilIDe nd a ~ ~ use, require only a.minim 111m. of maintenance, HQwev,e~,it is a fundamental errorto assume that they are maintenance bee .. Regular and careful lnspeetien and main~erltamce are essential fOlf an structures. W:t is hnpQrt:antHmt the~eSSQns which cam be ]e2l111i~ flUlU the COl1'l1'€'ct diagnosis of~iI1e present problems should beput to practical usein the design and censtructien of new structures, 11'1e author wishes.to ,express his gmtitude to the many pl1'Ofessiorlt2l1 en m from whom he received help andinformation, Speda~~hanks are due to. ~ T<,eith. Green ofBlIllf.ks, Green &: Partners, COH:5m]tJing Engineer,s, and GeQrge Korab of the Celnen~ Gun CrOlilp of Companies f'or m2lny informatrve ~ discnssions, Mention. must abo be made of&he werk of Lucy Pelfkins f'or reading and checking the manuscript PhiHp HJPerkins

1986

Preface to the Third Edition

Since the publication efthe Second Editiort ofthis bookin 1986,.the need to carry ou t extensi ve repairsto reinforced concrete structures has continued. Most of these structures were ongmally expected to have a life span of 80100 yea(s andthis premature deterioratlonhas caused serious coneern, ill:n. this country considerable publicity has been given in the technical pressto major I\epair work on mad bddge structures, particularly om.major trunk mads and motorways, VVMte structural design, induding spedfication, vades to some extent from one eountryto another, the materials used namely Portland cement, aggregates, steel reinforcement and mixing w ater-s-are essentially similar, The main cause under lying this deterioration isalso basicall y similar, namelythe eoerosion o·f the steen reinforcement. Tille journal, Buildin.g and Civil Engineering-Research fOClJs, Apdl ]995, p. 5, s.ays:

The corrosion of steel reinforcement is the moot serious d urabjlity problem affecting concrete structures throughout the world.i.A possible alternative solution isthe use of non-ferrous fibre reinforced plastics (FRP}.EUROCRETE is a three-year £:4 million EUREKf!\. project wi th partners in the UK, Nether lands-Prance , Switzerland and
Norway", Repair methods show somewhat wider differences. For example, in the US and Canada, 63.thodic protection has been used for many yea.rs before it was given serious consideration in. the UK. Theremoval of chlorides by electrochemical means has also been triedin the US,.but with mixed success. In France, considerable use {appreciably more sothan in the UK} is made of special elastomerlc eoatings to increase the dumbHity of the repaired areas of concrete, and to red uce greatly the risk of corrosionof reinforcement

.Preface to the Third Edi tim'l

xix

in newcons~rucUon. These coatings are form.lllla~ed to reduce water penetration into thecuncrel:~ and compamtivelynttle attention is g]v'en to llie abiHty of theOO2lHng~o prevent/reduce dHflllsion o.f carbon dioxide into the concrete. This book is intended 1:'0 deal mainly wHh "non~stmc~marrepa]l:"S,f that is, repairs which are intended tnrestore as far as pmdkab]e, long-term durabiHty and "useful life' o.f the structure or part of the structure, The expressions l]ong:~term durabHHy' and "useful life' are almost impossible to' define in a. clear-cut way, andtherefore in Chapter :3 I have included somecrnnmeres on~his subject, Non~s~mctura.~repa]1:"S will not increaseta any .significant deg]1ee the load-bearingcapadty of the structure. One of the first and most important steps in the imresHgaN.on of a deteriorated structure is to decide whether structural s'~reng:thening is required and, if so, whetherthe result islilkely to be oo5t~eHecMv'e. ill recommend fhat invec5tigations of deteriorated reinfereed concrete structures should be carried out by a cha.rte]1ed civil or structural EJlg:inee~, or ollier professio'nal with oonsiclerabJ!e experience in lhis[ype of\l!Jork illt should be: remembered that the inv'eshgaho:n, diagnosis and sulbsequent specification for remedial work are quHe different tothe design. of a new
structure,

ill have incl uded in Chapter 1 certain aspects of the investigation and repair of structures which IUY experience sug:g:es~s are relevant and impOl"~antl:'O those: associated with this [ype ofwor k, WhHe mention is frequently made to~he eng:inee~, especially his or her duhes and responsibilities, theterm is intended to apply to architects, blllHding engineers, contractors and. others who haverespons]IbHil:ies .fQrthe repa]r andrenovation ofcencretesteucnnes. ill wish.~o express mythaFllks to' my prof.essiona] oo]leagues, arihil:~cts,f engir~ee[s and spedaUst oonlrad:ors, f'orh.elp" information and advice in the revision o.r this book, Mennon must also be made of the help and encoumgement gjven by my wife" Lucy Perkins. PhiHp HJ?eddns·

1997

Note.: Inthe text of this book" where re'fereFloes~o 'engineers, archit.ects" con~ractors and. other blililding personnel are giv'en as thet r this has been done to avoid the mthercumbersomerepeHHon of 'he and she', and the author andpub]isherdo no~w.isih tohll!!p]y~hal: engineers and ofher bllli]ding personnel are only male,

'General observations

1.1

INTRODucnON

'Alh:He reinforced concrete structures which have been properly d esi~ed and constructed areresistsntjo deterioration, they shOlilMnot beconsidered as m2llntenanQefree, Regular and careful inspection2lrll!dt"he . implementation of a sensible maintenance programlne are essenna]. Reference can usefully be made te ]?IS 821(l': Glilide to BuHdjng Maintenance and Milnagement 'Mah::l!ten2lnce','useful ]He' and '-de.sign.Kife' arecrnnmented on In the mnh:odl!1(:;Hon~o Chap~er 3> JF:t is important Hl:2I~rhe lessons learned byllie investigafion of deteriorated structures should betaken 1llJto accounc when deSIgning andcunstruc~]ng new structures. These "errors' generaUy arise homm2ldegll1ate and poody drafted specifications and ~ poor workmanship - on site, but very seldom. ~ consist of 5~mctUl'a~inadequacy arising- from 'errors ]:1). mig[[]t2l1 esign. d _". ~.

1.. THERESPONSUULITms 2 PROff;SSfiONALS

OF THE ENGINEER. OR OTHER

An 'engIneer who is instructed to hwestigate and report on a deteriorated CO:!llH~1.1e~e s~rI,lctture!~ndt{') l1ep~11erecommenrlationsfor necessary remedial p work.. shouJd be dear ]n his own mInd onthe extent o.fMs respcnsibilifies to his client. m.f e isrespoTh5ib~e for the inspect:ion of fhe remedial work to ensure h th~t~he requirements of~he contract arecomplied with and~he cef'~ification of paymen~Si"on~'ac"(oun~ the oontraci:Qr,then. it is inthe interests of his to client that goodrel~tions withthe con~r·~C~Qr~J.1e maintamed, 'These 'good lle~al:ions" be re'~ected.]nthe standard of work, and ittscomp]eH.onwHhin. will the contract period. The use of pl"Opdett2lrymethods o.f ~epair can ]ntroduce problems in de,ady definingthe ]!esponsibiUt.iesof the 'engineer. For ,ex;amp1!e" c2Ithodic
1

2
protection

Ge.rut.ral observa Nons

and, t'O alesser ex~ent,reaUk2lJizaticml. o.fconcrete havecome intO' use in the UK in the last f~v year.s..Borth ]1epairsys~ems are highly spe::ialiZl;!d and. un]ess.the engineer happens to' be weU.experienced in the use of such "" ~ systenl(S), he wonk! be wen advised. t'O make ]t dear in wrHing t'O his client that while he win acoept responsibUity for HlJe]ntegra~ion of the specialist systenl(S) with other work ]n~ih.ecuntTIld,he win not be responsible for the eHkacy o.f such systems" which must then befhe ccntracturalrespensibility of~he specialist firmsconcerned. TI.lJe ,engineer's fees should clearlyreflect this "CJp~~OU~/. The contract would then. have to' he drafted in such a waythat the spedaUst contractor would bellespons]b~e .rO'r both the desi)p1and execution "" "" ofthe sections ol.fthe spedaJist wor kcevered by thecuntl"acL This may soundrarher academic to those who hav'e not had experience wHhthe~aw, but I re'Fer~othe High Court Case No. 11. 980~P-13M,known as Ph(eUi u. Oscar .Fabe:r .. The Judgment by His Honour Judge Stabb" QC is dated 1 August 1980, andconsists o.f some 32 "" pages" including the foKLowingsbtement which 15 IDe~e.vantI:QtheQint being emphasized here: P "" ._ ""
"_ _"

consulting engineers ... were riot entitled to divest themselves of the duty of design entrusted to them unless expressly so agreed. by thdr client, 1.3 BASK P~OCEDURE FOR.INVESTIGAT.JONS-LrnGAJ'[ON NOT INVOLVE]) illncaaes where HUgati.on is notcontemplated, fh!e bask procedure recommended tQ be ado.pted by the engh1l!eer foHowing his appointment by the buildu1l:g owner is set 'Outin Chapter 4, which deals with. inv'esWg?ltions and diagnosis of defects in ]1e]nForoodcun.cIDeI:~ structures,
1.4 PROCEDURE WHEN UT]CAJ'[ON

IS CONTE,MPLAl'ED

The amount or litigation arising frem the need to.repair defects inreinforced concrete bl!lHdings has increased oo:ns]derab1y in the .~ast2!l) y'ears. This is reflected inthe very high premiums charged by insurancecomparsies fo.r profcessionalindemnity policies, l1.lJe ery real poosibiUtryoflitigaHon arising v from the need ttocaHy out remedial work to' existing structures must be taken in~o acccmnitby an engineer instructed to i.nv'esHgatea deteriorated structure, The engineershol!lld realizethat his ]1epod may well be used as the basis for legal ac~Hon s the wording of therepol't will centafn an o.pinion a enthe cause o.f~!hJe eFec~s,whkh would indicate "!lhe]1eresponsibHity d probably lay. ShouJdthe engineer's client in]tiate ].egal acMon to l1eOOVer the cost o.f theremedial work, fhe engineer WQl!lldnO'rmaUy be required ito give

evidence in eoutt O'rbefore an arbHral:"Qr. Sonle comments onthe engineer as an expertwitness are giv'en in section 15. My experience sugge$ts~h2ltH is always prudent to 'engjl!:d:re the time at of appo]n~ment whether UhgatiO!lll Hkelyl:o becontemplsted. The answer is wUl]n:l:ill.!lencetl.lJec1:)nd net ·ofthe invesfr;igation2lrlldthewording oIllie report '\NIlen lifr;iga~]O'n con~empla~ed or is already underway, the sugges~ed is approach is outltrll!edbelow; The engineer should, with the agreement of hisclient, ensure fhe fQUowing. 1. That allinteresled padies hav'e been informed or his appointment and the reasons for i~,; 2.. He should seek to. reach agree:men~ with.~iI1e partiesconcemed on~he details o[~he smnpUng and. tesWng he proposes t'0 carry (Ju~,.and the testing laboratoryhe proposes b) use .Th]S is oommon sense" but is beque])'~~yneg]ec~ed. Clause 4".2]nBS 60890:11.981 : AssessmeJ:! t ojCo'nttde Strength in Existing Sh'~~ctures,stt2ltes: Before any programme is cummenced i~is desirahtetha.t theI1eis comp~ete agree:ment between~he interested. Parnes on the va]idHy of~he proposed tes~ing prooedLUe,C"riteriafor aoceptance, and the appo:intrnent of: a. person or ]abO'ra~ory~otalke l1esponsfbiHty fO'r the tes~ing, The ideathatthere may be !oomp]et~ agree:menf is in Iny expedenc"e, ever-optimistic and is se]do:m achieved, WhHe~\h.e Standa]1d quo~ed on~y re.~ers~othe ]Flveslillgalillon concrete of Sh.1eng~hn exisHng buildfngs, the principles are valid for all i i])vesmigaUO'nsnvo]ving the likelihood of a. serious dispute. i 3. There shQl.!lM beoo:mf~ere .openness enthe reasons fO'f'~hei1l!vestigation; all reasonable steps should betakento avoid.oomJ.'ontatioFl. asl:hismv2I!rialbly resuHs in aham!enng of at~tudes and resistanceto objeclillv'e is.cusslon. d Shouk~. it become dear~ha~~he(ldy way~o ]1e501ve dispute in the such a way that the bl!dld]ngowner obtains reasonable compenS2lHon ~orthe l1ectif.k2lUon of~!hJedefects in the buikling,~hen "soHlieform. O'.f ]ega~~ctio:n"]s ]jk!e~y; 'Somefornl of~ega.~ action' means arlbitratiOHundel" ~heArbitration Acts O'rthe issue of a Writ inthe High Court. It is wrong to' believethat arbitra~b::Hlwm cost any ]essthan an action in the High CO'urt In addifr;ion~othe normal ].ega~OO.5~S sO'Hdtors' and o.f counsel's $ees,the am'locator dlarges far his services and there is also the cost of IlJirirng5uitab]!eaccommodaficn fO'rthehearings, M05~construction conhncts ]ndude a. oompl.!l~SOIJ' arbHrntion clause but the court can overruJe this requirement. A~SO,f H.liird. no pa[~y proceedings are permitted in arbitration.

Generalobs.ervaNQrts

m.nOOlLH~ proceedings, difHcul~~ed.mic.aJ.oonsJderaHO'ns can arise if a defence o.f !LhnitBltion' is.put forwardiThis would invo.~,\i'>ethe Limitation Act 11980 and the Latent Damage Act 1984"and. the engl:neer may be asked .to'rhisop]niO'n O'n~hefo.Ho.wingtwo issues: 1. When did signifi.cant damage flrst occur? 2. What was the earliest date O'nwhich the P]ainHffh2ld. o~hi:heknQw~edge b ])equired~o bring an acHon for damages in respect ofthe relevent dam2lge"and a. right to bring such an action?
My experienc1;' is that such ql!lestions give rise to very complex technical

consJdemt:ions~o which.there is seldom a clear-cut answer. Dueto the enormouscnst of High Court actions, pWPO'saLshave been. made inrecent year.s to find alternative methods of settHng disputes, This is genernHy known as Ahem2lHve Dispu~eResol.uIillO'FI{. Even when the claim is for hundreds of thousands .ofpounds, the oo.stof takingrhe dispute to'court canbe disproPO'rtiona~e to the poss]b~e financiafbenefit, WhUe the lnajorHy of cases in the omdaJ. Re.feree's courts and in aribi~ll'aHon set~~e befo])e~ll'[at.few do so e2ll']Y <enolllgh~oavoid substt2lnHa~ costs incurred in the pl\ep2UraI:i.O!lll$ ]eading up to' mal The essenceof ADR ]s~Ocreate a framework ]n which the par~esmv.o~ve:d in a dispute can reach a. solu~]O'n fQr~hemselve.5. This l!lsuaJlyreqlllh-esthe assistance o.fa neutralthird p2lr~y; Thel:'eare a number oJ ADRi:~dm]ques,5u.ch as:
!

eonciliatioru

• mediatlon, • minitrial; • expert faJ.d flndiag andadjndicanon. Thesuccess of ADR.depends <entirelyon the wmi.ngn.eS5of all the parties to resolvetheir dispute in. a mutually saHScfacto:ry ay, and thisrequi])es w considerable gjve and.~a[Qe.SO<I!J.le referenceson ADR Ollieincluded in the 'Furthel" reading' section at the end of tMs chapter. ~
1.5 THE ENGINEER AS AN EXPERT WITNESS

an. <enginee'l' ngaged by a bLIUdingowner to iTlv<eslig2lte e structure wmt as a. consequence O'f such an investigation" berequestedto act as an expert witness in any subsequent ~ "" legal proceedings aris]ng O'uto.fllie i.nv<eshg2lhon. his is difrerent~o ad]ng T as a witness of fact and. ])equires a diffel\E~nt ppl'oad\ and is a oomplex a subject on which quite a ]0.1: has been written. The f'oHowing m-eextracts hum f'our High. Court Judgmen~s which higMigM important aspects Q.t ._ "" "" expert evide:n.ce..
defects in a concrete
.

illt is possiblethat

5 The first deals w]ththe admiS5ibUity of 'expert e,'V]den,oe; second with the the necessity for the evidence~o be obJective and unbiased; the third with the liability ol.fhe expert to his dien:t; and the fourth wHh~here]eclhion (:IIf t the experf s e'V]dence on the grounds of pal'Ua.Htyand Mas. _. "" 1. TNe Times, Law Reportt 17 Wuly1995. wrd. JusHce Stuart"'Smifh said ~ha~the admissibUily ,of 'experl:evidence was g:ovemed by Seclhion3 oFfrheCivil Evidence Act 1972 and rules O't court. An expert was (nll.~y qualified to giv'e evkienoefrh2lt was relevant if h]sknowledge and experlhise was beyondfh2lt of a Rayman and such evidence had to' relate to 21 factual ]ssue in the case. The op]nion of such witnesses could not oonsist ofcenclusiens in respect o.ffindings of .[act which were strictly matters .for the tr]a.~J lIldge:to debermme ~olllse of Lords" Liddell v,Middldm~).
2. Tf1e Times, LawReport,

5 March 1993; 'The illkarianReefer' (1993) FSR. 563. Mr justice Cress wen. said:

!Expertevidencepresented to the Courl: should be, and should be seen to be, the independent product of the expertt nninfl ueneed as to form. or oonlent by H1e'exigendes o.f lilhig:aMon. expert witness should An provide independent assistance to thecourt by way of ohj'ecHve unbiassed opinion, in ]1e]aHon~omatters within his expertise, He should not emitto consider materialfacts w hill.dl could detract from. h]s eonchided opinion.
3. The Tbnes, Law Report, 11.11. November 11.991:Palmer tmd Ano.fhet 1)<,. . Durnfbrd Ford (afirm) t1J:1d Anotr~er.Mr. SimQHTlIlckeyQC lIldgment, 31

Octoher}.

An expert witness ocm]d notclaim immunity from suit by hisclients for his actlonsinthecourse of pl1epari:ng evidence for a claim or a possib]e claim..

Mr$imon Tuckey QC so held

]1'1

a ,fudgment deHv'eIDedn opencour]; i

4. TI.lJe foUowmg jm:ig:em.entUlustrates v'ery dear1y what an exper~ witness sholll1dnot do: Constructien Indu5hy Law Letter, September 11. jlUdgmen~ 9'9S, reported: Cala Homes v.Alfred .McAlpiJ:!e. Ch2lFloeryDiv]sion, Laddfe I.J lIldg:melll.t dehvered 6 July 11.995. In Augus~ 1990,r~he expert witness had wriUe:nan artide ]:11. the Journal Q.r a. pl:'()fessi.QnaJns~im~].onten~Hled, 'The Expert V!li~!llI!ess;Pal'~iS2ln i ~ ~ wHh a. Conscience'. Issues and Findings ]n~heca$e induded:

General observa Uons

The article, which the expert stood by in evidence, showed. th.at he allowed himselfto be llUltdlld.y partisan. His evidence should be dis!" regaIDded. illtis feU in some quartersthatthe harsh. above comment was raeher too

The above extracts show thatfrhe giving o.fexpert evidence is not a simple _-_ "" matter andthere issuspicien tllJ.at the experts for fhe various pardes are not always ]nlpar~]a]'.EeJevant '~othis is the inquiry_- being conducted. by "" Lord Woolf toreviewthe rules and. procedures o.f the civil courts of England and Wa~es. The .27 d)ap~ers of his interim report deals with varkrus matters and one of thesech2l.p~ers is devoted to experts. The ~ ~ comments provok!ecl. considerable conh·overs.y;frhe main points made ~ ~
.-

-The judge should identify~h,ekey issues in the dispute and he should dedde what expert evidence win be neededto help decide them .. -The judge should hevethe power, with or wHhout~he agreement Qfthe parties, to appoint a OOllllf~ experttoreport and gjve eviclen.ce onfrhese issues. -The ,expert'5~PQrt should be addressed. tofrhe court. Onoe an expert has been instructed to prepare a report .for use of the court, any communicafien between him and the dient orjhe client's advisers should no longer be subject of 1ega].privHege. The above is CI. very bdef ou~Une o.fLord. Woo,If'.5 interim pl~pos2l1s.1 A~~hepresent timethe 'engineer may be appointed. direct by his dent to "" _. -give a.technical opinion on a dispute which had arisen. Shcm]d the dispute evenrn2lHy end up in court,frhen all carrespondenOepr]Of to the cHenfs seekng~e,gal adv],oeisgenerally_' regnired to be disdosed&oi:he other parties. "" "" illtis therefore prudent for the engineer to endorse reports and comments issuedin thisperiod with.frhe words "Preparedwith a 'View 1:"0 UHg2lHo:n", as this maythen be claimed by his client's solidtors as fpr.ivUeged"and if ~ this Is,lIlphe]d bythe coul"tfrhese documents would net be availablato the other partles, However, the appointment (]nstnu::Hon) of expert witnesses is usually ~~ ~ made aHer ]tNgaWonhasst<lrted and o.nen well advan,oed and geneTIlHyby th.esoHdt:o:rsto fheparUes involved, name~y,the plaintlff, de~end.2In~,,~hird _' "" parl:y,eb;:. illts usual ~ i practice in Eng]a:nd."but not inScotland and N. Ire~and for the Jndge~o include in his direc~tions, an order~ha~ the experts' reports SI.lO:U~d ~ ~ be exchanged. by a. fixed date prior to fhe he.cu.ing.Beful'E;the 11epOl"~S OIl:,€, "" exch2lngedthe experts are 31.]500 reg,lIliredto' meet fQr a widlOUI:~prejllldke
_'

'_

'_

The ('ontrect do(umen t.S

discussion to h'Y to find specificpoints on which. they. can ag]1ee.Spedfk: = "" points on which agreement is notreached are a]so sornetlmesreccrded .. m ~have found such meetings bo~hm~eresUl1g and useful, ev,en~lIThoughIHI:[e or no ag]1eement is reached, 1.6 tHE PRE,PARA1'ION 0]1':SPECillFICAiJONS
There are two bask types oJ specification. The 'traditlonel' specificaHon

'which detailsmatezials and. workmansbip, and the !performance" spedfkaticm which details how the finished produc~ must behave under dear]y de.ll1:ned operating oO!l1l:d[iions ]eaves hQW this is to be achieved and to '~lIThe con~ll'ac~or.The appeamnoe 'Of the product is o.ftenre.rer.red t'O by comparison with agreedsamp]es. ~ An eX(:l;>Uent example of a comprehensive performance specification is the oneproduced by the PSA for Platfnrm Floors (Rajsed Access Floors) re'fel'enCenUulber MQB.f'F2.PS a document .of some 92 pages. A much more shnpte one is the Designed Mix, specified in Sec~ion :2 of BS 5328: Part ~ -2:1991=C01:1tre.fe: Methods jot Spedfying C01:1tj~t:e Mixes. TI3Qthypes. of specificatlonleave t openthe pmMem o.f ].()rn:g~b~T]TI. dmahUHy "" "" "'" "" under the corsditione of exposul'1e and use which were odgiuaUy con~emFlated at the desigrl stage. Proper maintenance is essential.for longterm S2llisfach;ny performance and this is discussed in Chapter 4". ~ "" = =

""

""

1.7 THE CONTRACT DOCUMENTS The type .ordocuments which the 'eng]neer ShOlllM. "'" prepare will depend on -"" = whetherthe cHent has a standard . formal; and the size and.oomp]€'xity olf the repairs required ..Suhjedl'O this, ill favour basic sh:l1!pUdty and have found "" """ that the fo]lowing is usually adequate for smaller johs: " " " " " " Instructlonste J:enderer.s DescdpHon of Works Spedfication Schedule of Work (each item .o.f which has tebe priced by the tenderers) Sched.lllle of Ral:es {no'~always needed) Genera[ Conditions of C(Hll~ract(shnpIlHed)

ofW(lrk~o indude.an i~em for~lIThe provislon ofaccess egL]ipmel1t (scarfo]ding,_- cradles etc.). Such equi:pnlJ.e:nts LlSL].aKly i "" "" "" hired by 'frhecontractor from specialist firms. The oontract documents should make it dear thaf thectmtracter is responsible .for ensurirrgthet ~ this equipment is .fully utilized and claims r1Q:r additional hire dt2lrges weuldonly becensidered if thisresulted from an authOrlZled extens.[on

mt is advisable for~he&heduie

General observa Nons

of time. This is importt2lntbecause Ihaee seen mEullY wheresc2IfFolding jobs has been in ~ place r1Qr eeks wlthout any work be]ng- carried out from ]t w and found outthat inthe majority of cases the dient has hadto pay: 1.8 [NVITAT~ONS TO'f'lJENDE[{ There are many dif.fe~ent ways of inviting: tenders .f.ora project. The one usually adopted for repair work is on a list of selected contractors. Depending - onfrhe type of work required to'be do:ne"the ClOntractorsinvited ~ ~ ~ to: tender should be" and normally are, f]rms which specialize inthe type of WQ[ lk:. described in thewnbact docnments. mnsO'mecaSe5the spedaJistoontractors put forwardth.eir .own proposals w Mch ofl1en incl ude~he use of pl'oprie~al"y repair matenials such as prepacked mortars (readytn use apart from. the addition of a gauging._ ~~ ~ liquid). On~he other hand. the eng]n.eer may require the use of proprietary mortars w hkh would then be referredto by name inthe specification, These mortars are sometimesreferredto as "repair systems'. The main pmb~em in going oul:~o tender' is the adjudication of the tenders in eonsultaticn with the dienL Th!eusual pmctioe isforthe client to expect the engineerto recommend the lowest tender, on the basisthat ~ thecontracfors te'l1:deringwere-selected. by the engineer. The aoc-:e:p~ance of the ]o:w'est tender can produce unfortunate results, especially when ~ ~ work ]s in short supp]y andcontractras are naturally v'ery anxious to be successful in tendering. illt$ not alw?l.YSdvisab~e to acoep~the ]Qwest tendert~S this mRtyimpose ] a ~ considerable financial strain on a oonbador which has underpriced the Job. Vlh.enthe]1e is. a signHicant difference in '~hetender Hg:U]1es, the~enders should he careflilKlyscmHnized wHh particular attenHonto the prices in ~ the Schedule o.fWork (or Bins of QlllanUhes}" as well as anycomments mede by thetenderets. The pI"Lld!ent olution is usually t'0 recemmend s the middle-priced tender ..The expedenced engineer2lnd 'enUghtened dient wm ac"Ceptthat the contractoe is 'enHfled.to make a reasonable profit and if he can do sothis wmhe]p ensure a S2lHsfadory ,~lOb hich will be w cO'Inp]eted on HIne.. The [oU.owing is an 'extract from an article on a large {£29 milhon] commercial d.eve~O'pmentin the City O'fLondon wMch inv.o]ved many ~ technical problems of design and constructlon, 2
.
.

,I

Both eensultan! and contraetor fom)d tbat an enljgMened attitude by the cH!entwas a great he]p in overcoming these problems ... A go.od working atmosphere was achieved by two means; al l companies involved had jo sign 2In agreement known as The

Nahonalaful

Europetln Sttltulards and Codes of Practice.

_"
,-

Accord" an u:ndert2lk]ng~o do everytlling pessibleto avojd confHct. "" The o~her measure, which probabJy was more 'ef~echv'er wasthe decision to = provide exha n:lOney f'or subccntractor "" packages ... H ' 'enabled Laingto appoint specialist subcontractors by reputation ratllJer than by just accepting the lowest bid. By working it this way,~hedi"ent knewthe finalcnst from. the Qutset"r2lther than ha v]ng a low bid f'o]~owed by a ]01.' orrclaims at. the 'end.of the work
_. "" "" = '_ ""

1.9 INSURANCfE.,..BACKED

CUARANTEE'S AND WARRANTEES

[n recent years there have appeared onthe market 'insurance backed glllal'antee"s". Thesle are offe~d by contractors and material supp]iers claiming th2l~ shou"~d the work prove defe'chve, then the insurance company wUJ provjde the flllnds to have the necessary remedial work ~ ~ pu~ in hand in the 'event of!:hecontTactor /supp][er biling t'O do so. Tbis Indicates tha~ thedi.ent avoids resorting to legal action. These '"gu,2lrantee"s"" hich are somefimes referred to as 'war1"antees' cue stated w to be vaRd.for periods .of 1O~2() ye2lrs from completion o.f~he work, [halve had occasion to see a number of~hese guaIf2lnl:ees/warranit"&'s"nd a found tthatthey contained l]],aUY anomalies and uncertainties, The conclusion is that such docnments should be scmlinized. by a solicitor experienced in 1ih2l~ fl2Irtt[cu],ar fie]d. An 'engineer would be u])wi:;:eit-OreQommendreli2lfnce onsuch agu2lmnil.'eew.iithouttfirst~21king . oon:rpet.en'~ - advice. leg2l]. ""
'_

LID NAnONAL AND EUROPEAN STANDARDS AND CODES Of PRACTICE f.reiguent reference is made t-o British Stand.2ll,ds and Codes o.f Practice. The principal British Codes and. Standards rebhng~o design and constructnm of reinforced concrete buildings and structures covered by this book are: '" BS 54100: Parts; 1, 2" 4" 7, S, 9' and. 11.0:. St.eet Concrete and Com.posUe Bridges " BS 6349:.Par~s 1~7:M,ar]tilne Strucrn~es " BS 8007: Code of Practice for Design of Concrete SlTuctul1esfor 'RIetai])]])g Agllleous Liquids '" BS 8110: The Structural Use ofConCIDeit-e" Parts 11., and 3 2 " BS 5328:. ConC]1e'it-e" Pa:r~514 The oonesponding IlEum Codes f'or BS 8UO and BS 5328 are:

" Euro Code 2: Design of Concrete S~mcJures: DD ~NV2 199.2:Genera] RlLdes and Ru~€S .for BuUding

10

General observa Nons

• DD ENV 206:199'2 ConcretecPerfonmance, Production, Pladng: and Comp]i2mce Cd~er]a (Implemented inthe UK). There is also a 'Gulde" ~ ~othe Code published byBSill as PD.6534:1993 .. illt should.be noted that European Standards are being _. drafted for products ~ and systems fQr thepretection and repair concrete constructicn works. ~ The foUowing tel'm:i:nQ.~ogyis in general use:

o.r

DD Po. CEN CPO CE lIEN prEN lIENV

Dmftfor Dev'e]opment Published Docmnent iEm"Ope21n Committee for S~anrlardisation Construction Products Directive Symbol .for CE conformity Marking European S!~andard Draft European Standard European Prestandard

prENV

moo

Draft EurcpeanPrestendard
[ntemaHona~ Ol'ga:ni5atio!lll.for Standardisation Particular Sector' Technical Board whkh. managesthe Standards war lk ]Jl'og;t"amme Standl:ng Committee on Construction Tedlill.1tkalCommittees set up by Sector Technical Boards {e.g. BT'S 11.: BuiMing and Civil 'engineering) Sulh~cummHteesset lIlp by 'Iechnical Comm.lUees Working GI'OlilpStestabhshed by 'I'Cs and SCs~oc.any out spedfk pieoes of work l'echn:ica]80arrl,responsiae for managmg~!hJe whole technical pl"Ogramme .of CEN.

CEN/BTSI

sac
TCs
SCs

WGs
81'

l'h.eoreticaHy, once a. Euw Code or S~anda~d is plllbHshed in its final form, the equivalent British. Code or Standard win cease to function and wm be wHhdnwn. However, in practice H is IHk.elyfhat eertajn sections o.flhe BS dOClilmentswi.H be retained on the grounds that they hav'e speda]
app]jcahon~othe UK.

1.11 HEALTH ANn SAFETY RE:GULATIONS SPECillFICAnON

AND PRODUCt'

ill feel it is desirable to draw the attention of readers to the need to observe recognized safetyprecautions when. using certain materials and an. types

of equipment, Concrete itself is not a 'hezardous' material. However, Portland cement, when mixed with water ishighly alkaline (it has-a. pH of about 13.c5), and is considered a caustic alkali which can cause bums to the

skin, ~ parUcu]ar~y in - "" who are vulnerableto dermatitis ..A 'safei:y people warning'- ]s included as an Appendix in al] British. Standards for Portbnd -~ cement, which states:
.

Dry cement in normal use has no. harmful effect on dry skin .. Precautions should be taken to.avoid dry cement 'ent-eringthe eyes, nose and mouth, andto prevent sldn contact with wet cement. Pelymer resins are now wlde]y used in th.e construction industry, parhcu~ar~y in repair Inortar:s, and in coating,s" bonding agents and adhesives, There are certain hazards associated withthe use of some Q.t thesecu:mpounds, and users shouldccntact the manufactueers and/or feR!E:A (f'ederati.on o.r R'esiu Formulators and AppHcatOTS). This organization is also known as.fhe Trade Federa~ion of Specialist COl1ti:radoI'S and. Materials SuppRers~othe Censtruction ffinduShy. The '-hazards" associated. withthe use o.ffrheseoolnpounds include: con~amin2lHonof the sk]n and eyes; harmfu~ 'effcectsof inhalation o.f vapour or mist; Hre and explo,sion. The degffle of hazard varies from one compound to another. Re.rerence should also be made to the Health and Safety Executive and the IDequh-ements this A ufhority. of T.he Construcficm {Des~ignand Management} Regu~aHons 199:4,are intended 1:-0 .supplement health and safety~egisbH.Qn and W~l"e initiated by the European Union. TI.'1eirst part came inito,'effect in March 1995, and by f the end o.fDecember 1995, alltheremaining provisions became eHecHve.. The Regulations are proac~]v'e, making: peopte assessrisks and take precautions, rather than dealing wHh Frob~ems onoe~hey have occurred, They targe~ the health and sa.fety o.f those who build, mairrtain, install and demQ]ish buiJd]ug,s or plant, andcreate .. structure .of health and sa~e~y doeumentation administrated by .. pl2lnning supervisor and prindpa~ contractor;
Construction work is broadl y defined inthe Reg:ul2lho:ns and includes: demelitinn, site clearance, oons~ruction; maintenance, alterations, l\l~nov.aHon; assembly .ofprefabricated e]!emen~s.~o forul. a strucmre; deaning window.s,trans]ucent walls and. roofs,; installation maintenance, repair and removal of m.e<:han1ca]." e]ec trica] and.i:e.~ ecom muni cations ecp:dp ment incl l!l d iug computers [... ] preparaMon, assembly; and removal ol.f any structure including any building [... ] bridge, pipeline, sew-e~,road, wa.tel'wor.ks..,.,,~

.' .' • .' • .'

The Construction Products Regubtions came into. for·ceat the 'end of 1991,,~o imp~emen[the Co:nSh'lLdionProducts Directive, Thepotentlal scure ~

General observa Nons

of the Directive is very wide indeed as it ]s app]icaMe to aHtypes of pm duct that are in~end.ed. for permanent incorporafion in buildings and dvH ~ "" -engineering works. Acoording_. to. BSJNt.'i:O's~ the legis~aHve changes prepare the way .f.orthe _"" "" introd uction ofnew forms o..f: • product spedfication: • HarmonizedBuropean Standards,; • El!lropean ]:echl.lk:2I.~ pprovals and possiblynationaltechnical A specific2llionsrecogrJihed by the Commission as meeHngthe essential re,ql!li~em.ents o.fthe CPo. • techniC2IIinfo.n.naNon: • manufacturer's declaration of conformity; • mnd!ependent certificate .ofconf'Qrmil:y; pI"Ovid!eor the appRic2ltionof the European Co.mmunUy ]1egll~a~ory f mark-s-the CE mark-etoconstruction products. The~est off.imess underthe Di])ecH'''eandthe UK Regulations involves pI"Odl!lctshaving performance char2lctedsHc-s~hat en2lMe tile works in which tllJ.eyare inoorpo.rated to. sa~]:sfyone or more .of the six essential health and safce~yrequiremen~s set out in the Directive, Except when specifically stated, it is not Sme when am the above ~ ~ Directives wiU in fact come into force, but the new arrangements are Hlk.e~y to come into operation gradually over an extended period of time. ~ ~ However, I fiecommend that all fhose connected with the use Q.f construction materials follow the ~ mgress of these regulations by pcontacUngBSI QuaRHy Assurance and/or the Construction Techndogy Division o.fthe Department ofthe Envjrcnment, BSI emphasize thaI: 'the Kite Mark wUl confinuetn play an impertant = ~ ~ pad in demonstrating a level o.f qualtty above the minimum lega]. ~ "" requirements' . Building Reseaech Establishmenr Information.Paper No. IP.l1/93 g]ves information on Ecolabemng o.f buiMing materials and building produds.
'_
_'

m:twm

'_

1.12 DEFINITIONS

l1.lJe foHowing De.finiH.onsetpp].yto terms used ]n~hls beokrelating to some of the properHes .ofoonc])e~e: A process in wMch one subst.mce penetrates into Hwbody of another; generaHy by capUbry action. The characteristic or a materia] wh.kh allows .fluids to' pass thmugh H under dHfe])entbl PI"ll;SSl!l])e.

Furthe: reading

13

The pore spaoe in a materlal as a pewen:tage of the vel ume

of that materia],
Surfactant A materia] which helps a liquidto How easHy ov'er the

surface of a solid,
The resistance olf a material to' flow. The foH.Qwingoommen~s are relevant: WhRe absorpUon should Hot be used to determine the qlllaHty o.f concrete, good~guaHty COI'lCl:1e~e a relaHve.~y ]ow abs(uption.BS 5911.11: has pad 100~Precast Concreter]pes,~eqllli])esthe 24-.hour absorpHonnot to exceed 6.5% whentested in accordance with Appendix IE of that Standard .. P'enneabm.ty determines the rate at which water penetrates into and saturates concrete: thishas a direct bearing: on a n umber of im portant characterlscics o[conCll'ete, such as host res~i,stancerwatertightnes,s" reS]S~m.1C1;'~O attack by agg;ressiv'e chemlcels and resistance to pene~raHO'n by50.~ utions ofchlonides. ~e~erence should also be made to I~S 6HJ!():Glossary of Bu]~ding and Civil Eng::ine'ering Terms, particularly Part 6=Concrete and. Plaster. 1.13 R.EflE.RENCIES L This outline Is talken from the News Letter of the UK Register of Expert Wit,xrrsses ..
2, Dec., 1995. 2, New CivillEngirileer, 23 Feb., 1995. 3, Taylor IoynscnGarrett, So]icitl:or:s (1995) The Ccastruction MOIn<lgement)Regu]<lf~ons ]994, Omst:rucliOll R:wiew, 1, 4L 4" ESf Neoe..Aug. 1992.

(Des]gn

<I11ld!.

1.14 iPURTtIER READING

Md'<:enna .& Co. SoliC;ih'J;rs,London (19.89) tall} Letter, Autumn/Winter, pr ]4, ]5 {1995}. MclKJ€rm.a &; Co, Solicitors, London (19St~) .Lmg:afio'n UpdMe, May" Al~€rnaHve Dispu~e Res.O]1!lli()n, 6-9, Ho]bnd8, D,E- {]992}Alrernatlve D~8pure R..e801ulion,,.f(mn#1l ClAro', .Feb." 57.... 9. Theexpe
NeWll1LiU1,

t~ wUrn.ess

P. (1993)Proiessio:nal ]]<lJhiHtl:yof expert witnesses, lmmmi ClAro" Aug. U3-BL Lord Thylor ([ 995) The Lnnd Leeture=The E:x:pedWimess, lo:r,U"fJal CblstArb, 161(2), MOlY,113-17.

EECconsh:'uctru.o.n

legk~b.U.oli'l

Bl]i~dlrftg Resea[\dlllESlablishnu~nt (993) lIli:fo:rmat~on Pl;tper .W]ll /93, Ecolabemng of bu]].ding mared,,_ls and bui1dh1jgproduct8,~ May, 4" Buildi_n_gR€ge,,~['·ch.E8tablish~lLenJ (1994) Digest 397, Standardisation in support of Europel:l!nll€!g~s~,atJiorll' w.hat does itmean fo:r the UK co:nsttuctiol1l indust:r]F'? Sept, 8" The Concrete Society (1995) Semintlr, a~rOrearl t(jndards fo'r Co'n:crefe R_epai r, 26 April S 11.995,London, 9 pil!pers" T;j!jy]o(!f ]oynwTI Ga]'.[;@USolicitors (l99'5) nl€ Construction. (De:sigl1.l.'lrLd anagement) M Regulations 1994,- C(mtl'h~:ctiQn Rcvie.v, lssue No" :~,4,

Basic characteristics of concrete andmortar and their constituent and associated materials

2.1 INTRODUCTION The ,d)arac~edshcs O'f concrete and mortar depend hugely on the ~ characteristics of the materials usedIntheir In2lFllllfadme;the associated materials are needed to enablethe concrete and mortar to be used for specific purposes.

The constituent rnaterials are:

- PorUand. cemen:~BS 12 etc and.ENV 197~1; -rugh alumina cement (["IAq=a~so mown as calcium alumtnate cemenn - corrosion-resistant cements; - aggregates fromnatural sources for concrete and mortar, - admixtures, - waier.

The 1112lin aSSOc-:l2lted ma~el1i,aJs are:

" steel ]1elnforc:~.ne!lllt;

" non-ferrous metals; " [oint fillers and seal2lntts;

" polymers andre-active resins,

The infOl'm,amion giv'en inthischapter is intended to' be of a. general nature andusers of the materials ]h;~edshould ~dway5re'ier to' the .~atestediHon of the relevant N a tiona] Standard.

15

16

Basic characteristics oj('on.cl'ete and mortar materials

MATE.RIA1S
CEMENTS {Ellll:\Jpean St2lnda.rd ENV 19'7-1)

OONSTITUENl'
2.2 PORTLAND

PorHand. cement censists mainly of compounds o.f calcium sHkate and calcium al um.inate,~he ·C2lJdUH1S]lh;;21tes are pl\l;~domin2lt:ebeing between 5S% and 85%. There is alsetdcalcium aluminate, 7'l/o to 12% and .ferri~es

6"/0 to 10%.

illtIS made by burning at hightemperature a mixture o.f chalk and. day in a rotary kiln, The clinker is ground, and gypsmTI ]S added to control HlJe setBS 11.2imitsthe amcmnt o.fsu~phm {exp]1essed as S03) to 3.$%., The fact l thatPorHand cement cont2linssulpha~e ]S important when ]nVe5n:ga~]ng the possibility of sulphate attack on the Qcmcrete 01" mortar, which is discussed in cha pter 3-. Further information on the reaction between sulphates of various bases (calcium, magnesium and ammomum) are given later ]n~ih:is section. The hydraNonoHhe oement (the addition olfwater), results ina oomp].ex chemical ]1eaCnon aC1;;ompantied byfhe 'evolu~ion of heat. ~ev].sed Bdtish Standards for Clement were published In 19'91 and included BE!12:PorHand. oemen~ and BS 4'()27: Sulpha~e"'res]stingP(lrl:~and cement. The new designations forPod]a:nd cements likelyto be used forrepa]r are as follows:

.. .. .. .. ..

P"'r'"]a·ll,d·ement-class c A," 5-· 1"·1"'9·11.' E1>1f])1 ~.&~,_._ ,. ·~"""~',S·· .k~ ~ . «: l'V.W., ~'.___ Pod]a:nd cement-class 525 ;~oBS 12:19911. . Porflandcement-class 425R;~o BS 11.2:1991 Su~ phate-I"esistingP.or~[a:nd cement-class 425 ;I:'O]3S402.7:19911. ~ Mssenry Cement; BS S22-4:199~ENV' 412F1
'1,)'. ~ .•.. _":;:: ... H._ ~ILIL '_, .'I;-L~r;,;:o IL'I;.J

.II),_..

The letter R denotes high early strength. Thel'evlsions were mainJy concerned with. m.el:hods ofl:est and termin.o].og:y and. were intended to agree with the European S~andal'd .for cement (ENV 1I..97~1). Minor changes in composition were also .

introduced. If a cement equiva~enl: to "ordinary Porl:~and ]s required, thenthisshouJd

be ordered as '-Portbnd. oement-daSIS 425" to BS12:1991". If a. rapid hardening Portl2lnd cement ]s required, equ]va~ent t'O 'ra rid hardening PorH2Indc1;']Tlenf t~ih.en aPortland cement-class 52.S t'OBS 11..2: t or 1991 Portbnd cement-class 425R to BS 12:11.991 should be ordered .. l1.lJeaboee ]isted cements arethe ones used almost exclusively forrepa]]~ work mn 1990 and 19911., oom.plet~ly revised edition o.rBS 5328:19911.:ConCIDeI:~" a was issued in .rlQurParts ..

Portla~'ldcements

17

Blended cements consisting of mixtures ofPortlandcemenf and pulverized fuel ash (pfa) and Portland. cement and ground granu]ated blasffutnaee slag {ggbs) are used in concrete for special purposes, but I have nolcume ac-ross their use in repair mortars and ncrmalrepair QC1nCl\l;~I:~. The pri:ndpa] characteristics of Portlandcement are as rlQ.U.ows .. 1. A very fine powder, particlesize 11. microns. ~50 2. The paste (cement and wal:~r) is highly alkaline, having a pH o.f about 11.3.5. This high alkalinity isrelevant tofrihue C1;;UUence r a~ka]i21ggregate O o reaction. The interaction between the alkalisin the cement and certain lry[pes or silicious aggregates is discussed later in this dmpter under

sec~]on 25, and ]n chap~er 3, section 3.5.13. 3. The setting time (]nHtaJ. and final] is inl:h.e range of 45 minutes to 10 hams .. 4. Both setting, andharderting (rat~ of gam of strength) are aflected. by ~emperature;21n increase in temperature speeds up the chemical.reaction betweenthe cement andthe n:rbdng water: 5. Pordandc"emelll.i: provides acomparatively higihoompressive s~rengl:h ~o concrete and mortar. Tensile s~rength is only about H)% of the oompressive Sl:rength. 6. The oompounds which are responsible forthe oemen~ng action of the oemen~ paste are mainly the calcium silicates (the C2S and the C3S).. 7. H ]sfrhe hydratien products of the cement whkh" etherthings be]Flg equa], del:~r.nilj]1ethe shengl:h of the concrete /lnortal':The hydration. products are v'ery complex chemical compoundsythe prindpa] compeunds arecalcium silicate gel, calcium hydroxide (about.20%) and tricalcium aluminate hydrate. Celcium hydroxlid.e {Ca(OH)~) is liberated byl:he hydl'O].ys:isofl:hecakium sHicates,. The various hydration pl"OdlL~ds hydmte at djHeJ.1eni:mtes" but the hydration IS rapid to star I: with and ~h.en slows down. 8. The two major factors whichinfl ueneethe rate of gain of sh1engfrh are its chemical ~C1mposi~on and its fineness, \Vi~h modern oemen~s the ]]1cl:'easein stJ1eng~h an~r the .fhst·28 days is .Hk!e]yto be very small and sbou1d genemHybe l'P1ored. 9. The amount of wa~er in the mix (usuaHy referred to as~he water l cement mtio} 15 a. vital factor in determiningthe sl:rength, permeability and absorption. of fhe concrete I mortar. for higher shength and dura.b]li~y ~he ve] c shou]d not exceed 0.50, and for special purposes, O.4fH).45; ~his IS the freew/ c which meansfhe aggIDega~e5 aresarnmted but surface dry;

],8

Basic characteristics ef cencreie

lInd

monsr materials

add and the cement takes p]a.ce ]mmeL'ii2l~e]y thetwo (acid and hydrated cement) are in oont2l.ct 'VVhHe s,ev'erHy o.f attack is influenced s:igilllifkanHy the by the pH {)fthe acid, the chemical oonlposi~i{)!llI. o.f the acid. is also important; Gener<lH}j mineral adds, such as nitric, sulphmk" hydl'ochh)r.h;: etc. are more aggNss]ve th2ln. organic acidsin eqU2I].oonQenIT2IHoncS .. See also Ch2lp~er 3" "" secfion 35.2.
"_ "_

Reference has been. made to the reaction between Portland cement and solutions of su]rha tes of varia us bases. Calcium sulphate ]8 amy moderatel y sa]uble {a sa tueated solution is fo·rmedaJtabout nOOpm}. The fo·nnatio·nof gyp.sum by the reactionbetween calciumhydroxide and sulphate solutions, mare than doubles the volume (Lea, 1970).1 Leaelso stresses that the combination hydna ted calcium ..aluminate and gyp..sliAm in solution farms the compound cald um sul phoeluminate (ettringi te) and this also doubles the solid volume. These chemical reactions lead to' the expansionend disru.pHon of concrete and mortar. ~gn.esium sulphate is much more soluble than calcium sulphate, and has a mare destructive action fhan other sulphates except ammonium sulphate which is probably the most destructive of all sulphetes.See also chapter 3, selCHon.3.5.3.Magnesium sulphate reacts wilthand decomposes the hydrated calcium silicates, as wellas reacting wi th calcium hydroxide andeluminates. Seealse rna pter 3t section 3.5.4.

O'f calcium, sodium. and pot2lssiUnl ]n normaHyfound concentratiens do no~ auadk Portlandcement, buttheyca use corrosion of rer.rous metals, HQwever,ch1or]des react with thetrkal.d mn aluminate hydra~e (C3A) in PorH2Indcerfl!e!lllt~o form a. compoundwhdch tends to' inhlihitthe chlorides front attack]ngferrQl!lS meta]s, e.g. steel reinforcement,
Chlorides and this is discussed ag2lin in cha:p~er 3, Section.

3..5.6.

2.3 Hf!GH ALUMn~A CEMENT (HAC) HAC is it hydra.u]ic cement based on calciumeluminates rather than. calcium sHka tes which are the main com pounds in Portland cement The main consfituents of FliACt as given by Ciment Pond u Lafarge are: aluminium oxide (A~03) calcium oxide {CaO} oxides of iron (FeiO;) etc. 38-40°/(1 37-39°/" 15-]8%

19
m:t is made by hls:ingl SJ.nt€'l:1ng mixture of bauxite and Hmestone .. a

HAC is a rapid hardening cement, but the set~ing time is sim].iarto that off'.Odhmd cement. Hydra.~ed HAC paste has a pH of about 11.1.3 (oompared with the pH of PQrt1amdcemenf of aboul: 13.5 .. The British S~anda~d lor HAC is BS 915: Part 2; Metric units: 1972. (1983). The I~S requiresthat fhe fineness SI.lQU~d not belessthan 225.m~ /kg. HAC does nortreteaS€'bee lime when mixed with. water (as does Portland cement) and th]sr.esuUs in Improved resistanceto attack by dHute acids but it is vulnerable to' attack by caustic alkaljs in solution as the alkalis l'eacJ wi~!hthe hydraUonproducts of~!hJe HAC to form calcium hydroxide and other compounds, If carbon dioxide is present,thecak]u,.u hydroxide iscunv'er~edb) calciumcarbonate in the pl1esenceof moisture, and further complex reactions OC1:m which weskenthecencreta and 1ow,er~!hJepH.m:t should be noted thafthesereactioas onlytake p]ac-:e a significant degree to whenthe concreteis 'poor'C]uaHty {not fumy compacted, high w/cratJI.q, inadequately cured). Good~qualitry HAC concrete which. is. not in contact with causfic elJkaJis is mnre ]1esisttanto' su]ph.al,€,attack than Portland cement, as shown by the t BuiJd]ng~eseal'ch Est21bHshI!l.1!ent long-term trials at NorthwkkPark Hospital Speda~f2l·ct()rs relaHngto the use of HACconcl1ete include the
fQ]1ow]ng:

1. Water I oement mHo: this must not be less than. 0.410;frhis critical and is ' is the "free"ve] c, nmne].y the gauging water p]us the water on thesudace ofl:he aggregate particles, 2. Cement content.the mirdmumrecenrmended ]s .400kg/m3, which is considerably higher fr!hanllormaHy used in po,..tlandc"€':me!l1ltcun.c]1e~e. 3. Admixtures: these should on lybe used withfhe advice of the manufacturers, 4. Curing: duetnthe rapid eV{l~Ho:nof the heat of hydratiort non-loadu bearing fomtwork could be removed. approximately four hours after m.:ixing.\i!J'atercming sll'ould be carried out so that the surface .or the concreteiskept conHnuQus~y wet for 24 hours aHercasting. 5. Compaction: as w]lli.PorHand cementwncre~e,,~horough oompacH.on ]s esseE'l!tia] obtain maxhTlum.skengfrh and low absorption andreduced to permeabiHty. 6. Conversion: hydrated HAC undergoes a mrnemlogEcalchange wHhthe passage of Hme.This is the conversiQn of the low-density hydrate system. ~oH1eh]gh~densHy stable fnrm, and resultsin a reduction in compressive strength followed by sO'meI"eCoveryof s~rength. The timetaken.~oreaCh minimum ]ong-t'erm .strengfh. and. therelationshlp behveen this minimum and. the 24-h.ou11'maximum depend.s Ina]n~y on the

20

Basic characteristics oj('oH.cl'ete lInd mortar matel'ia/.s

~emperalure and humidfty conditions under whichtheconcrete operates, and. the origi:naJ water IcememtraHo which" as-stated above" must not exceed O •.::I!O.• For e'xamp]e" Midg:~ey has shownjhetconcrete cured and stored. in

outdoor conditions typical ofWestel':n Europe is likely to reach its

mindmum ]ong-tetm .sb~rn.gnllmaJbout five y,ears. The miFl]mL1m~()F1g~erm shel1:gth achieved depends on anumber of complex factors, A

reasonable figure would. be about 50% of its 2,4~hour design strength. Under certain conditions, conversion can also result inreduced chemical resistance or the concrete. Due to this very highearly strength it was used .ID" UKalnltost the exclusively for precast prestressed beams, Howevecin the early 1L70s 9
the detailed inv,~sHgaJtiof18highlighted the serious results of failingto follow recommended practice In the ratio, Thisresultsd there was a 8~lfi.esof failurasand

manufacture of the concrete, mainlythe use of too high a"water / cern.. ent in tlhe withdra wan o.f approval in Codes of Practice forl:he use .ofHAC concrete for structural elements, HAC has been successfully used for refractory concrete, floor toppings and slabs to resistacid attack, and specialareas subject to abrasion andthermal shock. For these special purposes HAC concrete ilsoften. made wi th. Alag aggregate whichis based on HAC clinker, Very rapid setting of IiAC can be obtained by m]xmg Uwith. Portland cement orllJydrated Iime, but this resultsin a. coneiderablereductlon inthe 2~ hour strength and. shoukl only be used for special pmposes not associated with. st..reflgttn.or durability, CEMENTS
and

2.4 CORROSION-RESISTANT
caraand

These cements are all proprietary ma terials and must be used. with great

the

with special atlL.>[I.t]otl to the instructiana of Ull!e manufacturer requirements of the Health and SafeW at Work Acts.

There axe three types of chemically resistant cements, namely . 1, those based on synthetic resins; 2..~hose based on silicates of sodium and potassiumc 3. those based on natural rubber and synthetic rubber latexes,
Syn.thetlc resin cements areresistant to a wide range o·fchemicals, ind udmg adds, alkalies andsolveres. The resins used include po]yester~ phellloRk: and furane, Mortars based on pO]Y'eslerres]])s can give exoeptti.onaHy high

compressive

strengths

(90-1LOON!mnr'),

Smeal€'. cements are resistant to. a wide range of adds and fo v,ery lhigh tempemtul1es., but are ge!lll!eraHynotresistant to alkalies, These cements are

used with a syrup,

Aggregates from natural sources for concrete and mortar

Natural and 5ynthe~k rubber cements are only moderately resistant

21L to

chemical at:rndk andare usedwhen the agg;L1essive.c;unrlHions are mild. They

e)(h]bi~ low porosHy and. law penue2lbUiry and provide a. g:ood bond with the substrate, They co'nS:lst of 21 pl"epack!ed powder and asep.ar2lte syrup as the gauging Ugjll:dd.The compressive 5Uength is law, Inthe range of g... 15N/ml.n2 .. fior hu~her infOl'mamion on these specialcements l'e'fel\E~nc~ should be made to the manufacturers, Prododte Ltd, 'iIJ'edneshurY/West Midlands,

25 AGGREGATES FROM NATURAL AND MORTAR

SOURCES

JIi10RC:ONCRlETE

TIlJerelevant British Standard! for ooncreting aggrega~es is ]?is 882, and. OOVel'S grave.[ and crushed rock and sand. The Br]tiish St2lndal'd for fine agg[egate {sand) feu" mortars used rQI: repair of conerete is BS 1199:. Bunding Sands .from Natural Sources for External Rendering and InternalPlastering, There arehvo grading tables, Qne for Type A. sands which is.coarserthan TypeB and. ]50 '~!hJe nenormally used o .ror mortars for repab work Sands for floor screeds should complywidlBS 882" TaMe 5, normally grading limit M. l1.'1eStandards should be referredte for detailed information on their rec:lluj~ement,5. Apart from thetables ,giving grading limits, there are requirements for Plakiness, Limits on Shell Co:ntent~ and Limits on Clay, SiH and Dust and Chloride Con~el1lt BS 882" AppendixB sbtes: No simple tests for d.lllrabHiry andresistance to f!:l)s~or wear o~concrete canbe applied; h.enc~ experience o.ffheprorel'Hes of concrete maG€, wHhfhe type of aggregate in question anda.knowledge of their somc€' are the onlyreliable means of assessment V!l:ifrhe<l~dredged aggregates speda[ att:enHon should be. paid to the shell s andsalt (mainly sodium chloride] contents, mn~h.e UK aggregates from S(J]Tlesources in Soa~[and and. the north ol.f England possess high shrinkage dl.ar2lC'~er]stk'.S.When there is auy doubt about an aggregate,f~ests should be carried ou~ in accordsnce with BiS812: ParI: 120 which details test methods for determining drying: shrinkage of mortar pl'isms made w:Hhslllsped aggregates andrecemmenderions are given for the ]ll'~erp]1e~21hon the resulfs, of ill have fQund dUferences or opiu.ion antl1e died of absorp~on oJ 21g~te5 on the permeability of concrete, Code of Practice fur wa~er"'re~21i.ning structuies (BS 8007)"p]aces a Iimit of 3tl/o on fhe absorption of agg;l'eg2l~es, [have not found any published information based. onproperly cend uc~ted tests which justify this r.esni.ction. In f2lct 'frheon~yre$e2lr.ch report onthls ,~mbjecl:found" is by Arnold :S.R and UUleton" I. affhe Military CoUege of Science and Tech.n{l[Ogy,Shrlv'enham, dated May 1983..This sta~e5th.at a. pl:-e]imi:n.arytest

22

Basic characteristics oj>c'on.c:rete mortar and

materillif;

pl~ogll'am.meusmg concrete with a w! C ratio of 05 proved the concretete be impermeable . The cement oontenil:s were in the 1l'2I!l1l:ge ~aOkg!nl~ 317 ,2I!l1l:d~he "" absorp~].on of the ag:g]1eg:a~es varied hom o..6%~o 8:%.. Thisjustifies the _- -_ . assump~iOl1l that with a.reasonablecemens content and a ].ow w !Cratio,,~he aboorplion of aggregates in general use has no slgrnfic2I!.nt ffect on the concrete e toresist the ~ paS';l2I!g:e water under pressure, of ~
_"

2.6 ADMDITUR.ES
An admixtnre can he defined as a chemical O(UTI.pound thatis ad.d!ed in v'ery small quan!:i~]esto concrete, mortar or grQu!: atthetime of bat-ch:ing .or luixmg,t-o produce some desired characteristic or modHkahOl1l t-o the mix and/or to the mature oontc-re'~e, ortar, or grout. m \'Vh]~e the use {.Ifadmixtures in the VI< has intCl"eased5ignifkanHy in recent years" thiscountry still ]agsfar beMnd Continental Europe, the USA
and ofr!hJE;r deve~QpedoountTies.TheIDe is ant increas:i:ng demand for high.el· quaH~y Iperforman.oe ccncrete and properly se].ected admixtures are more or less essenH2IJ.~o achiev'e!:his .. The m,ain~pes of admixtures In general use are: '" '" '" '" '" '" acoe].eB~attQll's.; set retarders; wa~ell'"'reduc.el:'slwol"bbml:y superpl2lsticize'I:"S,; air-entraining admixtures; p]gment~5.

aidsl pbsticizers;

ffit should be noted.!:ha.t BS 811~the St:mctllra] Use o.f Concret.e"re.rers to pigments as ant admix:l:ure; but PD.6534d993" Gl!dde tofr!hJe use inthe UK of ~NV206:1L992=ContCl\eter ciause 45 includes !p]:gmentl:sunderthe heading of "Addimions'. Inthis book they are included under "Admixtures'. The general use of admixtures is covered by various Codes, and by BS 5328, Parts 1 and 3, and by ENV 206 (draft European Sttanda~d). The EN\! puts an. upper lirndt on the use o.f admixmres in a mix. at 5'Vo by mass of the cement, and a. ]Qwer HmH of 0..2% .. TheEN'V' also requires lliat admixtures in ]iquid fonn" when the dQsage exceeds 3 Htres!Hl] of CQn.cret-e"shaH. be ~ taken ]n~o account when calculatingthe wa~er/ cement ratio of the mix. The British S~andards me perf'ormance specifications. ~ -

1'.h.ese arecrreered by BS 5075:f'art 11. and ENV' 93~2 {draft European Sta:ndard) .. These o~ ywv.er accelerators f'orcun.cIDet~,;thel"e is no BS f'or aecelerafnrs for mortar and grout

Admb:tures

23

A material the"t ]:tlcreases the inl Ual ra ~e orreacnon ibetw"een cement and water & thereby acceleratesthe seUh~g and early strength development of the concrete, Soane acceleraterscrmtain chloride as an active ingredient andwhenthis is the C2Ise,the BS requires that H1e chlor]decullltent shall be stated by the marrufacturen This is in:rportt2lnt beca use S!~anda~dsnow slIr.kt~y HmH the chlonde iron content of concrete' which contains $ermus metals (see BS 5328: Parts 2. and. 3). The pedOl1Tlancereguirements incl ude stiffeningWmes and minimum. compressive slIrengfh as percentage ofthec1)nlIrol mix. The 24~h()ur sh'engi:h is set as 11.25:0/0 andthe 28~d2ly strength as 95%.
2,,16,,2 Set.reia.rd.ers

A ]1e~2InHngadmixhne

is tlefined in. BS 5075:.Par~ 1 as:

1

A ma~er]a~tth2lt decreasesthe initi2llrate 0 £ reaction hehvee:n cement and waL'e:r andtherebyretardsthe setHng o.f concrete. ~or mort2lrs" a similar de.finition is applicable. Therelevant UK S~an.dard is BS 4887: Part 2. The draft European S~andmrl. is ENV93~2. It should be no~edth2ltBS 488'7:. Part 2t sta~e$~!htat~!hte St2lndardC"!Qver,s bunding mortars and rendering, but noi: mort2ll"flQr £1001" sere-eding. Theretarders are in the form of Uquids and. are (lrg2lnk oompounds and the exact oo:mpos.i~]Qn varies from manufacturer to manufacturer,
2.,16.3 Waterloreducing

admhtures!wOirlk:abrulity

aids!rlil!~tidz'er5

a 'normal wa~er-redudng

f1o:r wFlcretetl:hese admixtures are covered byBS admixture' as:

50'i5: Part 1whkhdef]nes

A material that increasesthe fluidity of fhe' cement paste without significan fly affecting theair content and thereby increases fhe workability of the concrete at constant water/cement ratio, or permits concrete to be made with a decreased amount of wa fer while maintaining equal workability, with a consequent increase in strength,
The Smnda]1d alsecovers accelerating water-reducing admixtures" and "retarding wal:~r~redudng admhtures'.111.e5e admixtures combine the two
l

described functlons, Att~he Hme of writingthis bookthere d]cl not appear to' be an equ]valent _. "" "" lENV (draft European Standard) under preparation. "" "" .'"

24

Basic characteristics

Qfo:rnc:rete {lnet m:ortar materiai.r;

These admioctures are covered by BS S07S: Part 3" and. bythe draft European Standard~NV 934~::t. The UK Standard d.eHnes 5111Ch admix:l:ure.s as: An adrnixtureythat when. added~o an hydraulic binder concrete, imparts veryhigh work2lbmty or allows a large decrease in water content for a g:i:v'en wor lkabHHy. The increase in work2lhHHy Is dramatic, astheconcrete Hows, andthis is measured as de5cr]bed in BS 1881: Part 105. This super wor.kabm~y only lasts .t.ora Iimited period, genemUy abouttwoto four hours. The very high'>v.orlk.ahHityobtained (150~.200mm s]ump) ensaresthat theconcrete is vhtu.aJLy self-compacting; Concretecontaining superp].astidZiers is used for a number of purposes whkh include: " ultra-high s~reng:thOOI.'lCrete; • p]adng concrete in ]Qcal:ionswhere compaction is diffic:uH" for examp].e" in members containing conges~edreinfoocernen~; • for laying: large Ho01· areas in a continuous operation wijh a oo:mparaHvely small labour rOH;"e. The bask pl'indpl!es m1td.edyingfr!hJe hTlprov'emenHn workabiUty in norma] plasticizing: admixtures app]y to superplastleizers but on a much gl"ea~el" scale. Simp~y expressedt the admixture particles are negahve~y charged and are adsorbed. ontn the surface o.fthehydratingC"e'me!lll.1: par~ides,r which also bewmenegative]y charged. As negal:iv,elycharged particles repel e2lcho~!hJertl:he ement particles are dispersed and. workabEHtythe]1eby is c g~aHy increased .. Thel:wo main bask typ'es of superplasticizers are aulphonated napht.halene~forma~dehydeoondenS2lt!es" and sulphonated melamine.forma]dehyd!eoondenS2Ites.
2 .• 6.•.5 Arur 1

entraining a.dmixtu[\e~

This type of admixture is defined in BS 5075:.Part :2 as: An admix~lll]1e tha.t causes acontrolled and s'~aMequantity of air to be incerporated duringthe mixing o.r concrete, wi~ihtouts:ig:nHka:n:tly ef~ec~ing:l:heseUing: o.ftheconcrete, T.hedraHEmopean Stt2lndard. s ENV 93~2, i The acHon of the entrained air is 1:0 'eith.erreduce the wa~er requirement Q.f~!hte wah. constant wQrkabHHy or~o increase the wQrlk.ahHHy mix with a constant water /oement [abo. The pa:-es'enceo.tthe 'entrained air also

Admb:tures

2.5

increasesthe resistance o.fthecj(RllC~ete tofl"eezing: and thawing (frost aUack). Howe'vel:,.the])e is a reduction in compressive st~engthoompared with. a control mix o.fthe same mix proportions and water/cement mHo. The actual reduction in. compressive shengthde:pends, on a number of fac tors, but a figure o.f 4,% for each 11 of air entrained Is oHen used 'Vo as a guide. It should also be nQ~ed~hat if the cement content of the mix 'exceeds about 350 kg! m~difficulties are likelytn arise in entraining the air. TI.lJ!e of the bubbles of entrained a]r is about 50 microns or size O.05mm. Air entraining adm]xture.sklr use in mortars are covered by BS ,4887: Part 1r inwhichthey arereferredto as 'air""entmining {plasticizing) admixtures', These mortars are used for bedding masonry units and for rendering. In addH]on~o impl"QvingworkabiUlJ't the air entrainmeot also increasesthe frostresistance o.fl:he mortar, 2.,6.,6 .Pigmen hi The relevant British Standard is BS 11014: igments for Pcrtlandcement P and Portlattd celuent products .. The S~andard. sets eurrequirements rQr sampling, use as a powder or as a disperS:lon,oomposiNOll, and the e.f.recto.fthe pigment on~hesemng time and. s~rength of Portland cement products. Table 1 of~he S~andam Iists seven pigments, of which four are oxides o.f iron, one is carbon M2I.ck, one is chromic oxide and ene hi titanium. dioxide. The prmcipal pigments ]n use are oxides of iron and carbon black and are in the .rQrm. .fVel"Y o fine powders. The average values for the padide shes ,suHab],efor use in concrete and mo[~ar are: Wronoxide: Carbon black: 0.1 microns 0..1 to 0.4. microns

These can be compared with. Portland. cement-« 11.0~o50 microns, and sand 1150~05000 microns (l mi.c~n=O.001l1um). '\o'Vh]le pig,nents are not used to any g~a~ 'extent inth.e repair of co'nc~t.e, their use, when n.ecessarYtc.angiv'e rise to cemplaints and disappointment This 1.5 usually due to lack of lllnderstand]ng o.f the Iimltations o.r p]gm!en~ed concret'e/modarcompal'ed to pigmented coatings. For example, complete lllnHormHy o.f colour cannot he oMajned due to a number of factors, of wMch the pdndpal are: 1. small but unaeoidable v2!.riaUorltsm actualmix prO!pOl"~ions the (cement aggIDegatesand water); 2. small variations in the Cl;),h;ml" o.fth.e aggregates" pal"H.cu1ar the sand, ]y and t'O alesser 'extentrhe cement;

26

Basic characteristics ef cenereie lInd mortar materilli.s

of fhe

3. small but unavoiclab]!e variations in Hle actual dis~ribuhon pigment in HlJemix; 4. varlatluns ]n~!hJecuringregime.

2..7ADDITIONS
These are materials which. are permH-~edl:o be added to a concrete or mortar mix in muchlarger q uanritiesthan admixtures. illnBS 5328.: Part 1, thefoH.ow:ing materi2lls are includedunder the heading o.f Additions in Clause 3.. : 6 '" plillverized fuel ash (pfa) comp]ying wIth BS 3892; • g~'ound gl"anu]ated blastfuenace slag (ggbs) conlp]ying 2.7.1 .purn.v'eri.zedfuel ash (pb) and. in fact

wHhBS 6699.

This material is a by~pf'odud of pulverized generaUngstat]ons ..It is a Hne powder, the parhde 1 ~50 microns. The approxhuale composition is :

Pu~verized fue~ ash is also classed as a cententreplacement that is its principal use in theconcrete incluSh-y.

coa]-fived e].edddl:y size be]ng:in~he range

50% sHkon ~Si0::l} 28% alumina as A1L:P,J 11% iron oxide as fe203 11% oxides of calcium, magnesium,

sodium. and pot2lssimrl.1

The reJ!evant British Standard. isBS 3892: Parts 1 and. 2.. Part 11. COVel'Spfa .r1Qr se as a ·c~mentiHous compound in stmctlllraJ u conCl'l;t:';-,;Part 2c-:ove-rspfa .fol"use- in grouts and. for miscellaneous uses ]JlJ. concrete. Pb exhibits pozzolenic adivHy and. BS 3892: Part 1 contains a test method for determiningthe pozzo12lnk acHvHy index, The Standard Iimits the .sul!pha~e (as S03} oorlltenl to a. maximum o.f 2.5%. Part 2, which deals with pfa far use- En grouts, specificall y st2ltes~im2lt this does not app~y~o grouts used. in ducts .f1Qrpresh1ess]ng:~endons, The main advantages claimedforthe inclusion o.t pfa in concrete are: "'redlllcHo:n in heat of hydration; '" in"lpl"Oved wor kability with constm:lJt water I celuent l"ahq; '" increased. resistanceto su]phate attack; .redlilced perme2lMUtyl:o ]iqulds; "'long4erm increase in compressive Sheng:th. The-IDe some reasonto believe that the indlilsion is m2ly render it more resistanf to alkall-sihcareaction, o.r pta in the concrete

27 :r~eference should also be made to BS 6588: SpedfkaHon for Portland pulverized fuel ash cement which lays down requtrements for ~ ~ ccmpoaifien, strength, physical and chem.icalproperHesfor tW0' _. "" _. comb]H2It:iol1s .gfPorU2Ind. cement andpfa,

As far asthe authQr is aware, ]t is not possib].eto determme by chemic.aJ. analysis the proportion of pfa in hardened cancrete or mortar. The pl~sence of pfa inconcrete cain be confirmed by mkroscupk examination "" "" of~ih:insections. The pfa content in freshcnncrete can be determined bythe chemical method described in BS 66Hlr or byfrhe ~ parHde density method described in Annex D inFOld 128 ofBS 1881~Methods f0'r Analysis of Fresh Concrete,
'_-

The relevant British Standard i5'9$ 6699: Spe,cHk~U0'nfor gI~und g[anl!lla~edlbtas~fu:rnaoe slag for use wW).PortLand cement, The s],ag is a waste ~ product from steelworksj jhe raw materjals going _ into the _ blastfurnace are iron ore, limestone and coke. The products of the M2IsHumace are iron and sbg. The sl2lg can.be used as an aggregate or as an addjtion to Pontland cement for c,oncrete.W.hen used in combinatioat with oPC ]1: increa5es~lhe resistance of~he concreteto Sl!llplhateattack, and to ASR by ]imjHng~lhe alkalkcrmtent of the binder (:cem,entp1us ggbs). The preportlons used with OPC depends on dle "" ~ "" required effect on theresulting concrete .. Generally, mixes cont2lining "" 40('10 ggbs and 60% OPC~0' 65% ggbs and 35('10 ope are used,
. _"
,

'_

Condensed silica fume is a waste prod uct of t]1€, ferrosilicon mdustry. It consists of 8&-98% o.f silicon dioxide (5j[02) wU.h. very small percentages of carbon, ferric oxide,ah:u::nini.1U~moxide (alumina) and. oxides of magnesium r potassium and sodium .. illt is a~ very fine greyish powder wlt], a specific surface about fifty~hnes tl'lat of normal Portland cement, the particles havlLnga diameter of about 1 micron .... and Isa highly reactive pozzolan, The: addition of condensed silica r1!;u:ri.R to concrete and mortar has a s]grn~ificanteffect on the properties of file plastic mix, as well as on t],e hardened materia]. The dosage is gellera]]y in the range of 2% to. 10% by weight of cement ill~s presence imparts a number of beneficiel charactensncs to the concrete and mortar:

28
" " " "

Basic chllracteris tics of (:oncl'cte and m:oriar mate.ritll.s

increased c,ohe.slon; reduced permeability; increase in compressive shengtllJ; increased l'es]stm.lce~osulphale attack {except P,oss'[bly2HnmoniuI!J.1 sulphate); " increasedresistance to a number (If aggressive chemicals; irnch].ding some ammonium-based feL'tilb~)ers.

The very small parHde size increasesfhe water demand of the mix and can result in pl"ematu]1es'~Ufening if p]adng and compaction is delayed. U is normally used with 21. supsrplasticizer; When used w]th selected Portland cemertt, se]!ec~edag:grega~es and a superplasticizencompressive strengths of ,over gUNfmm 2 can be ,obtained.; this involves careful mix design and sMd control of aU aspects ,of the concreting proced LH'e. mnthe UK and USAC(Mll:densedsilka fume is marketed as a stabilized s]urry which Qon~ains·a pl?ls~kizer or superplasticizer; The Agl"€ement Certificate for the "Elkem MkrosHica' giv,es~h,e pH of the sHkalwa~er s]urry as 55 plus or minus] J). As.far as Iam aware!]t]s not possih~e ·~odetermin.e bychem.ka] analysis, the pr,oPortion ofcondensed silica. fumepresent inhardened concrete or mortar. There isno British Standard for ccndeneed silica fume,
2.7.4 .Polymer5

TIlleterm !polynlJel:'S'ndudes a w.ide range ,ofmaferials, bu~inl:his. chapter i epoxies! po]urel:hanes andp,olyesterst are deall:with under section 2.114 [i{eadive Resins. Th.€'po1ymers described in this section are mainly available in ]iquid or powder f,orms. The H.qlLddsaredispersions (als,ore.ferred toas ]atexes)! and are generaUy whitish in colour; The solid content and. viscnsityvary; the solid content is genera]]y in~he mng:e ,o.f.410'""70%. polymers '[he available in powder form. are mainly: • m.odified: polyv]ny1 acetates (PVAsl; " ethy~ene vinylacetate (EVAs}; " aCl'y]ks. The dispersions include styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), Neoprene (an arHfkialrubber)t styrene acrylics and natural rubber latexes, mnmy (Jpi:nion!~he manufacturens of ]?o~ymel"sfor use in conceete or mortar mixes should c,olnp]y with Code requirements for the disclosure of informafion on ingl'edients.

Water for mixing ('Qrtc:ret.e Iltui

matter

29

VI/hUe'each of~!htepol -ymers mentioned above havetheir own specific ~ ~ characteristics, they are all intendedto imparl: some useful propertiestn "" the concrete! mortar in w hkh they are incnrporated" and fhese properties ~~ are summarized below:
.

" improved workabiHty o.fthe mix. with constant ve ] c rafio or reduced w/cratio with constant workabHHy; " increased bond withthe suhstrate: " red uced !penneabiU~y and absorption; " improvedresistancete carbonation; " some ]imi~ed increase in resistaneeto attack by agpessive chemicals. in the use of synthetic polymer dispersions is that: they can be ta.iJ0r-made to meet there,gui~ements o.fthe proposed end use. The particle size of the SBR solids in an SBR b~ex is in the range 0.11.3 to 0.23 microns which can be compared with fodLand. cement o.f 1~SO In].crons. When these polymer Iatexes are added to fhe mix on site, the pl"OportionsreoomlTlended by~~esuppliers should in generaJ be .flQ.Uowed. mnthe case:o.fSBRs, the propertions are u:~manyin the range o.f5% to 10% by weight ofC1;'ment,;the amount of emuleion added depends on the reason for its addition. An po]ym.ers are 'ex!pensiveand.l:he]1efore~!heir use should be given careful consideratlon, Proprietary "epail" lTlortarsconsisting of prepackedcement and aggregate often have a sdected pol ymer latex inchided as a. gaugjng Hquid to which water must be added to provide~he re'CJ!l!lired workaMlHy. Other prepacked mixes have the polymer included in powder form ..
A great: advantage

2.8 WATER JI'lORMIX][NG CONCRETE

AND MORTAR

The ]1e]evant Brltish Standard is BS 311.48:. Methods of test forwater for makjngconcrete (including not'e'Sonthe suitability ofn~e water). Thewal'er used rlQr mixingCUIlCl1eteand mor~ar (alsolcnown as gauging water), should. be free from compounds which in]l!lri.ous~y ffect~ilThe a set~]ng and hardening of~!hte mix and/or have an adverse 'effect on the propel'hes of the hardened ooncve~elmortal1'.The impueities ]Tlaybe organic: and/or inorganic, The Standal:">l'i.reoommends making: mortar cubes using the water under inv'estigation with oonhol cubes made with distilled water. Sulphates in soluticn (as S03) should be limited to 1000 ppm. In addifion the maximum. cencentretion of sul phate in.theoonCI:-e~e mertarshould or not exceed that recommended in BS 5328: Concrete, Part l~l2I11se 4..2.3, namel y ~5Wo by mass of~he cement

30

Basic cnerecterietic» O/CONcrete al'l;d m;ortM m:aterials

illtcan be said. that water which is fit for drinking (potBIMewater) is a]so·fUfor making conc])e~e and mortar. On the other hand" wa~er which Is unfit for drinking may be quite suitable for making- concrete! modal' "" for specific "" ptmposes. Wh'en drinking - water is not availablefor "" construction ",vork,saJine [brackish) wal:er,and even sea water rnayhave to be used ..This is discussed in Chapter 3, section 3..5.10.
_"
,

ASSOCIATED MATERIALS 2.9 STEELREfNFORCEMENT Steel reiufon::;ement for concrete iscovered Standards: BS BS BS BS 4449 4482 4483 4486 by fhefoHowing: British

BS 5896 BS 7295 BS ':729

Carbon steel bars forthe reinforcement of concrete Co]d reduced steel wire forthe reinforcement or concrete St!ee]fabric forthe reinrOI:'Cement f concrete o Hot rolled and processed, high tensile aHoy steel bars for the P]1estres,singof concrete Hightensile steen wire and shand for the prestressing of concrete Fusion bonded epoxy coated carbon steel bars for reinforcement of concrete Hot dipped galvanized coaUngs on iron and steel art] des. (I:Msis not spednca]~y forrebars] Austenific staindess steel bars for the reinforcement or concrete

At the~hne of writing this book there ]s no IMtish Standard spedfkaUy [QrgalvaniZied reinforcement although there are a number o.fStandards [QrgalvaniZled steel for various purposes. ~The objlect of ga~vanizing- is to pr.ov]de protechon of the rebars in ~ ~ adverse ·mndjHons of exposure. Ga~ varsizing oons.ists.ofOO2lting~\htestee] "" with zinc by either d]pp[ng the steel ]nto tanks of molten Z]HC (hot..,dip galvanizing) or by e~edr.odeposHjonfmm an agllleoussolution, For rebers, hot dip galvanizing is used, and~Ms process is covered by BS 729: Spedfication for hot dipped galvanized coating for iron andstee.~ articles .. ill am indebted tothe Ga~van]zers Assaciation for the informationwhich .r-o]lows.
. '_ '-

Gal varsizedreinforcemenf was first used. in BenTlud21. hlJ.~he11930s and then became widely used in the 11940s hen sea~dFedged aggregates were w used f'orstructures d uringthe war years. In the UK U appears h) be mainly "" "" used in precast C()FICFe~e units .for ]arge buHding_- project's. -_ "" '\Nh.enconCFete/mortal" ]S ~ placed around galvanizedrehars there is a chemical reaction be~ween the zinc coaUng: and calcium hydroxide in the hydrating cenlent paste. The zinc surface is passivated wHhthe evolution of hydrogen. The passiVaUQll occurs withfr!hJe]nHia] formatlon of a layer ~ of zinc hydroxide; fmther chemical reactions foHowresulting in the formation of a complex stable zinc compmmd zincate, ~ ~ ]fiordurability_- in aggre5sivecx:m.di~].Qns" essentlelforthis passivated itis __ "" film on the surface o.fthe zinc 1:0 he undamaged, The presenoe o.f very smal] concerstration ofchromate (21 bout O.0()2% or 20ppm) in the cement will inhi.bit the reacfion betweenthecemertt paste andthe zinc and thus Iimitthe formaticn of hydr.ogen. ~ The prQ~ecUon 'of the steel provided by the zinccoahng: is mainly dependellt on the thickness of the coating and theref.ore the thickness sh.ou~d be .spedfied to. meet anticipate exposure conditions. ~ ~ ~
_"
" "

This method of pretectingreinfercement fromcorresion in agg~ess]ve "" -environments has been in use" mah)]y in the US, since the early 1970s" while in the UK ]I;s acceptance has been m uch slower. The American St2lnda~d ]S ASTM A775: St2lndard Spedf]catiQn for Epoxy-Co2lted Reinfordng:- B2I1"s; UK SpecifiC2Itionis BS '7295: Pads 11 The "" ~ and 2: Pusion-bonded Epoxy~wa~ed Carbon Steel Bars for the Re]uforcement .ofConcrete, The ooating: is an epoxy powder speci2l1JyfonnuJ.ated.~o resis~ hnpact and abrasion! and to.possess a sufficient degree of flexibHUy t'o bending "" stresses ]nfrhe detaHing oithe bars, and~orossess high bond to the surface of the rebars.The epoxy resin used shQu~d CoI!J.1.p~ y w]thPad :2 Q.fBS 7295 "" "" and is d'eHned as athermesetting ep.oxy P.owdercQahng ma~erh] CQns]s~]ngmainly of 'epQxy resin "" plus curing- agent and pigments. Two. "" 'conditions are paramount forthe durabmty of the steel under corrosive attack (e.g. by chlorides}; these are as .ro]lows.
_"
_'

'_

'_

'_

'_

1. High bond strength. to the surface of therebars which must be properl y preparedto receive the coating. ASTM A775 requires the bond to be tested by bending coated bars through ]200 without cracking or debonding. 2. Minimumamount of damageto the coating which requires a minimum coating thickness. ASTM A775 calls fora. tih.icknes8 in. the mnge of

32

Basic characteristics ef cencreie

lInd

mortar materials
makes a

0.13 to o..30mm {130~30f) microns). The-British Standard similar recommendation .flQrndivjdual measurements. i
m:t is ackncwledgedthet

some damagewill occur tlQ'~hecoaHn:g during transpOl1'~aHon,and during fixing, p~adng antdcnmpac~]ng the concrete around. the bars. Research hasshewnthathigh and consistent bond s~])ength Rimits sigrJiifkanHy the extent and rate ofc-:onosion of~!hJerebars ar]sing[rom damage to~he coating. 2.9.3 St,aiJnless-steel reinfon:eI:lll.ent The l~elevant Brltjsh Stand.ard is I~S 674\4\.:SpeciHC2IHon.for Austenifjc Stainless Steel .for the Reinforcement of Concrete ..Of the th~ee bask groups of st2l]nlessstee].-m2lrten.sitk, Ierrttic and austerdtic-e-the austenifjc steels (types 30.2" 31LS and. warm-worked 316) are by far the mostresistanctu attack by concentrates ofchlonides. ABRE publication in 1988 showedthatcancrete test specimens containing 3% chlorlde by weigh!: of cement showed no sign of corrosion ov'er a period of 17 years. The typ'e 311.6 steelcontains 180/0chromtuI!J.1.t10'flo nkke] and 3% mo].ybdemllm. [1'1. continuously warm andhumid condi~io:nStsuch as exist in swimming: poo]haUSt and. if the steel is very highl y stressed, serious cerrosion Can occur; this Is Illustrated by~ihte fail ure .of stainless-steel h.a:ngel"s supporting a reinforced concrete ceiling slab in a swimming poo] in SwH~el'bnd. in 1985. 1]'tcan he welded." but isnon-magnetic and there.f(}]1e ]s dHfkuH or it impossible to detect it with the norm2l~type cover meter, Galvanic corrcsioncan nccur ]f the stainlesa steel Is in contact with mild stee~ ]n the presence of moisfrure. m:t isthe mlld sted which oOHodes"i.e, His anodic tostainless steel, Stainless steel is much more expensive than ordinarycarbrm stee~ and Its use for re]nf'Qrcement is only jusHHed in special cases, The coefficlent o.ftherm2ll expansion of austenitic steels is. 18xlO-~ compared with carbonsteek 12x 1LO'~ I "C

re"

2.9.4 Spacers The use of the cone'ct spacers is an essential part o[~he construction of reinforced concrete ..There is no British St2Indand. for spac'el;s, but in 1991 the e oncrete Sod-ely published a manna] Spacers j-cn' Reinforced Concrete. SpaC1ersare used to help ensueecnrrect cover to therebars, A reduced cover (with ofl.lJ.er fhings being egual) can sedous,~y reduce the d.urabiUty of the reinforcement and thus the "useful ]Ue' of the concrete units,

33 Spacers should meetthe recommendatlons in the manual for load, defilex]on and sttlhHity; H1.e:y must he secLm;~]y fixed in the QOHectlocations. Spacers me nOI"I!I.l21.Uy made .ofplasHcs lmt SQ]Tlere made oFf[b]1e"reinfon:;ed a cement-based material, I favom a material which bonds h) the surmunding concrete.

1'.hisis a l1l;~]2I.lnive~y range of maferlels which has been. used infr~e US new and. in the EC countries fQr some years, but is being aoc~pted on~y slow~y in the UK. There ]Sno British St:andar!l~. this type O'fmaterial andsoreference for is made to the US Standard" AS1'M C~4:94,Type C [Admixtures For
Concrete),

1'J.lJeoHowing ]Sa description of acnrrosion ini:ribib:)rmade by 'Grace f Construction. Products, IlJame]yDCI ~S. lit ],5 a Hguid added to concrete d udng bakhing. Itchemically inhibits the corrosive action of chlorldes on s~e'e]~ei:nforc~me:ntand prest~ess]ng tendons mcrmcrete ..l~ complies with A:S'f"'l1C~494 Type C, and hok~.san Agree:m.ent Certificate No. 96/3232; H is based on calci urn nitrite. By chemicallyreacting with the embedded. steel the paSS:lvaHng layer on the steel is maintained unbreken when chlorides are in contactwiththe s~eel The dOls<lgehould he related tofr~e antidpated cMO'rideioncrmtent o.f s the concrete during the design Hfe of the structure, It is cO'mpaHb~ewith a]ltypes of PorHandce:ment and. with. O'therstandard types O'fadrnixfures, which IRUStbe added. separate~ y. The dosagerate varies from 11.0 30 to Iitres per m] of concrete, The concreteshould he good quality, minhn urn cement content of 350kg I m~and maximum ve] c of 0.,45and. hethorougMy compacted and cured, ill am indebtedto W.c.Grace Ltd fO'rthe above informatiort, 2..10NON~fERROUS METALS IN CONCRETE Only a Iimited number ·ofnon-ferrous metals are Hke]y to be needed in repair work to reinforced concrete structures. When th.ey are required it is usually as f]xtngs. in the concrete or as fixtures in ,contact with. the surface of the concrete ..WI.l!endissimilar metals are in contact in a moist envlronmeru there is danger of ga~vanic acnon resl!lIHn:ginthe corrosicn of one O'fthe me~a]s. This is a complex suhj ect and is dealt with in some detail in a BSI pulbHC2l.tion, 6484: C011:rmentary O'nCorrosion at Bbue.fallic PD. Con.fads m:!a its .AlleviMio:n .. For example ifcarbOllsteel reinforeemenf is in contact with. stainless steel the carbon steel IuaysuHer moderate cO'rrOSIOn.

34

Basic characteristics Qlconc:rete lInd mortar materillI.s

2,10.1 Alumini u.m and. al u.mffinm~nn an.oy~

m.f nprotected by anodiz]ng or suitable coa~]ngs, aJum]UDlLU!J.1 u in direct contact wi~\h damp concrete is H2Ibleto be attacked bythe caustic alkalis in the cement paste. Detailedrecommendations forl:he pro~ecHon of aluminium. ag2linsl:corrosion are given inBS 4873: Aluminium AHoy 'Vlindows. The coefficient ofthermal expansion of aluminhun is about 25xlO-ti.rc.
2.10.2 Copper

Copper isresistant to most condHions met w:Hhin buHding construction ami structures for water supp]y and sewerage works, It was used for In2lny years as water bars in joints in ooncre~e Hquid retaining structures but has beenreplaced by p]asNcs such 015 polyv]nykh]Q[]decumpounds. CQPper is not atl:ac.ked by Portlaod cement concnete unless chlorides are pres,ent in higher concentrations than is nQw recommended by BS 5328: Part 1; T2Ib]!e 4. ill!: ]S attacked by ammcniumcnmpounds, U cQPper is in directcontaet with carbon steel In the presence of moisture gaJvanic action may occur cansing cerrcsion of the rruld sl:eeJ. (the steel is anodic to the copper }.The main use now for oopper is ].H l"O'ofing: and coping,s. The ooe.Hl.denl:of Hlenua.~expansiQn 'Of oopper]s about 17x]O-ti.rc.
2.10.3 P.h(l'sp.h(l,r-bronze

Phosphor-brenee is an alloy 'Ofcopper and tin wil:h phosphorous as cQPper phosphide. ill!: is used mostly .forfidu.IDes and HtUngs in conditions W hleh would result in the corresion of ferrous metals (exoept stainless s~e'e]J. Phosphor-bronze in.corrtact with mdld steel and s~ain]ess :steel in the presence of moisture will notresult in g2llvank acfion, The coe.ff]den~ of thermal eXpanSIQn of phosphor-bronze is about 20xIO-D/¢C
2.10.4 Brass

Brass ]S IllahlJ.y an aHoy ofcopp.er and Zl1'lC, but other elements such as aluminium, mang2ln.ese"nklbe]., Nn and lead, are bequently added ]n small quantities.There may be sligM initial attack bythe p~astic concrete which results in a prote,cUve CO<21ting 'OIld)e rne~al Further attack is un]fke]y unlesschkirIdes are present [see no~es 'On CoppeI:, section 2.1L(l'.2)..

2.,10.5 lead Lead is vulnerable to' attack by Portland cement mo[~ar and concrete and by Iime, There is an iniHaJ a~~ackfromthe !pbs~]c mortar !ooncre~e, but this w]]J cease after the concrete or mortar has hardened, It may recnmmence if the con.cl:-eh;d mortar becnmes wet Probectlon can be provided by the app]ication of a thick coat of bitumen. 2.10.6 Zinc Zinc reacts wifh caustic alkalis (such as .hyd:raJ:i11gPortland cement paste), wi tl1 evol uUon of hydrogen, which CaJ1result in the spalling ofthe concrete/mortar, but only whenthere is a.relatively large volume of zinc beingattacked ..The zinc coating on steel (galvanizing), would not result in any damage-to the sunoundtng concrete/mortar. Zinc rods embedded in concrete or mortar ma.y be damaged, but can be protected by a thick coa t of bitumen.

Defects in jom.~sin concrete structures" bothinsitu an.d precast, are a ma.jO'r source O'fcmnplaints ads~ing from. unsatisfactory performance. [I: is therefore essential to lecate and design joints correcl:[y and to seleet the most suRab]e materials fQr use as jcdnt .fmers and sealants, Two re[eva])~Ib.flish Standards are:
L BS 6093: Code ofPracfice for desig~'1or jloinil:5 and JO'innng:in blllHding

construction; 2. BS 6213:. Cuide~o selection of censtructlonal sealants, mrl.addihon" the'l"e are five British Standards covering specific types of sealant andtheseare refsrredta bt:er in th]$ section, fO'r movement jo1n~s in the floons of commercial and. industrial buildings and. inhridges. spedaJ proprietary joint assemblies are to be pre$enedl:O what may be termed. in-house' designs, These assemblies generaH ycunsist O'.f ides and base of ahimini um or brass secmely fixed s intu the structural slab an each s~ide ofthe joint, with a. high-qualil:y synthetic rubber insert tQ eHective[y sealthe jO]ut at the tO'Psurface.
!

2.12 JOINt' FILLERS Thesematertals areused m 'in -house' designed jo]nts~arld are sometimes referredto as back-up materials. They provide support to the sealant but should not bond to it. The Joint fHle'l' also prevents the ingress mto joines

36

Basic characteristics o/>c'onc:reteand m:ortar materiaI.s

in Hoor and roofsl2lbs o.fstones and debris during fhe construction period as thesealant is usually applied Iater inthe ccnrract, The material used for joint fiBers sholll]d fuH11 fhe foUowing reglNirements.
1. H must be durab].e under service conditions; idea.My. the U~eshould

2.

3.
4.. 5..

6..

be the same as the service life of the s~mc~me o.fwMch.it forms part. H must he chemically in.ert and non -texic, H mus~ beresm.ent" bd shou]d not extrude so a5~O interfere with the integrity of the sealant, Itshould not bond 150 the seabl1t; if it does, a bond. breaker must be used .. It must he 'easHy formedl5o~he correct dimensions and be readily inserted into the joint. Additional prope:r~]e!iInay beregllli~ed .for special purposes (su.ch as franksho]d:ing potable wa~er! sewage~anh,t2lnb hoMing chemical waste, and. petroleum oH).

1. cork granules bonded Inaresin which is sl,l]table for long-~€'rm immersion in water; 2" cork granules bonded in birumen which issuitable for hnmersion in. water, but the bitumen may~der it unsuitable for U5ein tanks holding po~ah~ewater; 3. wood fihre with bjhnnen; this type is not suitable rQf use in damp conditions, 2.13 SEALANTS

1. in situ compounds; 2. preformed compounds. Ma.t'erials used characteristics; in both groups should. possess the foHowing

or exdillding structures the sealant HseKf should be vir~u2lHyimpermeable. 2. Idea.UYr~h.e service Iife sholN]d bethe same as~haJ oF~he structure in whJichH is used. 3. h must bond weHI:Qthe sides of the jOhlJ~ in which ]tis inserted, under site conSITncHonoondiHcms, and.be relatively 'easy~o ]nstaH"

1. For external use and in Hql!]jdretaining

Sealants
4. Speciall1eql!lh-e:ments mary be n~ql!l]]1E~d po,ttablewatertanks for

37

{such as non-toxic, non4aintmg, and should not support growth of bacteria, fungus, a~g:a.ee'~c.) Fortanks hoMing chemical waste, pe'~w]eum oi], and sewagetanks, o'~herrequ:i:rementsw]]l be needed to 'ensure durahUity. 5. It should deform in response to movements in fhe structure wiH'Iout extruding and wifhout losing its integrity. British. S~andard. E1S6213 giv,es gUidance in the selection o.fconstructional seal2m~s,hut deals almost entirely with in situ sealants and isreferred to agaul1in the nex~ sub-section,
2.13.1 InsUu '(:(limpound~

The in situ sealants can be divided intotvvo main classes: L het applied sealants; 2. oo]d appUed fpoming grade and gun-grade). The hoi: appHedseal2lnts are mainly used for joints in ex~e:ma]concrete pavements and herrzontal ground. floor slabs O'.t industrial and. commercial buildings, They are normally based on bitumen. The cold applied poming grade sea]an~s are used in various types O'.t structures but are confined to horizontal .filoorand ll'.oo.f slabs, The gun~grad!e sealants m-e suita h~e.f.oruse in a wide range .of]ocaticms and structures. The relevant British Standards f'o.rboth types o.fsea]an~s.are: BS 2499
BS4254,

BS 5212 BS 5215
BS S889

Hot-applied joint sealants for concrete pavements - "" Two~part po~ysl!l~ph]de sealantsIorthe building industry Cold-poured [oint sealants .rorconcrel:e pavements ~ ~ One-part gun-grade polysu~phide based sealanfs Silicone based b uild iug sealants
'

BS6213"Tab1!e liststhe expected servicelife' o.f various~ype.s of sealants,; 2 one- andtwo-par! poly~mlphide5 and silicones have predicted 'Hves' up t-o20 years, wHh a. not-el:hat "under favourable condWons" this may be exceeded ..H is not dear fromthe S~and.ard.w hatcrmstitutes favo:maMe' condiHons.. My experience is fhat some polysulphides can give disappointing long~~erm .resuHs. However, BS 6211.3, Tab]es ~ 11, does in give very useful informetlon on the Sl!litabiUtyof some 19~ypes of sealant for a. wide variety of uses. BS 6093.:Design of jOhltS and. ]oinHng: in building constructinn giv'es "expected' lives rather mere optimistically than BS6213,re.g. polysulphides (gl!ln~grad!e)up to 25 years; sUkones up to 25 years and polyurethane sealants, chemically curing, up to 20 years; hot-poured bltumerr/ rubber sealants up to 11.0'ears. y
f

38

Basic characteristics oj('onC:l'ete

11I1.d

m:ortar matefilli.f)

L-

My experience is that ~ preform.ed :seaJan~5suf.fer from one serious prachc,aJ disadvantsge, namely, the sides of jo]nts have to be smooth and even as. the preformed material does not accemmodate HseU wellto an uneven or 'out of hue surface. It is necessary to' use a primer onthe sides 'of the jointprlortc the insertion oJ thepreformsd sealant, However, Neoprene and EPDM (el:hy].ene~propy]!erll!e~ Diane- Monomer) are particubdyresistant to' a wide range of chemicals and. 150 deterioraH'on. (degradation) by bacteria <Ind.fungus grewths, and areparticularly su]t2lb~efm w2Iter allJdsewa,ge tanks.
_ _
.",'

2.14 REACTIVlERESillNS

These materials are main]y used for Q02llffi:ng.s for thfu bonded repairs and ~ when mixed wi'~h sped2lUy graded and se]!E;:cted Hue a ggl:'€'g21I:e. The infunnaHon which follows refers 1:-0 resins used for the rep2lir of damaged concrete and .f'orprot.ectiY'e oatings (barrier sys~ems}agaiilltstchemkal attack, c "" Apart from the obvieus n!eed. forl:h!e resin-based mortar jo be adequa~ely durable .for the purpose 0.1' its Entended use, it ]S essential ,th2lt i~ should bond welltothe concrete substrateto which it is applLed. The resins listed below all possess ,exce]lenl bond charac~e'l"istks,bu~ it must: be remembered tha.l:l:h.e bend at the interface of the two Iuateda]s (mortar and .su.hstra~e), depends also on the sl:rength ofthe concrete. The repair '" of 21. rel2ltive].y poor qlll<llHyconcrete presents serious dHfkuH]!es.andto "" "" use an expensive resin based mertar m.ay be 21. was'~e of H"l'oney; The cost ofresin-based mortars is many timesthat of cemens-based material and there.fQrel:heir use ]S onl y ,]usHHed in special cases, HOWoeve~, ~ lli]s comment does not apply~o their use as c'oalffin~.Coatings, alse known as barr.iel"systerns, are dealt with in some detail in Chapter 7.. The grea~ advanl:age of syn~hetkres]ns is that they C2In .fonnu~a.~ed. be to meet 21. wide range of specialrequitements, The main. resins used f'or m'ort2l1-sf'orrepair ofconcrete are:
'_ .
_'

" epoxies; " po]yoesters; " polyllll1el:hanes

2.14.2 Epo,xy resdns

Theseresins are by-products of the petro-chemical ]ndus~ry~ and have been known. for 21. ]ongHnlJ,e before methods were d,eve~op'ed to make

.Re.llctiv'e resins USA.

39

practical use of them. by Casten in SwHzedand. and Greenlee inthe The bask resin is a.liquid w:Hh a fair ]y high viscosity and willremam in this condition almost indeflnitel y. for pracHca~ use it must be mixed w]fh a hardener (s.oInehmes referred to' as an accelerator), The hardener reacts chemically with the epoxy and. changes ]tt~]]lJ a liquid to a.solid; adeql!la~emixing by mechanical means is essential f'oreffcectiv'edispersion ofthe hardener in the epoxy: Sho[~comings in the mix]ng wUl result in weak spo~s in the moleculan chains which can .~ead.~o faihire o.fthe cured compcamd, There are lTla:ny types of 'epoxy resins and exper1!enced f.ormulat.ors can pl"Odu.ceresins wUh a number o.r desirable ,quaHHes. The prindpa~pl1'operHes .of,epoxy resins are: Mgh~bond strength (adhesion) t'Om.any materials; v'ery ]ow shrinkage dul'ingcuring,; good dimensional sta b]U~y af~er cming; high resistance t'Oa wide range .ofchemicals: h]gh resistance t'Oabrasion when used with selected aggregates; high resistance to water penetraHon; high compressive, tensile and flexural strength ccmpared with Portlertd cement mertar and ooncrete; -~he coeHident o.fthermal expansion o.fa sand-m.~ed epoxymortar is about two to bhree hmestha.~ .o.fc.oncrete made wHh ])21~l!lra] agg]1egates. " epoxies suffer a. considerablaloss .of compressive Sh"€'ngth with increase in tern peratu~. The resin component of a resin- based. mortar can be virtl!laUy deshoyed. by a serious butlding fire; see also Chapter 6" secHon 6.13.11.. The resin can be formulated h) hond we]~~o damp surfaces ..A primer should be used .. " " " -

Po].yes~er~esins are similar tQ expmd.es in many, bu~ not all respects.The ~ ~ main differences are:
.

-The ooefficient ofthermal 'expansion is about 1.5 Hmesfr!h.at f epoxies. o The ooe.f.fident of thenna.~ 'expansion of unfilled resin is about 6~o 8 Hmesfr!hato.tconcretemade with natural aggregates. 'VVlth .sand-filled resin mortar, the .coeff]dent ],5 about four times that of concrete, - Shrinkage dmingcudng - is app~dably higher thanthat of epoxies. _. ~"" "" - The shelf ]Heof po~y'ester resins is strictly limited while that of epoxiles ]s almost urilhnifed ..for fr!hJe resin t.oharden a ca~alyst m ust he added and this~slihs· Inthe deve]opment of stmng molecularchains,

'lllO

Basic characteristics ofconcrete Ilnd mortar materillI.5

"'The amount measurement

o.r

catalyst used does not requirethe asthat Heeded for epoxies.

same acx:uracy o.f

The curing of pcdY'estel" mortars is adversely affceded by the fm;~sen.ce olf moisture, A primer should always be used.

2.14.4Polyu[\ethane

resdns

These are used. mainly asthe basic resin f'or Hoo1"seal2lnts and coatings. Theinuse as joint seabnts has already been n"l€11thJtned earner in this chapter. The]1e is a 1arg.e variety ofpolyurethane resins all of which possess spedfi.c qualities, It is therefore of speda~ hnportanQefrhatthe performance l~lIli~enlel1:~S of the finished. product be clearly stated. Po].ymethanes have a number excellent chatacteristics ]udlilding flexiMUty, resistance to chemical attack" special resistance to abrasion and impac~< They bondwell to concrete and mortar, but the surface must be dry.

o.r

2.14.5 .Polymeri.z~d eencrete

This is quit-e a. dIfferent materlalto PQ1ymer concrete" the laHer being concrete with. the oement repRaood by a se]e::;ted! pdyme~rSlilch as an epoxy resm, Polymer.izedcun.c]1€'t~ can be divided. into two types: concrete is immersed in a mQnQme~, removed andthen polymerlzed by heat, 2. The monomer is mixed wJ~iht the gauging water, and then affer the mnc])e~e has hardened, the unit is polym.erized by heaL The material is claimed to have very highwm:!JIDessive andtensile .5~IDength ccmpared with norma] high-quality Portland cement concrete, and to be "" "" resistant to attack by a wide rang:e of chemica1s and to freeze-thaw
.

1. The comp~ete unit .of hardened

conditions .. The precess of pruducing polymerized concrete is expensive and complicated and as far as I have been able to ascertainthe material is more of academicthan practical interest
2.15 CURING COMPOUNDS FOR CONCRETE AND MORTAR

The e.fHdent curing ef oonOlete is essential in order to ensure .5~IDeng~h, resistanceto shrinkage c:mdking and resistanceto abrasion. Materia]s for CllHing are in the form of:

Curing ,wmpounds for concrete and mortar

1. spl"ay~appH,edmembranes, 2. sheet materials.
2.15.11.Spray-app.Ued. mel:l11br,anes

The relevant BriHsh Standard fortesting spray-appKied membranes is BS 7542: Me~hods of Test for Curing Compounds for Concrete, The US Standa~d. is ASN C309~81:.S~andard Specif],(:;aHon Uquid~memhrane r1Qr ~Ol'ming Compounds. l1.'1.e'seoo:mpOllUltds generaJly either water-based orresin-based.They are are appUedto tl'le new]y laidconcrete as soan as.fheconcrete is .free from surface water [bleed-water) ..The concretesurface must be pl"Otec~eduntil the membrane has dried and care exercised.to ensure fha~ the membrane is not damaged for at ]e2ls~four days after apP]lc2ltion. Many water ..based andresin-based compounds graduaUy weather oft" butif H is intended t'O apply a coating or o~her finish for~he pro~ec~].onor deceration .of the oom::re~e,then the suppRiers o.tthe membrane .shou~d be consuU'ed as some curingoo:mpounds wm interfere wHhthe bond behvee:n applied finish and tl'le base oonc~te.The samecrrmment appHes to the application o.frendering, and. bedding mortar and [proprietary adhesives rllJrtiRes and. mosaics. As bond f21Hu~ of an applied finish would be a very serious matter; Lrecommend that a trial area be arranged at the start offril"~!e work, Some proprietary curing compounds based on polymer resins are claimed to impmv,e the abrasionresistance of tlhec:clncrelle and reduce the penetration of carbon dioxide and thusslow down carbonaHon of the concrete, For information ·on~he carbonation ofooncrel:esee Ch.ap~er 3, section 3..2.5

The principal sheet material used ]n~he curing- ofconcrete and. mortar is ~ ~ po~y'ethylene sheeting (trade name polythene]. This is very effectiv'e in "" reducing moisture loss provided it is bid as soon as practicable after ~ cOlup].eUo:nofthe areato be cured, and is securelyheld down around the edges and kept in position for at least four days. Lrecommendthat at ~least UlOO gal!lge shee~]ng should be used. as anything tlli:n:ner]S~OoeasHy damaged.under normal site conditlons,
~.'

'_

2.15.3 Wd/w,ater

curing

The curing o.tconcrete by wa~-e'rspray is only carried. out in specialcztses where it is desirahletokaepthe concrete tern perature underoo:nl:ro]., e.. . g high alumina cement concrete,

42
1..

Basic characteristics ofconcrete

lInd

mortar mmeriat»

2..16 R.EFE[I{ENCE Lel:'l, F.M. (19il)) Th,e Clr,emislry of Cement Imd CmU;fe.te, 3[\a eeln, Ed.ward Amo]d
Ltd.London, 725"

2.17 fURTHER .READ.ING

Bl]i~.dh:lJ.gRes.eard:lJ. Est<lb]]shmefi,t (191S6) Oumges ill .Pm1:hmJ Cement Pruperties Imd their £ffod~ On G::mcretc;W 3/86," 3. SPOO][l_.e:r," D.C (1995) A Guide to the Properties ttnd Sdediml ()f Cen~~ej~s C(J'lifo'nning t to BdHsh (md Europeml Sh1l'ldards,. BrIhsbl Cement A:&B>o(:. Tech. Note 11.3, May, p- 29-

Le~, EM. f],9?O) The Che'rniMry o/Cement London; 72ti

Cjnd Com;rde, 3l'd edn, .Edwllrd.MIllJold

Ltd,

High. alu m lnacement

Buj]dil.,g R~:och Establis11111J€nt (] 994) Aeseasment of exjsti!:rtg l'l.i,gh<'Ilumi1'l"to€mer~t concrete cousttuetlon ]n lhIl!UK," DigC'$t392, M?t['C_h, 12l.afarg:e Aluminous Cement Co. Ltd. Cbl1el1t .f;tmdu LiJjarge:· Guide/of Use, R,e'[.CA4890" 8ConcrettI1!Soc:i€ry (1997) O!tcilitm AlurrlirmJe CClnent"S in C(msb.~d{o~~,Toc.b.xtic:al eport R
416.,64.

Aggregates
Building Res.earch estahlishment (19.87) Sea-dredged Aggregates iN Omcrele, W,. 7/ 87, p, 4, British Stta:ndaros]I1.8tHutio:ll_" Te~lingAggregates, BS 812. M]dg~ey, I'-:LG.(1958) The S1ta:iTlling of ooncrete lYy pyrite, Mag. of CmlCl"ete Re$ean:J1. Aug. 75-K Bu~ikU[ll,gRes€<'Irch EsttabUshme:nJ U991) Deterioredon of Mundk concrete houses," ER.E Ne1~s, April

A~kal i.~,iI!ggreg,iI!te/5ru.Hc.a reacU.on

Bui]diingResearch
3&0:8British Cement

Bt~lbNshmefit (].99].) AU:a liaggregate :reacH~JfiS ooncrete, Digest in

A8sodati.on (1992) Up-tc-dateinformaflon on. AAR" !leA Bl~u'etin, Jul~ 6-7. Hobbs, D- (]992) Deleterious 1l]ka]]~il](;\11 reactivity ofa number of UKa_:ggregat€s," (onere-le" May Iff l!l.ne .. 64"':7'0. .

Further reading
Ad1l1li.xhJlres

43

BuekeU, I. (19941)Admixtures, t:he UK scene, Ca:rJ:crete, May!June, 15-[ 7. Egan,r,ff" (].994) Benefits of superplastlclslng admixtnres, G:mcrete, May/J1tm.e, 18-2]. Concrete Soci.ety {]980} Guide to CJ~'ltmic{JlAdm:ixtw':eS for COJ1ocrete, London, 16"

AddUi.oI1l.s
Bui~.dirltgRese~n:;h Establis.hme:rn:l (19911.) DUI1:Ibimy ofpja. Omcrete
$tfl,lctuws,

[F~U!

9':L4L
Building Research
CO.11C'.rete,

Fnm(;h" WJ. (1992) Derermmattion of the ratio of pfa to Portlandcement

CUI1l£.~\€t€,C{mCretci~Y

IF; 6/92, 4.

Establishment

(1992) DUI"-(j!Jitity

of Bta~fftlri<(ice Slag Cen'lent

]11 h~rdeJ:;iJLl!d.

Manl{)tra, V.M,. <lind C~rettte:, G;G, fil9S3) SHicfI fume OO:n'lcre:le properties, app~icalnofllS and limitations, CO'ncrdc intcrnt1fj.{mal, May, 40-6. Po~.y:!ine:rs
Ame:r],can Concrete h"lstitute (]9'8i) Applialtious ojPo.tYl1:er Concre.te, Ref. Sf~69, 228. . Concrete Society {]994} Po,[ym'eJ'S in Gmc.rete.: Tech, Report 39,31. Dennis, R. (]992) Poryme~· Dispersions Corislntction Mal'eJ'iats .Refer.ence Book,. ed, D.KDoJran, Butte rvvodll. Heinemann, Plum, D,.K. {]990} Tl1Leehaviour of pol ymeil' materials inconerete b repair & f.adors ]nf]uencing selectlon .. Tire St:riiJdu:ro1 Engineer, 68 (] 7 ! Sept:, 337-45. 4) Wa]f.ers, D:G. {]990} Comparison oflatee-modifled Portlsnd cemeffl.! mO:r[ars; .ACt .M..aleriaJs Journal .. July/Aug., 372-7,.

Iff une, 43-Et

Pigments
Spence, E (]988) Coloured concrete" C(mcretc F~.m~miApdl, ]5-.JR Hof, H" ffllll1.gk., AE" and Q1!:t0ckbomer" J (984) Parbige Belon.e (Cokn.n'€dc:ol1!.crele ),' l3ehm:wt'rk+FertigteH-Tedmik, no. 50, [:.oleft'7,459-67. "wJ€:rka.ll Society for 'Iesting MaJ;e:da_ls (1'9'82) Stnndarr/ SpecijicaUr:mfo', Pigmc'n# fo~' li~fe . Coloured CO'htfde, C97'91-82. ASTM .. .) '['~sk Group Sub~c~"mmuReeSectioIlLC09JJ3.nS.05,P]gm.enIS for Inregra]]yCololll.Ied Concrete" pr· '74-7.

Steel reinforcement
ASTM (l984) Slm~d{m;f: Spec.ifirnt'ion for Epoxy-coated .Reinforcement' S~ed Bars .. ASTM/

A77.5M-84"

Soci.ety {]98S} Spa,cers far Reinforced COrl,c:rete,ref. eg, 101, P 3[)" Con.crete Society (] 985) Sleel for p)'esrr:e'51.>.ed Cancret'e .. ref CS 0.15, p. 8. Galvanizers Assoc. (1994) Galvanued Reinforcement, P: 8. George Clark (Sheme[d) ltd (] 989) Stainless Steel Reiriforcing&ir, jan, t. U, HilrUey, [,' ([994) Improving the performance off fusion-bonded epoxy-coated relnforcemenr, Gmc.rete .. Jan./Fieib", 12-15" Conerete

44

Basic characteristics oj>c'ot:l.c:rete mortar materilll.s lInd

J'(!Iints and. j(ltnl :sealant:s Ame:rican Corn(:r.e1te Institute (1990) Gr.tid.e to Seals ilet JliJ.in~$of Concrete S~rUdtl;fes, f Ref.504R Be€C_h_, (1'990) JtJ'in.f Ser;r!fmts ejnd Pfimcn;~ FI~ffhg:r SWdies afPr:ifr.m_n:mlce with Porous J:C$urJi1ce&, ERE J:rnfO'rmal~onPaper W 4/90, May, 4. Constmctlon .]nd1il8h:y Re8ean:h_ and Information #\880·C. ~CmJA) (1987) GvU Engilleering Sealants in Wet Conditf,r.ms Tech- No;ttte ]28 p. 76C1R.[A &: Sealant Manufacturers Conference {11976}M:al'tt.la(oj Goad Practice in Sea{mtt .Appl'lc~ti:{m,- 7~L
i

Resfns
Vipulanarndarn, C. and Pl;!ul, E:.(1990) PerEormance of epoxy and po]yesterpo]ym.er concrete, AOMJ]tefials Journal- Mi:ly IJune, 24]-51" Rhzo, E,l\I[a.11td Sobell1an, M-B- (]989) S€]rotion crireda fo:I concrete [1€p<1lirnl.at€rials" OXl1cfefr: .lutem(itim1~ti Sept 46-9. TaboOr,L. (1983) Goncre~er,e:p,a]r, the role (If r.esin WmpOi):ihons, O.mcrde, Feb", 19
and 22.

3
Factors affecting the durability of reinforcedconcrete

3." mmNTRODUCTmON
W.h~n on@ censidersthe n!e@d For a structure to be "durable' there immediatel y arises UU:1qu.e,stiQns of what maintenance is. required, the time lapse between construction and the I'l!€ledfor t..epahs.fand what is the H.kely'Hffl OF Rae structurabefnea partial or complete replacament is
needed,

Two re~evant]~hihis.hStandards am: 558210

BS 7543

GMide to BuRd:i;ng Maintenance Management GlIide to the Durability of Buildings, BuHdi:ng S~emenh~, Prod uctsand Components.

BRS Digest 366; Oct. 1991: Strudural a"ppn'lisai of existmg buildings fOlr change of use. Th.elIoUowifig~rn:18 .H:€> impodant and the statements made in thisbonk,
R1l!El

d.efmifions

giv!BTIi. erua.pply h

to

• nurabirn.lity A material can be considered as dura.ble. if it fulfills its intended duty for the w hole of its design ]ifi€l with am.acceptable amount OFmainlh~l1Lance including _gel1l!€llfal t-epair"

• Design life' This is M1l!e.~.eElJgtli. of time which the designer estimatas the
material win. remain durable, • Se:rv.ru!CIi! This is thaactual length OFtime the. material remains d urable. life • Malifit,cfi,iJJfiC.e A .set of measures which "INheEl. app ]i(:]d to a structure etILab~€ls atructure to fulfil iIS Iunctiens during its wOlf.king me,. These H1l!€l

m.e!1lSUK'Sshould h:tdlld€l d@aruing,minor repairs, repainting! receating, and replatmllg parts whenrequired,

45

46

facfol's

affecti~'l.g the durability of reinforced ('Qn.cl'et.e

TaMe 1 ]nBS 7543 .sets cut sugges~ions for the des:ig~'1 fceofvar.h;mstypes H· orbuUdtngSt and TabLe2 gives design Hf'e[orvarious cal:~gOl'iesofblLl.Hd]ng components, These~mggesticml.5 are of 'CUlll"Sen Hnked t'0 the anHdpa~ed level olf a mainfenance andrepair appHcab]el:'Ol:llel:ype Q.t bui]ding andcompunerrt. illt must also be rememberedthat change of use can I!eslLl.Um2l1jor in structural changes" extensive l"eflUbishnlient arid. in extrenlie cases in demolition and. rehui~ding. Theca uses of deterioratlon Qr reinforced concrete s~mC:~lLI.res a over praclica] range o.f use and environment are discussed inthis d121pter.After the causes of de~er.iora.Hon. ave heen esl:ahHsh.ed.oo:nside:raHon.has to be h given~orepa]r methods and these must herebted to '~hedesign lHe·.ofthe repaired structure, At~he pre:5ent time there isno known construction material wlhill.c:h is wmp~ete]y inert t'Ochemical atta.·ckand immunefu physkal deterioration. WM~'e it is necessary to distinglLl.ish between the causes of the deteriorafion Qfth.eroncre~e and of the s·~eelreinfO[.(:'e'ment! a reinforced in concrete stmcIDur€' these two h2lv'el:obe con:!;>]deredl:'Ogether. illthas been stated in Chapter 1 that !.c;ur.rosion steel reinforcement is o.f the most serious durability prob~enl afrecting concrete structures', This clearlyIndicates Umt the steel reinforcement ],5 the 'AchiHes heel" of reinforoedcrmcrete and. th]s certainly agrees wHl1.my expedenc.e. 3.. CORROSION OF STEE;L REiNFORCEM~NT 2 3.2:. ilhl trod uction The corrosion products of steen (generallyknownas rust} consist of oxides of bOrIL. for rusting to occur moisture and oxygen must be preseruand with steel embeddedin concrete at Oil' above groundlevel, both are present, The action of adds am.steelreintorcement is not considered in detail here, but if acids reach the rebars through cracks or defects in the concrete cover, severe corrosion will occur, Some chemical compounds in use in watertreatment plants are addtc in solution, e.g, ferrous sulphate and sodium hydrogen sulphate, Normal design and. construction of reinforced concrete ensures tillat the reinforoemeat is not subjected to physical deterioration and. it is electrochemical reactions on the surface of the rebars which resul t m conosion/ rusting of the steel. Steel does not c-orrode when it is surrounded with concrete or mortar which has a pH of not lower than about 12.5. The hlgh alkalinity 'pass]va.tes' ttte steel dueto the formation o·fa protective film of oxidation products" such as ferric oxide, CONCRETE

[N

Corro.siOl'l of steel nl'nftm::.ement in concrete

47

The integrHy offrhe film is maintained. by the continued high alkalinity offrhe surroundjng oement paste and as long as this state exists further ~ QXid2Utio:n ]nh:ibi~edandthe steel does not oor.rode. is U there'fore .foUowsthat subsequent oxidation (oorrosion) must be due to~he l:m;l2Uk!down passivation ol.f~he ofHw steel surface ..This loss of integdty of the oxide fllmcan be caused by a number o.ffac~tOI"S" theprindpa~ ones ~ being set out below:
.

1. physical damageto the ,ooncrete surroendirrgthe steel caused by impact or abrasion! We2Ul"; 2., dev'e]opment ofcracks in fr!hJecunC]1ete extending down. to the s~eel" ca used by shdnlag:e and/or stress; 3. h:lgh p:enne2UbUity and/or Mgh porosity of the concrete SLUT(mrndjng: Ule s~ee]; 4. ]nadequa~eth:kkne$s o.r the cover coat of concrete or m.ortar to resist frheingl"eSS agpessive agents for the fIDequil"ed' of period {generally the design life ofllie structure or component); Codes ofPll'ac~ke ]ay down nominalfigures .forde!p~hof cover: 5.. fhe pr'esence in the concrete or ch]orld'es in 'excess o.r the recommended '·safe' crmcentratien as laid down in Standards and Codes o.f Practice. Condifions {l)to (4} abovecenellow the ingress into the concrete down botherebars of moisture and chemicals, Carbon di!oxide inthe air causes carbenatien of the concrete which reduces the p'H of the ccncreteto about 95. Additional lnfonnaHon is gjven bdow on fhe above items. 'e"'cept (1) physk2UIdamage, as mfee~ 'frhisdoes not require special discussion, 3.2.2 Development o·feraeks in c(lu,(:rete

AU concrete contajns micro-cracks which do not adversely af.fec~ the s2Utisf2Uc~orypel'f'omlanc1;' the concrete, However; macro-cracks, due t'o or $h:drlb~e and exc1;'ssivestress, if they 'extend downto the steel can lead t.o loss of p2Ussivatio:nl!eadingttooorrt)sion o.f~!hJereinforcement Shrinkage cracks can be due to a high wa~el"!cement ratio or the use o.f sh:rink2Ub~eggregates (see comments in Chapter 2" section 2.5), and/ or a inadequa~e cudng o.t the concrete. There a~e differences CI.f opinion regarding the maxfrnum wa~er ! cement ratio which should be specified. ill believe that for any type of ooncrete containing steelreinforcement the w !c rafie should not exceed 0.5,0 and fol"high -quelityconcretethe wit:: should be 0.4..for eertajn p]1ecast products" e.g. concrete pipes" an even lower wa~er! cement IS often used." dnwnto (US in some cases. Poorly graded aggJl1ega~es000 high a propmHon .of nne materjal) is. likelyto

48

factors affecti~'lg the durabiIUy of reinforced concrete

result in an increase in water demand flOrthe mix and increased drying sh:dnbge.
3.2.3 High. p'ermeaMHty andAl)r high. p(m)'sify

~or ],ow!pel'me2lbiUtyr~hecapmarypOllesin the concrete shcm]d. become discontfnuous within aperiod not exceecBng1~28 days after the st2lrt of hydraH.o:n. H the w/craHos reccmmended above are too ]ow to provide adequate workabi llty .rorfuHconlpacHon of the concretevthen plasticizers should be used as maximum compaction is essential for low permeabrH~y. fuUmmpacH.on of~he oo:nCl1ete around the rebars ]S essential for the plutecHon of the steel, by reducing permeabHHy and porosity and for development o.fstrength. Propel"curing of~ih.e concrete is also 'essential, asthis.reduces the risk of drying shrinkage cracking and prCnTl.orteshydll'atio:nth.ecement, of Somere~erences are giv'en in the ':Further reading' section at the end..of lli]sch.apit~r.

hts obvious that fQrthe a.degua~e protectinn of therehars the oover to the rebars must have a minimum thkknes,s whichwill depend on the qualHy o.tthe concnete and. the conditions .of'expOSLme. This "minimum' thkkness is usually expressed in terms o.r'nominal' COV'el" which allows for pracHcal tolerances for fixing the rebars. and. spaoe for p]adng and compacHngthe concrete. Nominal cover torebar:s is bid down in Codes .ofrr actice and is related to conditions of exP.osUfet ql!lalHyof the concrete in terms of minimum cement content and maximum. wa~'er! cement ratio. Peemissible to.~e[ances are b]d down in the relevant Codes ..

Carbon dlexide in the air reads with. calcium lliydroxid!e in.the hydranng cement pa.ste~o form calcium carbonate:

This reactionresults in a sigpHkant reduction ]n~he pH of the CQHC]1ete ~ (hum about 13.0~09.5), and is known as "carbcnafion", When the concrete cover to therebars is carbenatedthe high a.~k21HnHy thecement paste of "" (which is needed to preserve passivation of the steel) is thus destroyed ~ ~
_"
,

Corms ion of steel reinforcemenf in concrete

49

leaving the steel vulnerable to' corrosion. However, £'orOOH05[O'n occur, to oxygen and moisture HIlNSt be present aswell asthe formation o.t a corrosion ceU"i.e, an anode and. a cathode" on~ihesudace o.fthe steel, An. electric current £lows fl"om anodeto cathode via the electrolyte which. is tllJemoisture in thehydraUng cement pas~e (i.e..the water inl:he capUhuy pores) . The f'ormation of~his cellis caused by~iI1ediffe])enc'es.in putential elJong~iI1eall'.1'.hecunosion o.fsteelincrmcrete is thus an electro-chemical b phencmenon, The surface ot concrete exposed to' the aircarbonates almost immediately f1Q:nningacarbonated Kayel" micron thickness. Concrete of has a pore structure and. is classed as 'porous', and th]s is why liquids and gases can slowly penetrate into concrete. Thecanbon diox]dethus penetrates intojheconcrete, the rate of penetration depending on a mamber of faci:ors, the prindpa] ones be]ng the porosity and permeabjlity and. moisture oonte.nt of the concrete . The fermatlon of this carbonated concrete slows down the rate o.f penetration of carbon dioxide as the calcium carbonate acts as, a po])e fiUer in the hydrating cementpaste, Carbonaflon ofconcrete does not red uee its stl1eng~h.Thespeed at which t:hecorrosion cells are formed depends on the avamHbm~yof moisture and oxygen. A great deal has been wriHen on the subject of the carbonation o.f concrete and Its efl1ectenthe rusHng of the rebars: some refetences are given in the Ifmther reading' section at the end o.fthischapte'r.~eference should also be madeta Chapter 7 which discusses coa~]ngs and harrier sys~eI!J.1s,

Corrosion of rebars can occur ]n un-carbonated concrete due~Qthe presence o.fcMorides, and. this is known aschlorlde induced corrnsion, CMor]des are !pl'esen~either because they are addedto fhe concrete mix, or are present inthe aggl-ega~es and! O'rmixing water, or pene~ra~e in~O' the hardened concrete from an outsid!e source. 1'.h.eyare then present in selution in the pore water. When a. salt is dissolved in. wate~, it is immedia~e].y .split up into e1!ecl:ll'kaJly charged parHdes known as Ions: NaCI=Na++CL It is the negaHve~y charg:ed ch]Qdd!e ions which destroythe passivil:y (the layer of ferric oxide} on fhe surfaee of therebars. In pmctioe the chloride Ions present inthe co:nCI-et"€' in. twO'fO'nns, exist free chiorid!e ions and combined chlorlde ions .Thecombined ions are combined withthe hydration products in the cement paste, mainly the tricalcium aluminate (C3A) ..illts generaUy agr.eedthal: itis the free dl]o:ride i ionswhich cause damaget» the passive Kayeron the rebars resuH]ng: in theoofll'osion o.fthe steel.

50

Factors affecting the durability oJreinfi:Jrced

CONcrete

A high percentage o.rthe chloride present atthe time o.r mixing the coil1tc-re~e combine with the hydl'<Ition.produdS and willthen be t]'od.ed may up" and not available Eordepa$sivaHQn. On the 'olfherhand chlorlde entering the hardenedcuncrde may be largely in the form of free ions and. available to. cause depassivatie» .. This dHfce]1entl2ltion between.the efiFect n the steel of thecUlnbined and o .&eechh;nide ions is important in ccnnectiun with.~hecement type to be used for various conditions o.r'exposme and isreferred to in. Chap~er 2, section 2.. .3. 2 Chlerides In the concrete do not attack the concrete unless the concentration. is very high. The formation of rust by chloride a~t2ldk. an c causecracking and spaHing:of thewnCIDet~due to the·wnsiderab]e increase in vohnne of the steel when. it isconverted into rust; an.increase o.rbetween 11'1]1ee~o times Hlieoriginalthlckness o.fsteel, .fom 3.2.'i Str,ay el e'ctd(curren ts

At the pl1esenttime lHt~eis known I reported on the oorrosiQn .ofsteelrebars inconcrete by stray electric currents, from a review of fhe very Iimited literature on the subject H appears that alternating current does not have any efred on rebors, and onl y directcurl'ent is ]ikely to put~!h.e rebars at risk Pt)ssiMe source Qf direct current Is. the Installafion of acathodic pl"OtecUon.sy'S~em using an impressed direct current Such systems m ust be very (mehdly desi~ed by expedenced firms, Some ]nfonTlaHon .ofthe use (If cathodic protection is given in Chapjjer 6 and. 9. Prle$~ressing: St'e'e~is thought to be mOTe at risk than ordinary reinfcrcement due prQbably to the risk Qf hydrogen embrittlement, Prestress]ng wires, due tQfrheir small di2lmd~~, are particularly vulnemble to. the effect ofcorresion, Howev'er,l.llgh . .,qlll<I.Uty, chloride-free concrete and. modar should be adequ2lte~o ensurethatthe pass:iva~ing ].ayer 'on frhesteel is ]n~act
3..3OET.ERIfORATION OF THE CONCRETE

3.3.1.h'ttwd.uct1on

1. phys~kal damagecaused

by ]mpact" abras]on, freeze-thaw (hosH, ~herm2l1 shock, and high-velodty water;frhe cracking and spamng of concrete caused by the rus,.~ingo.r rebars has been dealf wHh in the PIDeV]OUS secUQn;

Physical damage

51

2. chemical attack, mahlJly onthe cementpaste, by external aggressive chenricalccmpounds; 3. reaction between.the alkalies in the hydraMng cenlent and certain types ofsilicious aggre.gal:"E'S; his is known as ank2lJi~sHic21. t reacfion,
3,4\ PHYSICAL 3.4.1 Abr,iI!siu;.FI

DAMAGE

Abrasion olf~he .sm[ace of concre'te can occur hom a variety of causes. On industrial floors by wheels from heavily loaded troHeys and heavy objects being dragged acrossthe .f1oor. On luanne structures caused. by sand and shi:ng]e being~\h:rown against~he concrete by heavy seas and ga~e force w]nds. To resist abrasion/the use of a high-quali.~yoonC]1e~e isrequired "" "" made wah selected aggre,gatessuch as granite and Hint grav,el Curmg and method of .nnish]ngthe OOI'lCI1e~e a~SQ ]mportantReFeI1ence is should be ~ made to Ohapter 8" section 8.,12.L
'_

:f'igUIe ':U Frostdamage Scottish H]gbJa.l'lds-

to ]iOIrge,1~.amete[ C<)nCtel,e pipe laid. above groul1l.din. the

52.

factors

affe.cti~'1,g the durability of reinforced ('Qn.C:l'et.e

3.4.2Fr';H;lze~n1J!I!W

This type of damage isca used by the pe:neh"aMonof W2Itel" i])~othe surface layers of theoonoe~e and then this moisture being: converted into ice by sub~zero~empel"a~lIl])es ..Water expands on freezing, ]ncreasing in volume by about 100/0, and this can cause disintegration offne surface layers o.f the concrete, See Figure 3.1. HydrauliC2lHy pressed cnncrete s]abs BInd paving: blocks which possess high Sl1"ength and lO'Wabsnrptien win g~ener'any l"esisthe,eze thaw conditions, but for what m.ay be termed 'normal' glllalHy reinforced concrete, air enfrainment should. be used, See Chapter 2" section 2.65. A~~~e~]me of wd~]ngth]s book, '~herewas no British St2lndard~est fO'r fL'eeze~~haw~ 21. Draft Europe2ln Stand2lrd was ]:1). preparafien, TheASN but test 1S AsrM C.666:1992: Standard. Te5~ Method fOl"Rapid Freez]ng: and ThaWing.

Damageto concrete bythermal shock ]S rareand occurs in only a few sped2l] C2I5eSsuch asfhe spillage- onto oon.cl"ete of ]iqui[.~edg2lses.The gases involved "" "" ._ are those used in ind l!].$'~ry andmducle oxygen, nitrogen, methane" h.ydrogen and c~rlbon dioxide. These g~sesUquHy atthe fO'llowing appI"Oxim..?tte "". ._ ~"" temperatures:
_"

Oxygen NHI'O'gen Methane Hydrogen Carbon dioxide

~183ac ~Z196ac ~160¢C ~253aC ~?8¢C

GeneraHy, the damage is confined t-o floors and hard-standings and can be very severe. A mHd form of thermal shockcan {locm Hco~d water is sprayed ontO'in situ concrete waHs" cast in timber formwork during hot weather.
3.4.4 Hi.,gb-vel!l)·dty

water water can be di vided

The causes of damage to concrete byhlgh-velodty into three main categorles:

Lc.avHation; 2, waJeJ!' .contaifl1.ng abrasive matter in suspension; 3, hupad from a".high-ve~odty jet'.

Physical damage
3.4.5 Ca.v:ib.U.on

53

11.lJexact causes olfcavitation h2lv'enot been flnally 'e]udda~ed despite the e considerable rese2lrch andinvestigations whiehhave taken place invariOlllS counh.ies. Wts however clearthatthe deg]1eeof smeothrress or~he surface and the i qU2Ility of the smfacemtel'ms or abrasion resistance pJay an hnportant role as we]J asthe actual velocity {l!f~h.e ater. w No S·l,ldac1;' absol utely smooth (even st~~) and if~he velocUy of flaw is exceeds about 15m/sec.thel"e]s 21. definite poss:[biUty that cavila.Hon'eddi!e5 wnt form at discontinuities on the slildace and this wmresuh incavitation damage, A simple and c(]riiSequenHymconlp~e'te exp~anaHon{)fthis phenomenon is as follows. illf the absolute preS5UJ1et~he paint'S of surface irreglll]ad~].esapproaches a the vapour pressme Q.f the water, minute bubbles will form andvery glll]cldyc-uKlapse. This collapse o.f the bubble walls can produoe minute water [ets having extremely high velodhes2lnd in turn this results in a series of hammerhke blows in extreme]yrapid. succession. The efIDect s i very destructiveto conC:l1e~e f the high€'s~ qU<lUty, and eve:n~o metals, Q See Figure 3.. . 2

lF~gl!i!iI'e3.2 DamiOlge to ct)1fu:;rete by c~r\,f]tatio:n in test rig" COllltt.eSY; M.[..Kenn, I:mperial

Co]]ege, london.

54

factors affecti!'lg the durability of reinforced (:Qnc:ret.e

further infOI"m2l.HO<rl1. on!:his subject is. contained in the relevant papers Iisted in fheB]bUog:raphy at the end of this chap~er. Genera].~y, cavitatinn damage has. been found~o occur to s.pHJwaYStpens~odk.$" aprons, 'energ.y diss~ipating basins and to syphons and tunnels in hydroe]!ectr1cschemes. There is no IMlish Standardtest for cavit81tionerosion, nor a European Standard. The ASTMte5t is. G32.~72: Standard Method of vibratory cavitation erosion test 3.4.'6 Water c(lutai.nrung a brasi ve
J:l1Iath;lr

i.nsu~ren~ruon

High~quaJ:Hy concrete is very reslstanrte damage by abrasion from fastHowing water oonl:a]ning gd~ or other abrasive material. The degree o.f damage caused win depend on a number o.ffactors o.fwhich the foHQw]ng are the more important: 1. the quaH~y ofthe concrete in terms of compressive st:[1l~ng'fh cement CQntent~the wear resistance of thef]ne and coarse a.ggl:'ega~e; 2.frhe smeothness of the surface of theconcrete; 3.frhe velocity offrhe f~owing water; 4. the glNantHy of the g:ril:catried itsparticle shape, and. its abrassive charac~eristiC-S,;the abrasslve characterlstics are not always obvious; f'or example china clay w<ls~ecan be exttre:me].y abrassive; 5.~he flowcharact'e'ristics" i.e. whether continuous or in:t'e'rmHtent"and frhevariation in fhe quantity o.fg:rit being: transported. 3.4.'ihn pac:lf:rom a h.i.g:h-v'e~.o'c w aler ~ iity el

1'.heeffect of a jet of water of very high velod~y strikmg a. oonc]1etesmface isto erodefrhe cement paste" resulting in the loosening or thecuarse and fine aggregate . The amount of damage done depends on the ve~odty o.fthe water at the point o.fimpact and the guaH~y or the concrete in terms o.f compressive stl:lengfrh and oement oonterst. This effect is used infrhecuUing o.f concrete by high..;ve~odty water discharged fhrough specially designed nozzles; fhe pressure at the nozzle can vary from. about 20N/mm2t{) .tON /mm2. 3.. CHEMKAL ATTACK ON CONCR.ETE 5

Concrete is vulnerableto chemical aHack by a w.ide range o.f chemical compounds in soluWont and this appU.esto bolli.f'orHand cement concrete

and high alumina cement concret"€'.From a practical poh"lt .of vi!ew~the chemdcals whkh are aggressive to concrete CEln divided ]n'~ofive ma in be categories: 1. Acids-vall; 2. ammorrium compounds (some, not an); 3. magnesiumcompeumds (some, not an); 4. sulpha~esr=aU; 5. oH~er,indudin:g alkali .hydrox]des. The intensUy o.fattack depends on a number of fadOls/the prindpa] ones being the chemical composit:ion o.fthe aggressive agentffr~e ooncentmtion" the pH and the porosity and permeabmty ofthec-on::::rete,the type of cement used, andthe COnttElc~~:ime. DernUed cons:idemnon o.f Hliesubject ]s outside the soope olfthis book but some genera] principles are se'~out be]Qw, and deal mainly with PorHand. cement concrete, There are a vast number o.r chemical compounds used in industry and. many of these areclosely gUElrded trade secrets. However, snme bask information is needed whenccmsidering the possible effect o.f a trade e.fHueIlt on concrete sewer pipes. I understand that the WEl~er Auehorities are entitled to obtain information on the constituents of a trade efnuent wMch is discharged or ]n~ended t-o be discharged t-o a publicsewer; 3.5.2 AUack by ,acids Both PortlElnd cemen~ and high aluminacement are highly alkaline (pH 13.. and. 11.8 respec~tively) and are therefore aHacked by acidic solut.Jions. 0 GenemHy speaking, inorganic adds, such as the thffleset out below, are more aggress]ve~hEln organic adds in~!mesame corrcentrarions; " sulphuric add (H~O.J; " hydrochloric add (Hel); " nitric add {HNOJ). These are very aggressive and visible chemical action starts immediately the acidcranesintc contact withthe oemeni paste, and with calcareous aggregEltes if used inthe concrde/ mortar (see Figure 3.3).. Of the organic Eldds, lactic add is partirularly aggressive toPorHand "" _.cement 0(lrll:cret:e, HAC is muchless seve'rely aUad:!ed..Acetic, dtric and hut tartaric adds attack both Portlaodcement and. HAC, but the rate .ofaUEldk. is slow ccmparedwifhthe inorganic adds H:s~edabeve. According~o if.M.Lea ]n The ChemisJry ojCemen t aJ:~a. Concrete, 3001. edition, p. 66.3,organic adds o.r high molecnlar weigh~, such as oleic, stearic and palmHic acids ""
_"

56

HUetOI'S

affecti~'lg the durability

,oj rdnJorced ('otl.c:ret.e

have definite action on concrete, They are present intheconstituents o.f oils and fartsandtherefore ]ndustn!es wherethese compounds are used or prep2l.]1edtshol!lld take appll'opriate a(~]o:n~o !pro~ect con(]1e~e flcors etc, where spiUagec.an OC1;;m.

3.,5.3 Ammoniumcompou:mds Mosfam:moni UID compounds are aggressive to concreteien exeeptien is ammonium cerbonate, The ammonium compounds used in. the chemica] fertilizer industry (sulpbete, nitrate and super-phosphate) cause serious deterleratlen of concrete in a relatively short time; theactual time depends on the concentration and period of contact and whether the concrete is subject to abrasion (as in an industria] floor s]ab),afl.d tillequaUty of the concrete in terms of pomsitty, permeability, and cement content; The aggressive ammonium compounds read with the hydratton products in the Portland cement According toF:M. Leat in the liiWgazbt(' of Concrete Re.s('arcH, Sept 1965, the damage to concrete caused by ammonium sulphate is mainly due to the expansion arising from the formation of calcium sulpho-aluminate: while ammonium nitrate afld.ammoniutn chloride solutions act ra tiller like dilute acids by reactions withlime in the hydra fling cement past ill bavefoundtha f the addition of condensed silica fume to Portland cement concrete will increase its resistance to a Hack by ammonium-based fertilizers, See also Chapter 2" sectlon 2..7.3.

57 High alumina oement is mereresistentto ammonium compounds than Port.bnd cement, but does suffer attack, Ammonia vapours win attack moistconcrete .s].Qwly. 3.5.4 Ma.g;rn.eshmlccnnp
eumds

Magru.esilLuTI chloride is agg:l'essiv'e~o Portland cement concrete, but HAC isrepo:rt~d by f.M.Lea as being immune-to attack. Magllesilllm5ulpha~e is padkubdy aggl'essive te Portland cement but I'2I.ther Iess s,o than ammonlannsulphate, This aUack is duemjhe reactlon with hydrated calcl lLUTI .. silicates in addiNon to its reaction withcalcium .hydl'oxide and calcium aluminatesjthis isknown as double decomposition. The extent of the damage and. the speed at which H occurs depend on the same factors asthose .usted in llhep]1eviollS section on ammonium su~phate. 3.5.5 SUilphah;l~ 1'.hedegree of aggression depends in the First instance on the base of the su~phate compound and wlhether~he solution is. acidic, The effect o.f ammonium and m2lgnesiumsulphates on concreee has already been dealt wHh in the !p~ViOU5sections. Other common sulphates likelyto came into eantact wIth. concrete are calclum sulphate (gypsm:n),sodi um sulphate and. potassium sulphate, Calci urn.sulphete is faJil"ly insol uble, as a. saturated solu~ion is formed at about 1L1.00 ppm, whUe SOdjUUl and. pot:assim:n sulpl1a'~esare much more scduble ..This is impodant as these sa]ts have to be in solution. in order to reactwijh tlh.ehydration products of the cement. ll1ereacnOlli ol.f~lueseulphates when. found ]n natural sons and gl"Ound s waters is slow and the cencentrafion relatively IQw;'VVHh well -compacted good~guality com;-:l\e'~e" damage is like]y to OC1;:meven after many years. ]itt]e This is shown by theresults Qf~ong~t.erm~es~s (25 yeal'S) on conC]1et:e specimens buried in the subscil at No[~I.lwklkPark Hospita], near London. and.repol'ted by fheEmHdirngResearch Establishment. See~he Bib]iogmphy at the end. of this chapter. Howeve'l':,'much highe'r ccncentrajlcnscan be present In the 5ulbsoHand ground water in ind lllsMal tips and. intrade ef:fluen~sandthis weuldrequire special precautionstn be takento protect~he concrete, Concrete groundfilO{lr s]albsand. oversite concrete are vu]nerab~e to sulphates ]])hardoore on whkhthe concrete is l2I]d, and a. mnnber of serious failures have been.reported, The su]phates ]isted above react wHhthe C3Ainthe hydmHngP(lrt~and cement and.~his reaction is expansive and tlheresuUing compounds about double the solid volume ofthereaction cempounds.

58

facfors affecti~'1gthe durability of rdnjQrced ,('Qrlente

'_'

Wtis this expansionwhlch is Rargely responsible .for the damage to. the "" "" 'concrete. ER.r .DigesF (19911.) sets (Jut in some detail recommendations forsel~t:io:n of cement types, mintmum.cementcontents and maximum water/cement ratios needed to. resist SlLdphate attackresulftng hom diHen~nt ~concentrations o.t su~phates,r including magnesilLuTI. sulphate. "" 50di um hydl\oge:n suI ph,lIJt~ (NaHS041 which is. used infhe treatment of swimming podwa~er is acidic and is aggressive to concrete, :F eITl;IllS ~U!lphllJh~ (PeSO 4} is used in wa~ertl1eatment and is also addic and win attack ronc])ete. '_ '_

Solutions o.r sodium and potassium chlorides do.not cause deterior2lHo.n in good"'quaHiYC1)n01el:e. However, a concentrated 50]ution of calcium ch]Qr:icle can cause gradual det~riorahon to. concretl?" and this may occur ]n brine freezing pl2l])'~s due to spUlage. As p[€'vi.Qus]y menl:lQned" dlRorides win. attack steel l1einfor·c-:e:ment Ammonnrm, aluminium, and magnesium cMarIdes in solution will attack concrete, A fmn"e'r matter for oOI.lsidel"ation. isfrhat the l:mnd~lllpof saltsin concrete due to albernate w'e~Hngand. dry]ng~ can result in.spaUmg o.fthe concrete ~surface, for example in marine structures, see Chapter 9, Pad 3.

3.5. '7 SodiuJ:l1I.hydroxffi.d'El (cau~tic

~'oda)

Solutions ot caustic soda up to about 10%, w.ul notad:verse~y affect concrete buthigher concentrations, p2lrt:i.Clll]adY2lrt elevated tempera~lll])eS, re Hke~y a to cause slow deterieretion o.f Qoncl"ete,wUhhigh aluminacement concrete being more vulnerable than Portland cement. 3.5.8 nrus~lne:d. artd den1imner,a~ize.d 'W,ate'r Wts smprisingfh2lt verypllll\e wa[~r should be agg])ess:i:ve wncrete, but i to. this is. due to. the Hqu]cFs very high disso]vlng PQwer. The mam characteristics ol.r this type of water are: .. verylow calcium hardness (virtua]]y zero]; .. very low tota.~dissolved sehds (virtually zero);
.. ]QW

alkaHnHy..

See figure 3.4. m.f the water contains dissolved carbon dioxide, films brmgingthe pH d0wn~o below the neutral point of 7.0, this willincreasethe potenHa~ For attack, The wal:~r 21.]$0 has a negative [;a:nge]ler Index which means fhat ]t

59 is 'lime dissolving:'".The Langelier Index. is used inthe control of treatment for boner feed. wa~e~,but it is also useful il1~~e field of the treatment of soH meorlandwates stored or conv'eyed. in concrete tanks or pipelines. See section 35.9 below;

An [90 document, No" N1SE darted February 1983, givesthe elasslflcatlon fur La"ngeUer Index .FOIr water shown in Table 3"1.

~2.0 and law,er

Any p~~iive' va]ue t

an ro~,n

Highliya,ggnsive N~t ;t~~iV1~

Mool!iI',;JlteJy iaggressWli1!i!!

Waters from upland gather.mg grounds caJnhave a long-term aggressive effect on.concrete used to store and convey such water, Tillecharacteristics of such waters are: •
•

lowtotal dissolved solids (TDS); low total hardness,

60
'" ],ow

facfol's affecti~'1gthe durability of rdnjorced CQncrete pH (lIlsuaJly below 4.5); Row aIkaBnity;

'"

'" organic and other adds in dilute solutiore sometimessul phuric I salphurous adds are present, derived fromthe breakdown. of orga.nic: matt"€'rin peat and. marshy ground. '" usually a negative l..a.lllgeHel" Index;

Generally this ];13 not aggressive to dense good-quality concrete. The concentratlon of dissolved salts, mainly chlorides and. sulphates vary. In Atlantic water there are about 18 000 ppm of chlorides and 2500 ppm of sulphates, illn~lleRed.Sea and thePersian/ Arabian Gulffue cencentratlons are about 25% higher, llit ]8 generally not recommended to use sulphete resisting Portland cement for marine structures due 1'.0 its low C3A contern:t; see comments earlier in this chapter in section 3.2..6. Sea water in tidal estuaries may become seriously contaminated by trade effluents and this should be taken into aecoent. Furtherinformation on the effectofsea water on concrete is given.in Chapter 9t .!Pad 3.

OrdiFla:ry domestic .sewag~ is not agg;ressi v,€lte Peetland cement concrete. How~ver,. when. sewagebecomes se[pti.c due to relatively high fempt.'T<tttlros andjOJr retention in sumps of pumpitng stations m long~€lngn1tS of Sott'wer with flat gra.d:~ern:ts and low velocity, the hydrogen sulphide-sul phuric add cyd.e can occur with disastrousresults to any urrpretscted concrete above the top water line, 'This typeo[ attack is rare in the UK, buthas eccurred with serious co:rn.seql1!~llteS Australia, S. Africa, the cauntries bordering in the Arabian GnU and. parts of Ml~ USA Th.e process is known as hydrogen 811~pllide corresien, The main JIeatu:re of this attack is that it eccursaeove the waterline itn sewers, the sumps of pumping stations, manholes and sludge diges1illon. tanks. Thebasic characteristics of this attackare as follows,

1" Sll~ph]des must be present in solutioain the sewage. 'The sulphides may origina fefrom trade wastes or may be. formed by anaerobic bacteria
within the Sott'wage" 2,. A signiilicantamollnt of hydto.g~n su]phide gas (H1S}must esca pe from the s€lwage and be presentin the air spate above the sewage. 3,. 'TI1i!~ ~S]8 converted [0 sll]plhUlf]cadd, mainly by aercbic bacteria in H the air space which has a high mOiSIDLIJfe content 4.. 'TI1i!~ ph!lItic add thus JIorm.€d.attaekstha c~menlt paste in. the concrete. sul 'TI1i!~ deccmpusitien of the cement paste results in the destructien of the concrete .. Some .comments on repair of concrete damaged Chapter 9 section 9,,4.6.
f

in this way ate gi ven in

3"5,, 12.1 Fruit tind vegetable jr,dces These contain otg:,mk adds and .sugar and ate therefoteaggF€lss]Ve to. Portland cement concrete, HAC Cc.M11t:n~fe fa ther moreresistant, These is substances usually originate m food manufacturlng plants and occur as spUlag€l. The degrt~ (IF attack depends mainly on the contact time lb~meen the spiUag:e and. the concrete, i.e ..how quickly the spiU.agf:l'is cleaned. up. 3,,5,,12.2 .Milk and daify products F~-S:h milk and similar' dairy preducts donot attack concrete, but when they become stale {furment), Iactic add is formed which lsaggmssive to.

62

HUetOI'S

.affecti~'lgthe durability of rdnforced ('otl.c:ret.e

Portland cement, The attack.can be serious unlessthe fel1nen~ationprodl!lct is quickly washed away. R2Up]d2l!nd fhon;mgiht asihting]sessential ttorealLKel w "" _"" Inimigate~he attack 3.5 ..12"3 Sugar Sugar win attack concrete s]owlYI bU1 if It penetra tes intothe concrete H'I:rollJ"ghracks and/csanabraided c surface, th~ rate of attack Increases,
3.5.12.4 Petrolew?~ oil$

these products are genera]ly not aggressive to Portland oement un]ess the "" add and sulphur oontenitsa]1el.lJigh.Lubll'.k2l!~]ng usedin H1ecar ina ustry oils = _" confr2l!inormsioni:nhiMtQl:'s and so spHl21!gie not cause deterleration of o wHl a concrete flQor.The st2l!iningis vktuaUy impossible I:Q remove asthese oils _"" have high peneh'cll:mg propermies.
"_ .

3..5.,12.5 Urea There are differences of opinion as to whe'frherl:he de~el1']oramion o.fconcrete in contact w]fh urea is due to chemical attack or whe'frher H is a phys:ica] phenomenon arising Fmm I:hegmwthof crystals inthep0IDes ofthe(1)llcrete which djs:inl:~gmte~h.esurface ]ayers {as with frost attack], from literature examined, it a:ppea:rs~hat~~ewnsen!:ms, ofinfonned opmion is~ha~~here is no chemical reaction be'~ween the urea andthehydration products of the Portland Cement, Urea is used in the chemical fertilizer ina ush'y, andto some 'extent as a de.;h;:mgsalt onroads and airne]d fl!UJiWays. The prindpa] de-icing salt is sodium 'chlorlae which is wry 21ggIDessive to ferrous metals (stee~ ]1e]nFOl'Ce:Iuen[ andthe bodles of motor vehicles], Howe:vel:"work in the US by forbes, S~ewar~and SpeUrl1an showed. that ureais almost as agg;t1eSslve ferrous metals as sodium d'l]odde. to ill sugge$~~hat urea can cause del:~dora.hO:!l1l concrete and have seen of surface damage~o concrete floors in buHdings used for the storage of urea in the chemical $eritUi.zernduSl:ry. i 3.5.13 A~kil!n~sUicareacUo.n The deterloratlon is caused by the reaction betweenalkelis mthe concrete and certain type of smceous aggregates" ASR was fil!'streportedin 1940 in the United States ..SID;ce then it has been iden.Hfied as the cause of cracking and expansion Qif exposed concrete in rnilir!:y countries.

63 The nrsl: cnnfirmed casein the UK was in 1976 in fhecencrete of a dam. inthe Channel Islands ..There are diff:e'l:'enQes opmion asto the present of (1996) nlLUllJ~:H;'r confil'medca5es of ASR.The differences of opinion on or tllJeactual deterioration ofconcrete affected by A:SR"in terms o.f loadcarrying capadry, frostresistance and increased risk of rebax corrosion! are
even greater.

Agl"eement is genera~n1.at the efreds of ASR. are long tern] and about five years is the mmimum periodrequired for any vis].b~esigns to appear (see Figme 3.6..).

reactten, C!)own Copyright; repreduced from Britisf'l Researcn Es,faMishment Diges,f, 2!58~ bypernriselon .of the Conttvoll~rof HMSO.

rn:;lgitre:M D.:um<lgew 'CO:ncr.e'h~' ~l1H,)WitfLg'n'l,ap' cracking

typical

·of <llkaU-$~]ic.a

A great deed. has been wr]t~en about ASR and a selected number o.f papers onthe subject are included. In tl"le]3].b]iogmphy a.~~!hte end o.f this ~ "". ~ chap~er.
_"

3.5.13.1 Sumnu;uyo/ ASK problem

Some 'enec~ts of ASIR are visible, but these are by no means conclusivet 1. Mat~~ypecrack[ng caused by dHfcel'enti2l1 expansion ofthe concrete within a pour or member, This crack p2l~'~el1'n modif.ied. by the IDestmint is set up by the presernce of IDeinforre:menit"and is sometimes mistaken for

sulphateattsck.
2. The formatien of a gel around aggl1egate par~ides and in cracks. A comprehensrve examinatlon by an expede:nC"edl:esHng 121 bora tory is essenH2IJ.. As .stated above ASR arises from chemical reacfion betvveen alkalis in the concrete and certain types of s:iUcOOu$21gg]1ega~e5. Thealkalis gernel1'21Hy originatein the cement and are present inthe pore Huid. This reaction results in the formation o.f an alkah-silica ge~t and this gel in contact with water expands and ca uses Vl5].b~ecracking. l'hesituamon is compllcaled bythe fac~ that! with agg:rega~es injhe UK" there is a maxim min pe~entt2lge efreactive silica, beyond which e:xpan~io:n decreases, This maximum amount (the "pessimm:rn'] vanes from Qn'e~pe o.faggIDegateto another: The main pl1ecaufions which can betaken to avoid ASR damage is te use alow alkali cement, and take steps~o prevent so]utio:ns of alkalis comullg into contact and !pe!lll!e~l1'ating concrete, the The a]k2lli content of cement is eX~J]1essedas 'equiva]ent sodium. oxide" (Na~O). Atfrhe time of writin:gihis book the recommended Iimi! for e,guivale:nt sodium oxide in concrete is 3kg:/In<l of concrete, A IDeportby~he Mineral Wnclusl:ryResearch Org:a:nizaNon (MIRO} dated May 1992,l"eComlll!ended thOll, based on~!hJeil" rese2lrch,~!hJe 3 kg: Bruit ceuld s2lfely be raised to 4l kgl m~. On the assumption that alkalis do not find their wayintothe concrete arl5er casting, ASR C2lnbe: avoided by ensuringthatthe alka.Uconlen~ of the concrete does not exceed .3 kg/In3 (or 4"kg/m;! ifl:he MIRO recommendations are aocepted);: aggregates with. a. record of s2lt]sf2lc~ory pe:rrorm2lFloe can be used. It is advantageous ifsa.l:u:raH.on of the concrete can be prevented,

F urtber reading 3.. REfERENCE 6

L Bui~dirng Re5-ea[\C!:l1&tablishn:u:~nt {lSm.) Sl!.dphl'ltea.nd ac]dres~r$la.nceof,conc:[ete E in the grounct, Dfg:~<fi ,:H:iiJ" 8-

3.7 fURTHER .READlliNC

British St.:I.I1I;oJ3J:dfl Institution (1986) GUide to BuilrNng Mainf~tl!1ncc Mm~ag?mj_mfiB5 British Stamaards B
82]0-

Elements, Prod~d$ t1nd Comrlo<n~mf$BS'7543" ~o:r _ ange of Use; Dige:sf, 366, Oct
Rewa:rchEsta_b]]s.h:m_ent (991)

Irnrstit1!ltion (199'3) Guide to the DurnbiUty

St[iI.lIc~l1ulAppl'~isal

oj" Sufldil1gS, Bui1ifil~g of ExisttingBu]]dil'lgs.

British Cement

C1!ltri.e, RT" (19'86) CarboNatiol1 Depths Research Esttab_ Report.p, 19"

BU1tetin20, S€pt.,

Associadon

4" 5.

(~99~) Avuid<l.n(;e off cerbonatlen

iu Structural

mduJ::N.cmwf"([on;

Quality Crmcrete, '[IllUding

Bamjo:dh. P (1994) Adm]Uing tha;t chlceides.are admitted" Concrde, Doc 1.f:l-2ll British Standards Insrltution (19815)Th~Sttruchual USl~ ofConcn~'t€ BS 8UO: Parts 1 i"Ilnd.2. British Sttanda:rdsEr~sti~"ti,Qn {1'99!1} C01"1'r~tc" B6 5328 f~rtt& 1-4~ S:rool1e~';, D.C. 099S") Chlm.ki!€attack", O.\ncrde, M,u'J Apr.U" 5"

Su~.pha.t.es:
Bttl~ding Research Estab, P.99il) Sulphate and acid res~stafi.(eof <ooru;:rete in. the ground DjgcM, 36"3~~t B' ·'~d·~· _ ..eSl€~rc"[, E:~ 1--: i]"'Jnn) ~i,i1Jitit R" "l"1:til1 OJ p"_" ,. "Ft" \. "Ol. elL. lC"~ _l1_h_ID,g.··R·" c' ,I. ~.av- \~";r7'<!; .,;J'p" ""e s _£5"~" .. ·.c."'!?;!tlJur£~~_~ ,e"11.c ,".e" tNi rthwick .0" raT.k~ Re$uU$ afti!!r 15 yeaf$, P... 50. 1 BuUdi[ll,g R.x:SI€':iJl'Ch EsllaJJ- (19'KI) H,:iJlx:lOO[1~, Di'jJt:si"2.'76" Aug- 4,.

Chemical .auack

I1J!!l

eonereee

Ameri,c.an Corlil;;:rete Institnte fil979, :recv. ].985) til. Gr,dd!": to the Use,of Wa:terp·roofb1g, Damp~rTOOfl!~g, PhJ<terMVt!:and Demmtlve Barrier .Systems fol' CO!Ilcrele, ACl, 515., nt·79,.43. Building Reseerch Esttablls:lun.eIl[t (]993) Effects ojAlktrli-sUici! Readio!n O\l"i Co<nad~ ihotmdaU,OJ'ls,B.T<:E T:rliformahon ]Paper lP16/93, Oct, 4. Building Research Estab]]shnumt (]99~) Alb1ia:gg[~g ..ue reactionsinccacrete, Digest, MOt 8.

6,6

Feaors afJecti~'1,gthe durability ,of reinforced ,concrete

(iJ.995) Reghmal $pecifiCtlth:ms .and ReCOl'l1lJ:1t!'11dtltil:msjOl' th,e .AttO'J\dm~ct' ujDmncfging Alkali--Silica R£~cti:Q~~$ C(!lJ;crete,p" 5" h~ Hobbs, D- ((992) Deleterious allka]]~i1ka reactivity ofa number of UKa.:ggregat€8" O:lll,C'I'f'te (June, 64-7(t L~01I" EM- .( The Chcmishy oj Ce'mel'U.md C(!llcrde, 3rd edn, Edward. Ar.noM. (Publishers) Ltd, p" 727" Sims, 1. (].99.:2:)The-assessment ·of Cl)ncrete ror AS:R, Cm1CI':ete, Mat.! Apri~, 4.2:-6.
CEN1"C](:I4/SC]JTG9

Investiga tion and diagnosis of defects in reinforced concrete

4.. INTRODUCTION 1

Chapter 3 has detailed the principalfactors whichca use deterioration of both the J.1e]Flforre:me])~ andtheccncrete in.reinforced concrete structures .. 'fhischapter is intendedto eever the main .fadors Invol ved in Hle investigaHon and d ]ag]).os~[sO'f defects and deteriora.Uon .of concrete structures generally: Chapters 6, 8 and 9 d!ea]withsredfic pF.Oh~ems.1ehding J to floors and mofs" fire damaged oonCl"el:e" ighway bridges, silos and h hunkers" liquid l'e·ttainingstructures, water exeluding structures and marine "" ._ structures ..This results ]n a certain amoun~ of dup]icaUon. 4.. GENERAL OUTUNE Of THE PROCEDURE 2 ~o]lowing the initial request from the dient~the procedure adO[lJ~edand the form ofthe report can be as set ou~ below, but it win 01 course vary, d.epend]ng on the~ype of structure involved andfhe magnitude of the de~eriora·~LO'n.
_" "" =-

L Arrangements shou1dbe made for an eady discussion wlfh jhe client and avisit to Saet~o e])ah~ean assessment of~!hJe pmMe:rnto be made. Theclient should at~his stage be asked bythe engineeI~o issue him. with a. deaf' brief forthe ]FIJvesrngaHon .eregjlllires~obe undertaken h unless ofcourse he has alF.€'2I.dy done so. 2. The engineel' ShOM]d try to' obtain as muchdnformation as possJh~e about ~hestructure such as; (a) year of constructioru (I) details ofconstructien including drawings;

67

68
(c) (d)

b'westigatim'llltuJ
'_

diagnosis of defects in reinforced concrete

-

(e}

present user any previous changes of use, any proposels f'or ~ "" "" "" future change in. use; l£~!hte structure wasconstructed after the Second World W2Ir, the Huns involved in the design and construcfienc when deterioration was first noticed and whether any repairs had been carded out, and if SQ"the details and. approximate

d.2Ite(s] of execution. 3. The pl1e]im]nary si~e visit and anymformation available (as set out in. (2) above) will often indicate the possible underlyingceuses o.f the deteriorafion andthus enablethe en:gineer to draw up pl'(lposaJs for a more detailed i.nv,esHgalio:n, and arrangements for S2lHlJp]lng: andl'esti:n:g. Somerecommendetions forthe preHmin2lry investigation are given in secHon. 4.3.

1 The sampling and testing would necessitate the engagement of a commercial testing laboratory and. the provision ofaceess equipment, Detailed recommendatlons are given later in s.ections4.4 and 4.5. 2. The interpretation of the results of the sampling andtesting should be the responsibjli ty of the engineer and would form an. essential part of the report to-his client,

the completion of the investigatiortsthe engineer would prepare a detailed reporttothe client, setting out the instructions he received, ,<'11 descrlptlon of the investigations, and recommendations f:mremedial work Detailed suggestions for the form of the report are gJven in section 4.8.
On.

4.3 THE TIPREUlvUNAR¥ INSP'ECfION Ideally; the information whkh ]5 listed in 4.2.1 (2) should be in the hands ofthe engineer before he makes his ]n.iitia] inspection bu f th]s is very seldom the case. Such information is hard to obtain and fun many cases is just not available ..The engineer then has to make hisinspection onthe basis o·fthe client's complaint, such as pieces of concrete falling o.ff', cracking', rust 8tajning',~'warer penetration.' etc. Depending on the type of structure and the alleged defects, the engineer should take with him: binoculars, a rebound hammer, bolster and heavy hammer, simple means for approximate measurement of
l f f

69 crackwidths, an electro-magnetic cover meter, a goodcalne:ra" and a spra y bottle cont21in]ng pheno]ph~haJ.e]n for the de~ec:li(m of d,epth of carbonation, The absence of aQC~S,5 external inspection above ground level can for impose severe restrictions on the amount of ]nvesNga~]an possible at this stage" and.~herefore it may not be prac~ic:ab]!eto use all fI.lJe ]~ems Iisted, l'lue objed o.fthe inspection 1Sl:'O obtain a genera] picml1eso~ha~ practical decisionscan betaken on the fa]lawing matters: 1.frhe need or othelwise for'spedfic infOI"I!I.la'~ion;f1lJr example, if structural (load-hearing] ddkiencyis suspeded" or the client hasindicafed a wish [or change of use which would. increasethe n.oor loading, an ]nspecH.on of the originaJ drawings and. calculations can save a considerable amount of timet disruption" and 'expense. 2.frhe preparation of a. sampling and tes.Hng prograJTlme,r including selection of means of aoC'eSS {scaffolcBng:,cradtes et.c.}. at am ~ possible a nnmber of samp].es of the concrete should betaken and the locaNons. not:ed, and depth ofC2l.rbcmanonatfrhese sampling- locaUons ~ should be recorded ..The approximate location" length and width o.f a number of selected cracks should be no~ed."and. as far as poss]Me an assessment o.fthe pmbah~e cause. The samples should be visually examined. for assessment of degl:'€e of compaction" and type and size o.f aggregate, and analysed to. determine "" _. "" ._ cement cn:ntent, and chloride con~ent {expl1essedas peroentage by mass of "" the cement), Sa:mp].esof conCl"€tecan usually be taken by~he ·c2l.])eflll] o.fa heavy use hammer at locations where cracking and spaLU.nghas occurred, andthese can be used for an iIliitialde~erm]nation ofcememt con~emt,and. of ch~ol:'ides and su]ph.al:~sas apel'oent:age o.fthe eement, "" fu:rHl€ initial determina~ion oIthe celnen~ ccnlten~,U p:~ec:es f con.crete o are not avaHaMet samples can betaken by dry ddUingt lIlsinga percussion type mascmry drillj.thepowderfromthe first 5uum depth should be d]sca:med. "" m.f
."_
.

4.4 DETAILED INSPECTION, SAMPLING AND TEST1NG

4.4.1Introdu(:th;r1U

~orthe purpose of Hw l1ewmmenrlaWons which f1Q.Uo'l,~,itassumed. that is the defects arenon-structnral that iSt~hat in its present st:ate~(h,e blllHdjng 1:5 structurally sound. The enginee~, in oons lIlHa.~ion with an experiencedtesting lahoratnry should prepare 21. dear bdef for jhe labora.h)ry~ detamng~he location

70

b'lvestigatiOl~' and diagn,osis ,ofdefects in reinforced concrete

and. type of sam ples and the amount o.f~esHng to be carried out This brief mayhaveto be revised in the course oF'the investigation, The selection of the Iaboratory is importaru and it should be a laboratory accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS}. This shoukl ensurethat H'I!e~esHng is carried out strktly in acccedancewith standardtest methods ..Shou~d a standard test method not be available to provide desired ]l1F'OHn.ahon,then thel.abora.tory in censultation w]'~h the engineer would have to devise a prac Hca] test, The principal British St:andEl~d.or testing: concre~e is BS 11881 and. is f referred.to as appr(Jpria'~e ]ntMs chapter, The location, numlber and[y'pe of samples shmdd enablethe tesHng to here-presentative o.fthe membersunder investigation, and.~!meesHng must t be 1'e:~evanttotl'lenlfOl'malionI"equh~d.The s.a:mpnng,~eF~n1:g.. provision and of ac-:cess'eguipment is expensive, but IS anhTlportant part ofthe overall investigation. The p]1eparaHon of the sampling and teshn,g programme requires considerable experience and. a 1arge measure of common sense. 4.4.2 The numbei; :h;ru:atruon type II)f samprnes and The number .of samples win depend mainl y onthe number of components (beams, eolumnsywall pane],s etc.] under irrvestigatien, It is usual h) take a sample from at least 10% of the units, with a minimum. of four if there are less than 20 units, If theresults ofthe~e5ts show wide varia Hons" then the range of sampling would have to be correspondingl y increased. In deciding on~he amount of~esHng;, ]~ is necessary to consider careful] y what information is reiguired from the test res ults and. how this infermatinncan be usedto determine the cause of the de.~ects.. 4.4.3 Dep~h efearbonaflon Thisllest is important due to fherelationship between dep~h of carbonation and possible corrosion oF'~h.erebars. ~estsfor depth o.fcarbonation are best carded ou~ on si~e l!lsing:an ]ndka~or on hesh~ y exposed surfaces, These indicators are add-based and g]ve dHF'erent colours according to the alkalinity or pH ofthe exposed surface ..The most cnmmonly used Indicator is phenolpbthalein whi.ch. turns a !purple~red colour on uncaebonatad surfaces (pH above about 10);tl'Ie carbonated surfaces ]1etElin their origi:na~ CO~Qm.TI.lJe ep~h. o.f carbonation canthen he seen and d measured. A recordshould be preparedshow]ug location o.fthese tests and. depth of CElrbonation, sn ppiem,ented by a.few colour photographs.

71
GOQd~qu~H~y den~eooncre~ec.arbonates veryslowlYr 50 tbat even after a period of some 50 y'e2lrs,carbonation is unlnk.elyl:Qpeneh'al:~ to a. .gl\eater depththa:n 7~1I.Omm. the ort11er .and,!pelfme'ab~econcrete Inay cmbonate On h to a depth of 25mm in ten y'ears or less, The rate of carbonation ge!ll1!eraUy decreases wHihttime asthe formation ofcalchnn carbonate acts as a pore fiUer. Carbonaeion does not adv,er.sely affect the strength ofthe concrete and tends to rediu.oepeI':ITle-ablUtyI:Qthe pass2lge of moisture. Furtherinformation on carbonation ]S ,given in Chapter ~3rsecHon 3.2.5. 4.4.4 Type and g,radingof a.ggl1eg:ate

ill:t desirable to determinethe type of aggregate used .. '\Nltiht calcareeus is aggregates, the accuracy of ce:men~determination is reduced .. The assessment .ofthe grading of aggregates from ..samp]es of h2ll'dened concrete can on]y be approxima~e due~o the tes~ pr.oc~dlllre (see BS 18811.: Pari: 12-4)and shou1d only be used to help supplement thereslilits of other tesl:s. 4.4.5 Cement c(u1Jtent of th.e concrete The cemenfcrmtentsheuld he d!e~enll]ned in accordance withBS 18811.: Part 124.,whic:h g:iv'es pr2lctka1 advice on sampUng and detailed recommendaticns for analysis. Pieces Q.fOO:IICl1e~e knocked off~~e memberscan also be used ft)l" cement del:~rm]nation" [p[(Jvidedthey are whoRe, do not ccntain cracks and. weigh atleast 1 kg. The aim should beto obtain a combined sample weighing several kg. ljf;or mQl1e a accurate determinatlon o.f~hecement content olf~iht'eooncrel:~" 50m]]1ilia. cures can be drilled at selectedlucatkms, care being taken with. the aid ·ofa oover me~erI:Q2I.voidrebars, The~2Iking of oores should bekept to' a.mlnhnum butthey do provide a good picture Q.f~he concrete and are needed for a. proper assessment o.f vo]dag.e and standard .of oompaction. Care and. expedence 15 needed in the ]ntel'Pl1etafion of the results, V!J'il:h chemical analysis to es~:ab]ish the Clement c(m~ent and thus the mix pl:'()PO'rtiOllSIfhe concrete, there isconsiderable reduction in the sample o size. Only aboul: 5 gn:lSof powdered OO:IICI\e~e I mortar is analysed from a combined sample o.fseveral kg . Thus the preparation of the flnelsample is of crucial im podanc:e~o 'ensure that the sam p]e ana ]ysed is truJy representative of Hle combined sample and of~he .origina] concrete. There is,~eshng variability on samples tested within. oneIahoraeery and between ~abo:ratories, even though they may be NAMAS accredited.

72

brvestigaUmr: m-ul r1iagno.sis 0/ de.fects in rein/ofc!:d concrete

Concrete Soci!e~yTed.lJF.lJkal Report 32: Analysis or Hardened O;mcrete, sugge$~s.S2lmpling vari2lbiUty as -Ii- or -2:5 kg/m;! and testing- val1'iabHHy + as -._ =._ . o:r..JO lk:g:Jm~makmg a combined va:da~ion of -Ii- 01" -40' kg/m~ {the sql!lare root of 252 oJ.. 3W). The cement conten~ of good Sh'11C~Ul1'alquantycnncret1? .nk'e].ytDbe ]$ ~ about SOOkg/:m3, or 12--]4,.% by mass of d.lJe concrete.
4.4.'6 CementtYlu~;

Wnpractice, teslstto determine cement~pe are only likely to be necessary in cases where it is suspe'ted~ha~ high alumina cement mayhave been used, or where Sl!l]phat1?reSEsling Portland cement waS5pedHed and. there is some reason to be]ieve ope was used ..HAC is appl"edab]y darker in cclourthanPorflandcements, but the OO],Ol,lr some sulphate l\l;~sisUng of Po:rt12lndce]]lJen~s. may approach that of HAC Some infon:naHon. of~hepr]ndpal characteristics of HAC oonCl'etehave been g]v'en in Chapter 2" section 2.:1 Due to the major d]ft:erences.betweenPortland cement and HAC, ]f~he:l"e is any doubt about the poss]h~e use o.f HAC eoncretefhen the necessary tests should be carded out Tn. he 19705, the~e was great inderest in the use t of HAC concrete (dl!leto a number of failures) and BRE developed a rapid chemicaltest using re.~ativelysimple apparatus and. pI"O>cedure5,; details OIl:,€givenm aBRE information Sheet" 15.15/'74 (reprinted Feb. 1975). If~his test ,gives posil:iv,eresults,the.n an adequate number of samples o.f the concrete should betaken and.passed to an ,experienced~esHng ]abora~ory; HAC concrete was most[y used for precast units, espedaJly prestressed beams and flooruuits.
4.4.7 Chlorjde e'(ill1Iientof the cenerete

The chloride content can be determined. by the method set out in.BS 1881L: Part 124~Section H),2. In all caseswhere corrosion ofreb2lrshas occurred" the concrete musrbe cheeked .for chloride cOFli~ent.Th.e ermitted limits QI.f p chloride content of conc-rete are set Qut in.BS 5328:1991t Part 2t Table 8. The chloride oont.ent 1S expressed as, a perc-:e:ntageo~ chloride ion by mass o.f cement. For prestressed concrete this is limitedto 0.1L00/0;fQf concrete made with SRPC, the limit is O.20%~md for ot11erPorl:~and cemen~sthe ]imit is 0.400/0.,.The reason for the reduced percentt2lge.in SRPC concrete is discussed in Chapter 3" section 3 ..2.6.
4.4.8 Su~.pha~e co'nh~!n of the concrete t

The sl,dpha~e cOFli~en~ Ofcn:ll'C]1e~e be determined by the method se~ out can in section 10.3 of BS 1L881:.f'2Il't 1L24.

Sulpha~e ]SpresentinPcrtlandcements, as gypsum ]s added during: HlJe manufacture tocunh'(d. the set, but is ]imHed~o about 3''10 expressed as SO., by lU2IS5f thec~mentThel\l;~ are no~ests available which can determine a e specific Umit to the "safe' sulpha~e eontent, Howe'Ver~a.Hmil:of.4%by mass of the cement ]Sconsidered reasoneble, ill consider Hla~ testing_- for sulphate is generaH _- not necessary- unless y "" there is evidence which suggests that .sulpha~e attack has~aken pbce" as ~ m2ly nccur in foundations and grOlllnd.""supported.flI.oorlabs and grOlllnd s "" "" beams.
_"
,

4.4.9 A~~'e~~ment Q,f vo~.d~ andcompacti.!;!ilil

of th.econcre~e

lin assessing: the qU2IU~y1f fhe concrete, a reasonable det~rmination ofl:he Q

standard of oompaction is desirable. Visual examination of pieces of concrete can giv'e a general ide2lt but where information on cempacticn ]Sconsidered essenHa]t SOmm dia ..cores should be cut and. examined as described in. BS 18811., 11.20. Part Reference can also he made to the 11.987dition Qt Concrete e Society 'Iechnical Reporl: 11. mtra-&micPu~se ¥e].ocity and Impulse Radar which are br.ieHy described in 4,.4.10.5 and. 4,.4.10.6 can also be used fQr del:~cting voids and honeywmbing. 4.4.9.1 H(m:eycombed cmH:refe A suitable definition of honeycombed. concrete would be: Concrete which has ].arge i])~er,cunneo~edvoids I"esuhi:ngfrom. loss, or original ]ack o~,cement, agg]1ega~efines and water. Generally, it ]Sdue to Hwloss o.fcenlJe:ni: pastethl'ough leaks in the formwork, butcan arise from inaaetj)u2Ite mixing, careless pbdng and compacting, andcungested lleinfon;:ement Castinsitu pHes are particul2ldy prone to' honeywmbing. My 'experience is~h,21t when this defect 'exists it can lllsuaJlybe seen when formwork is removed, bufin massive units it can occur belowthestnface ofthe member. mn thela~~er locafion it is OFlJ.y .Ukdy~o be deteeted by a UPV or Radar .smvey. Some comments on methods of repair are gjven in Chaptel" 5" section 5.3.9 and Chap~er 9, section 9.45.

1. original wa.~eroontent {from which the w/c ratio can he calculated) (BS 11.881:. 11.24: Part Section. 7); 2..~he water absorpl:ion (BS 1881: Part 122);

74

brvestigatimr Ilfui diagno.fiis of defects h'X retnfon:ed concrete

3.. ]nHi,aJ surface ahsorpHon {BS 1881: Part 201: Sect. 2.8); 4. rebound hammextests f0'r surface hardness (BS 1881: Part 20r2},; 5. u]tTIl~sonk pulse velodty~ests (BS 1881: Part 2(3); 6. impulse radar,

Comments on each. oFlhe ah0ve~e5~s al'egiv'en in the FoUowing subsections, 4.4.10.1 to'. 4.4,.11.0.6·. lIt should he noted. that some 24 nen-destsuctivejests are ]isted ]ns.ec~tio:n Two ofBS 1881: Part 2011.: <Guide to the Use o.f No:n-deshuctive Methods o.t Test for Hardened Concrete.. Some oFi!hJese are v'ery useful for special investigations, and where appropriate, are mentioned in of her chaptel1\> in this hook ill weuld ag2lin emphasize that testing should on]y be carried out when the information gjven by the tests is needed for diagnosis ofthe cause o.t the defects, 4.4.10.1 Origi11,a.I'lv.atel' COHfenr
I have not found a need for this test" but I am. awarejha! some engineers use it. The orIgin.a~ water con~ent'me2lnsfrh'e amount of water in the concrete at the time of setting. BS 18811.Part 11.24 akes it clear that there are definite : m limitations to its acoept2lbHity, namely:
!

1.~h.e ccncrete heing tested shcm]d. nOllbe olderthan flve y'ears,; 2.~h.e sam p~e being~ested mustnot he d2lIl1ag.ed in any way~ 'either physically orchem.icaUy; 3.frhe concrete must be weHoompaded, and. not air-entrained; 4.~he value oF~he test is. compromised if the concrete contains hydra u]ic: binders otherthan Por[~and cement; 5. OQnC]1e~e made with. PO'.rous agg:regates inmx:luc~s unacoep~ah~e errors.

4.4.10.2 Water a.bsorpU(m: BS 1881: Part 122 requires thatthe testspecimens

should he C0l1es, which are dried in an oven for 72 homs. at a temperature of 1 then allowed to'. cool for 24 hours" weighed, and then immersed in wa~er for 30 mjms or other prescdhed periOli and weighed again. The question mark over a decision to C2Irry out~his test is: what is an acceptab].e ahsorpliio:n ferthe concrete under inves~igaHon? There is HU~e ]ustifi.caHOTIforcanying: out a test unless theue is an. aC1;;eptah~ecr.i~er]o:n against whichthetesl: resultscan be ·oonlpared. The on~y a.u~horitativefiglare ill have Found relates h) concrete [lJ]pes For sewers, BS 591L1: Part 11., lause c

osee,

2S.2,r whkh requires fhe maximum absorption after 30 minutes should not ~ ~ exceed. 3.6'Vo and aHer 24, hours should not exceed 6.5%. 4.4.10.3 Initial surface absorpti011 test (ISAT) This measuresthe mte of water absorption by a concrete slI]_r[ace nder a. u constant appHed hea.d .. The rate win decrease with. time and. so measurements haveto betaken at specified time intervals from H'Iestart 0 £ t:fue~est The testresults are affec~ed by IU2Inyfactors wMch are set out in lBS1881: Pari: 208,. One o.fthe most important ]s the moisture content o.f~he smface byers o:f~he concrete a~ '~~et:lme o:fthe~esL I .fcee]that~his f2ldor alone makesthe test dHfkll]_]ttoa.pply l'€'2IlisH.caUy externalin sHu 0011Cl\e~e. to Thet'e'st is used main]y on prec2lstoonC]1e~eunits as a qll]_alHy crmtrol test Lhave not seen reports Qlf~his test hav-]:l1g been used for the type o.f investigsfionsdescrfb ed here ..The basic (H.mclI]_]ty wHh using this t'€'s~on exisHl1gprecast units is~o decide what~~e actual Jl1esults an be compared c w]th.Th]s problem and others are set outand discussedin BS 188]: Part 2JOl: Sect. 2..8 andBS 18S1:f'ar[ 206 .. illtshould benotedth2ltBS 121'7: Cast S~one sets W:SATlimits for two grades of product, Grade A and. Grade B. for Grade A,the ISA must not exceed o.25mL/(m~} at 11.0min, and must not exceed 0.lOmIJ(m.2s) at 1 hour.
1

The rebound. hammer {scnlleHmes Jl1efel'l'ed as the Schmidt hammer] to' essenHaUy measuresthe surface hardness ofconCll1ete'f utthe results are b O'ftenusedm indicate the val':iabiUtyofC1)nCll1ele a unit or member ..ill have in found tlle ll1eboundh2lmmervery useful in assessing whether further testing by talking COJl1eE is jusHHe:dforthe purpose of the investlgaticn. It should not be used as a. "pass orfaH'~e5t. ljf;or xample, surface hardness is impodant ]n industrial floors and. the e rebound. hammer is a very usefultonl.In such an Lnvestigahon. A minimum O'f15 ]1€'adings bay orunit should betaken and I su:ggesUhal:the.Mghest per "" _-_" 'and lowestre2ldingsholl]_]d be discsrded, Lhave foundthaf beca use this is a site test whkhc~a:n he 'easily and quickly carried outt~here is a tendency ~ to' use i~[ol" the assessment of the compressive stl:-ength of the concrete. ~ 'This can be considered as valid if the actual Sl:rength of the concrete in other similar parts of the structure are known. BS 18811.lParit 202 .usrs five : factors which influenoajhe relatienship be'~ween[he surfacehardrress and theoompl:lessive strength ..Howeve~~even under very favourable conditieos ~ the test should on]y be used as anindication ofth.e prebablecornpresstve sitrengt:h.
'

76

brvestigatim'llm.d

diagnosis of defects in reinforced concrete

4.4.10.5 UUr-asonic pulse vdocity fests BS 1881: Part 201, Sect 2.13, g]v'es a. useful summary olfthe~est and details how it should be cetU],ed. out. The prlncipaluses of the test for the purpose or de~ecting de'feclts ]n concrete are:

1 locating the presence and approximate extent: 0.£ cracks and voids, particularly in grouting in. prestressing duds; 2. checking on uniformity /homogeneity of the concrete in or between members or different parts of the structure.
The effedive us'e ('I.f upv fOordet,eeHng defects inconcrel1e!l1equhes, considetable expel'ien.oe, parUcubdy in '~!hJe correct iuterpretaUon of results, U is a. sophisticated method of test and expensive but for ]arge and/or ~complex ]obs it cant be an essentialpart o.f fheh:'iiVes~iga~ion. "" .

4.4,,1(16 Radar (impulse radar)

This is also known as pulsed radio echo sOllAll'I,djng. It isbriefly described in BS 188iL: ad .20iL, ection 2.12,.but at present there lis no British StaJndard. P S for th]sbecht!]que. Impulse radar was first introduced in the earl y 19808 and has been used. fur locating underground servicesand for the non-destructlve testing of concrete. [1"11 the laUer field its main use is in the detection and location 0.£ voids, delamination at the interface between two materials (e.g, a concrete slaband a screed. 01' topping}, and reinforcingbers. The equipment usedrequires very experienced cperatorsand specialist interpretation. of the test results, fO'l further informatien see Chapter 6,. section 6.2.4.
45 TESTS FOR THE DlElTIEcnON AND DIAGNOSIS Of RElNFO~CEMENr CORROSm:ON

The testsnormally used are: 1.

2.,

3.
4.

5.
6.

dder.n:iI:lnanon .of depth of carhonaHon; examinatkm of cracks and crack pa~~em,; cover-me~er :mrvey; Ule fh8llf=celF~est~o determinejhe elecfrical potentiaJ. oJ embedded rebars and fhusthe 2[pprox:h:nat~degl:-ee of corrosion; the det€'l"I:n:lnt2l11!on. loss of section ofrebars due tocorrosion, of radicgraphyto obtain photographs -oHhe interior o.f concrete members, which show the rsbars.

Tes:tsfor the detection ami diagnosis o/reinforcement corrosion

4.5.2 DepUIJ ofc:arbonaU,on

77

This test has been described lllnder~esting theconcrete (se<:~].on \.4.3)to 4 whichthe reader is re'[erT·ed ..The reasons why carbonation o.f concrete is impor~antin investigating the corrosion ofre:inforcement are discussed in Chapter 3" section 3 ..2.5. 4.5.3 Cnc:ksilimdcrackpaUem Section 4L6discusses in some detailthe factors invol ved in. cracking in reinforced concrete, as the p.resence of cracks can be a major factor in the corrosion of the reinforcement If cracks extend down to the rebars they provide access for moisture, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and oxygen, and aggressive liquids, and this w]U result lin corrosion ofthe steel reinforcement. Reinfof<:ement canend does corrode w:ilhout being initiated by cracks, e.g. by pomus concrete.Inadequate depth of cover, presence of chlorides in the original concrete mix, and carbonation of the concrete in. contact with the steel. The rust which occupies albout3---5tim.esthe vol ume of theoriginal meter exerts censidereble pressure on the concrete, This causes, first, the formation of fine cracks which. grad uall y increase in width, and then pieces of concrete startto be debondedand eventually break off (spallmg). illt is thererore nec~ssary to carefully examineall exposed concrete for the pIlesence of these fine cracks, generally in line wUh main .and/or secondery retnforcement. These areas (deflned by the flne cracks) should be tested by a medium weilght hammer; Ihiis is known as hammer testing. This hammertesting wUl show where corrosion is suffident~ y faradvooced. to crack andparuall y debond the concrete cover over the rebars,
4.5.4 C(!lver J:l1Ieter surveys
lo

The use of a. coves-meter to check fhe depth o.f concrete covento jhe reiuf:oroement ]$ an essential p2ll't o.t any investigation into deterioration o.t relnforced cuncrete. However, a visual inspection can be very useful in detectingthe approximaie extent to wMchcurros:lon of rebars has caused cracking and spa1Hng oithe concretecnver; .asthis physical damage to the concrete is usually aooompanied by rust staming of~~e5mface. illt must be men~ioned that rust stains can 21.]$0 becaused by the presence of pyrH:esin the aggregal:~" sothatthe eX:lst:ence of rust stains alone is insufficienfta ccnciudethat rebar cO'nos]on has occurred, However; locafized corws]on can ca use pitting: in. therebars which may not show on thesmface ('Iftheconcrete, This is one Q.f~he11easonswhy the half-cell is used~U 1S descrfbedin section 45.5.

78

brvestigatiOl'llm.d

diagnosis oj de.jects in reinjofced

concrete

OetaHed reoommendanons f'orfr!h:e se .ofelectromagnetic cov'er-meters u are coFIJ~ained. BS 11.881 in :.Part 204. The cover-metex IllSlI].aUy consists of a search head" a battery, a.meil:~rshowing depth o.fcove~, and a. cab~e. A oor.recH.ycaH!brated cover-meter s!h:ou~d. ind.ka~eth.e cnver (distance from lhesmface of '~heconcrete t'o5l1].dace of~he rebar }"I:Q an.aocul"acy of + or ~ 2:mm 01" + or ~SO/Owhichever isthe greater, Qver~!ht'eraFIJge given Ibythe manufacturer .. However,BS 11.881:Part 204, Section 8, quite dgh.Hy ~ emphasizes that the results on the average site, when used. by an average "" operator, would require a.l2Irger to~eran.Qer amely + or -Smm or + or ~ 5 'Vo" n 11. "" "" whichever ]$ the g:rea~er.forCQ:vers~essth.a:n 100mm. illt is impor.~antfr!ht2lt~iI'll!e calilrrafion o.f the cover-meter he checked at reg:ubr intel'Va]S,r ither as recummended !bythe manufacturer 0'1" by means e of a specially made block of concretecentaining a reinf'oI"Cmgbar which projects not less than]OOmm at both ends of the block. Drml!.dngsshould be prepared showing each.member surveyed with. the cover-meter F.ead]ngsph)U~d The rmmber of readings 2I!ndfueirlocations on. will depend an the drc~um$'tance5of each case;read:iugs closer-than 31J):)ulID. centres are llulI.Uk!e]y be needed .. to The recommendatioas fOol" nommalcrrver jcreinforcemenf m-econtained in Codes of Practice and Sta:ndmds and arerelated to exposureconditions andjhe quality Qf~heconcrete interms o.fcement ,C1)nil.'eI]~ wail.ei' cement and I ratio. The re~evant exposure oondiHons are Iisted in Tables 5 and 6, BS 5328: Concrete: Part 1:.Guide to Specifying Concrete, and range from "luUd' to '-most severe' and "abrasive", This is dfscussed laterin fhis ch,ap~er under '-no-." .".S·' ,_ . Ai Ll'lagnOSiS' ec~~on~.I,'7'
'_-

'-

4.5.5 Tl1J!e half-eel] potentru.almeasurem'enh;: Th]s mefhod appears~o havebeen developed in. the USA in the 1960s and. iscovered by A:STM Spedfk:aNo.n C876~O:. Standard Test method for Half-oelfPetentlals of R.einforcing S~e-el in Concrete, There is no BdHsh Standard for t.his~echn]C]ue, but it is described. in BiS1881: Part 2011." Section. 2.4.. U measures the pOil:~ntialof an embedded rebar relativete a half-cell, and consists of areservcir oontt2linn1l:g a. saturated soluHon of copper sulphate {CuS04), and secured central~y w].ithin theoont21in.er is a. copper rod connected by an. electric leadte a higJl~impedance voUmel:~r.In one end of the wn~ain.er is a.sponge p~lI].g hkh. remains continuously satmatedwith w the copper sulpha~e so]ution. The safurated sponge can be considered as the search. head. o.flfte apparatus. The vo]m.le~er is connected to. arebar in the concrete. The surface of the unit to be examined is divided. into areas o.f about 3@mmx300mm andthis grid is marked inchalk onthe unit. Immediately

Te.fl:tsjor the prior tothe~est

detection ami diagnosis ofreinforcement

corrosion

79

fhe surface of the lLI.n]tis sprayoo wHh wa~er. The search.

head is then ~ placed in oon~act withthe damp surface of the concrete in ~ the centre of each grid and readings recorded on to a dr a wing. An .aJter.rnEltiv,e me~hod ofl:,€,C:1(;mdiugis to lI"lovethe sea:rchhead about so as to locale Jines of equal po~ential (oontOlLl.f lines)..Figure 4Llshows a 'crmtour ~~
,

'B

Oonta~ point 00 :stool

pO~l1ton main rehl~bl'\(:en:M~nt below

gUl_rli~le- Cou_rtesy,

:figure 4.1 Ha]f~cell lnterpretation map: contact TechfllJotrad€ Ud.