Chapter # 7 Part-C

Hardened Concrete Durability of Concrete

Durability Durability of Hardened Concrete

 Durability can be considered synonymous with “A long

service Life”  Durability
 The ability of concrete to withstand the effects of
various deteriorating phenomena and agents in its  Resistance against physical causes of deterioration
service life is called durability
 The ability of a concrete to perform its intended  Resistance against chemical causes of deterioration
functions during its specified or traditionally expected
service life
 The end of service life of a material is assumed to have
reached when its properties, under given conditions of
exposure, have deteriorated to an extent that results in
making its use unsafe or uneconomical

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ACI Definition of Durability The Hammurabi Principle

 According to ACI Committee 201:

“Durability of Portland cement concrete is defined as
its ability to resist weathering action, chemical attack,
abrasion, or any other process of deterioration”
In other words, a durable concrete will retain its
original form, quality and serviceability when exposed
to its intended service environment

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The Hammurabi Principle The Deterioration Agent - Water

 Water is generally involved in every form of deterioration

 In porous solids such as concrete, the ease of
penetration of water into the solid determines its rate of
deterioration
 Water molecules are extremely small and therefore are
able to penetrate into extremely fine pores and cavities
 As a solvent, water is noted for its ability to dissolve
more substances than any other known liquid
 Water acts as a vehicle for transportation of deleterious
ions into porous solids such as concrete

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Porosity and W/Cm Ratio Causes of Concrete Deterioration

• The single parameter that has the largest influence on Physical Causes
Porosity is the w/c or w/cm ratio • Surface Wear
• Cracking
• As the w/c ratio decreases, the Porosity of the paste
decreases and the concrete becomes more Chemical Causes
impermeable • Reaction between aggressive fluids and cement
hydrates
• The effect of variation in w/c ratio on Permeability
is dominated by “large” capillary pores, rather than • Formation of expansive products
gel pores • Hydrolysis and leaching of cement hydrates

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Physical Causes of Concrete Deterioration Surface Wear

 Abrasion
 Dry attrition such as in the case of wear on pavements and
industrial floors by vehicular traffic
 Hardened cement paste does not posses high resistance to
attrition, however it is significantly improved by aggregate
 Erosion
 Wear by abrasive action of fluids containing solid particles
that act as erosion media
 When concrete surface is in contact with water; impinging,
sliding, or rolling action of particles will cause surface wear
 Erosion usually occurs in water retaining structures, such
as; spillways, canal linings, and concrete pipes for water
and sewerage transport

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Contd. Freeze Thaw in Concrete

 Cavitation  In cold climates the damage to concrete of certain

 Loss of mass due to formation of vapor bubbles and their
members occurs due to the cycles of freeze and thaw
subsequent collapse due to sudden change of direction in a  The deleterious effect depends not only on the
rapidly flowing water characteristics of the concrete but also on the specific
 A correlation has been found to exist between abrasion environmental conditions
resistance and w/c ratio of concrete  Frost damage most commonly appears in the form of
cracking and spalling of concrete caused by expansion
 ACI committee 201 recommends that compressive
of cement paste
strength of concrete should not be less than 4000 psi in
 Concrete slabs exposed to freezing and thawing cycles
order to obtain abrasion resistant concrete surface are susceptible to scaling

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Frost Action on Hardened Cement Paste Reactions Forming expansive Products

 When water freezes in capillary pores, there is an

increase in volume equal to of 9 percent of volume of  Sulfate Attack
frozen water
 Resultantly dilation of capillary cavity takes place  Alkali Aggregate Reaction
 Hydraulic pressure is generated on the walls of cavity
 Corrosion of Embedded Steel
 Dependence of pressure
 Distance to nearby escape boundary
 The permeability of concrete
 Rate of ice formation

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Sulphate Attack Alkali Aggregate Reaction (AAR)

 The deleterious chemical reaction between hydroxyl ions

 Degradation of concrete as a result of chemical (OH-1) associated with alkalis present in cement and
reaction between hydrated cement paste and sulfate certain reactive coarse or fine aggregate, that produces
ions from outside that results in: a gel
 Expansion and cracking of concrete  The gel on absorption of moisture expands and results in
 Progressive decrease in strength of concrete cracking, aggregate pop-out, and exudation of a viscous
 Loss of mass due to loss of cohesiveness of hydration alkali-silicate fluid
products
 Aggregates derived from Opal and Chert rocks are the
 Delayed ettringite formation most common forms of reactive silica, but the list
 Source of sulfate ion is internal rather than attack from outside contains other rocks too
 Cracking due to AAR occurs in hydrated cement paste
as well as aggregate in concrete

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Types of Alkali Aggregate Reaction ASR Damages

Alkali Aggregate Reaction

(AAR)

Alkali Silica Reaction Alkali Carbonate Reaction

(ASR) (ACR)

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Aggregate: Pop-Out and Cracking ASR - Concrete Movement and Vertical Cracks

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Corrosion and its Mechanism Contd.

 The electrochemical process that results in the
transformation of metallic iron to rust which is
accompanied by increase in volume
 The increase in volume results in concrete expansion
and cracking
 For the typical case of the corrosion of iron, the
principal element in reinforcing steel, oxygen and
moisture must be available
 At some locations on the reinforcing steel, the iron is
oxidized; elsewhere, water is reduced by the oxygen
to produce hydroxyl (OH-1) ions. Oxidation occurs at
anode, producing two electrons and a ferrous ion

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The Chemical Reactions Corrosion Manifestation
Formation of composition cell is required for corrosion
Oxidation at Anode
 Loss of steel-concrete bond
Fe → 2e- +Fe2+
 Reduction of rebar cross section
Reduction at Cathode
½ O2 + H2O + 2e- → 2OH-  May lead to structural failure
 Ferric rust is responsible for the
 The corrosion process requires the movement of electrons large volume increases that
through the metal between the anode and cathode and the ability of
OH- ions to migrate from cathode to anode cause cracking and spalling
 The development of cathodic
 At the anode, hydrous iron oxides form, usually the first of which is and anodic areas can be caused
ferrous hydroxide: by variety of reasons including
Fe2+ + 2(OH)- → Fe(OH)2 different impurity levels in iron
Spontaneous oxidation of ferrous oxide to hydrated ferric acid (rust) and different residual strains
occurs rapidly:
Fe(OH)2 + 2Fe(OH)3 → Fe2O3.nH2O
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Reduction in pH Protection against Corrosion

• For the corrosion of steel inside concrete, the pH of
concrete must fall below 12  Restrict the availability of oxygen and moisture and
• Once pH of concrete falls the protective layer (passivation preventing electron flow from anode to cathode
layer) around steel is destroyed, which sets the stage for
corrosion  This can be established by:
 Reduction of permeability of concrete
 Use of water tight concrete
 Protective membranes on concrete
 Protective membrane are placed on deck slab and covered with
concrete overlays
 Protective coating on steel
 Epoxy coating of steel, copper and nickel cladding
 Suppression of electrochemical process
Atmospheric Carbonation Effect of Chloride Ions Penetration
 Cathodic protection (applying current to reinforcing bars)

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 Concept Quiz
1) If the strength of concrete is satisfactory for a particular
application it will be considered durable as well: ( T / F )
2) Deterioration of concrete due to fire falls under ………
causes of durability:
(a) Chemical (b) Physical (c) Load related (d) Structural
3) Concrete floor of a heavy industrial building are subjected to:
(a) Abrasion (b) Erosion (c) Cavitation (d) Cracking
4) Main reason for AAR is the use of …………….. In concrete:
(a) Reactive cement (b) Contaminated water (c) Higher
aggregate content (d) Reactive aggregates

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