Durability

Durability of Concrete
Role of Permeability
Chemical Deterioration
- Sulphate Attack
- Corrosion due to carbonation
- Corrosion due to chloride

Main Text:
Properties of Concrete, A.M. Neville, Longman, 1995
Concrete: Microstructure, Properties and Materials, Mehta & Monteiro, McGraw-Hill, 2006
Advanced Concrete Technology, Zongjin LI, John Wiley & Sons, 2011 1
 External factors

The various
Deterioration/
actions can be
damage of
• Physical
concrete
• Chemical
• mechanical

Durability Internal factors

Durability of concrete: the ability of concrete to resist/withstand the

process of deterioration to which it can be expected to be exposed and
maintain its required strength and serviceability during the specified
expected service life.
The various actions can be
• Physical
• Chemical
• Mechanical
Physical Causes of Mechanical Causes of Chemical Causes of
Concrete Deterioration Concrete Deterioration Concrete Deterioration
1. Deterioration by surface - Can be by internal and
wear external factors.
 Temperature

 Abrasion: dry attrition (wear 1. Internal Factors

 Freezing and thawing
on pavements and industrial
floors by traffic)  Alkali-aggergate reactivity
 Fire
 Alkali aggregate
 Erosion: wear produced by reaction
abrasive action of fluids  Alkali-carbonate
containing solid particles in reaction Occurs
suspension (canal lining, mainly
spillways and pipes). 2. External Factors through
the action
 Acid of
 Cavitation: loss of mass by aggressive
formation of vapor bubbles  Sulphate ions
and their subsequent Reason for Chlorides
collapse. corrosion Carbon dioxides
 Damage/deterioration of Concrete
 Temperature
Physical
 The differences in thermal, affects rate of hydration of cement.
Causes  This leads to plastic shrinkage cracks in fresh concrete.
 Volume changes and cracking
 Freezing and thawing
 Leads to expansion within hardened cement paste and cracking
 Ice melting salts cause erosion of concrete
 Fire
 Concrete able to retain sufficient strength for a reasonably long time.
 However, spalling and disintegration of concrete at >300˚C
 Deterioration by surface wear
Mechanical
 The internal microstructure is exposed to aggressive
Causes environment and leads to spalling and corrosion
Results in:
Chemical
 Volume change
Causes
 Cracking
 Concrete, normally, provides protection to steel
reinforcement.

 The damage of concrete may expose the concrete to

aggressive environment and this may lead to corrosion.

 The deterioration of concrete is rarely due to one isolated

cause. Thus, difficult to assign deterioration to a particular
factor.

 Except mechanical causes, all the adverse influences on

durability of concrete involve the transport of fluids
through the concrete. Thus the ability of concrete to limit
these process influences the durability and the rate of
deterioration of concrete.
 Deterioration Effects

Deicing salts
Expansion/contraction

Spalling and
disintegration
 Role of Permeability

• Permeation is defined as the ease with which agents

can move into or out of concrete.

• The ease of flow liquids or gases through the porous of

concrete depend on the size, distribution, shape,
continuity of the pores and concentration of gel
particles.
 Role of Permeability
Permeation is defined as the ease with which agents can move into
or out of concrete.

The permeation properties of concrete can be classified into three

basic transport mechanisms.

Mechanism Capillary suctions, Pressure differential, concentration

differential
liquid liquids and gases liquids, gases and ions

Example cyclic wetting And drying, water-retaining structures sulfate ground water,
marine structures foundation elements
Absorption
The process by which concrete takes in a liquid by capillary
attraction. The rate at which water enters is termed absorptivity
(or sorptivity) and depends on the size and interconnection of
the capillary pores in concrete and the moisture gradient
existing from the surface.

Permeability
The ease by which a fluid passes through concrete, under the
action of a pressure differential. This property depends on the
gradient and on the size and interconnection of the capillary
pores in concrete

Diffusion
The process by which a vapour, gas or ion can pass into
concrete under the action of a concentration gradient.
 Permeation properties are important because:
1. The penetration of some aggresive solution may result in
leaching out of Ca(OH)2 which adversely affects the
durability of concrete.
2. In reinforced concrete, ingress of moisture of air into
concrete causes corrosion of reinforcement and results in
the volume expansion of steel bars, consequently causing
cracks & spalling of concrete cover.
3. The moisture penetration depends on permeability & if
concrete becomes saturated it is more liable to frost-action.
4. In some structural members permeability itself is of
importance, such as, dams, water retaining tanks.
Chemical causes on concrete deterioration

Acid

Sulphate External Factors Chlorides

Among these cases, corrosion

of steel reinforcement is the
Carbon
Dioxides most common case of concrete
deterioration.
Chemical Deterioration - Sulphate Attack

 The presence of sulphates may affect concrete.

 These solutions attack CH to produce gypsum. Later,

gypsum and calcium alumina sulfates together with
water react to form “ettringite”.

 Formation of ettringite in hardened cement paste or

concrete leads to volume expansion thus cracking.
Eventually the formation of concrete into a mushy or
non-cohesive mass.
 Reactions
Sodium sulfate attack:
• the formation of sodium hydroxide as a byproduct of the reaction ensures
the continuation of high alkalinity in the system, which is essential for the
stability of the cementitious material C-S-H.
Na2SO4 +Ca(OH) 2 +2H2O CaSO4.2H2O + 2NaOH

Magnesium sulfate attack

•conversion of calcium hydroxide to gypsum is accompanied by the simultaneous

formation of relatively insoluble magnesium hydroxide.
• In the absence of hydroxyl ions, C-S-H is no longer stable and is also attacked by the
sulfate solution. The magnesium sulfate attack is more severe on concrete.

MgSO4 +Ca(OH) 2 +2H2O CaSO4.2H2O + Mg(OH) 2

3 MgSO4 + 3CaO .2SiO2 .3H2O + 8 H2O 3 CaSO4.2H2O + 3 Mg(OH) 2 + 2SiO2.H2O
 When concrete cracks, its permeability increases and the
aggressive water penetrates more easily into the interior, thus
accelerate the process of deterioration.

 Sometimes, the expansion of concrete causes serious structural

problems.

 Sulphate attack can also take the form of a progressive loss of

strength and loss of mass due to loss of cohesiveness in the
cement hydration products.

 Moreover, Magnesium sulfate may lead to the decomposition

of the C-S-H gel.

• Most soils contain some
sulfates in the form of
gypsum (0.01-0.05%
expressed as SO4)
• This amount is harmless to
concrete.
• Higher concentrations of
sulfates in groundwater are
generally due to the
presence of magnesium and
alkali sulphate.
Soils
• Decay of organic matter in
marshes, shallow lakes,
mining pits and sewer pipes
often leads to the formation
of sulphur (H2S to H2SO4),
which can be transformed
into sulfuric acid by bacterial
action.
• Thus, it is not uncommon to
Decomposition find deleterious
of organic
concentrations of sulfates in
natural and industrial waters.
• Result in leaching of CH and
expansion
Sulphate Attack
Seawater
Decomposition
of organic
 • Seawater contains some amount of Na
and Mg Sulfates.

• However, these sulfates do not cause

severe deleterious expansion/cracking
because both gypsum and ettringite
are soluble in solutions containing the
Decomposition Cl ion.
of organic
• However, problem with seawater is
the frequent wetting/drying and
corrosion of reinforcing steel in
concrete.

Sulphate Attack

Soils Seawater
White crystals of
gypsum Cracking Spalling
Yellowish-brown
Sulphate Resistance

To reduce the sulfate attack

 Use low w/c ratio→ reduced permeability & porosity

 Use proper cement → reduced C3A and C3S

 Use pozzolans → they use up some of the CH to produce

C-S-H
 Corrosion
Damage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Tw245g6aE
Reasons of Corrosion

The two most common causes of reinforcement corrosion

are
(i) localized breakdown of the passive film on the steel by
chloride ions and
(ii) general breakdown of passivity by neutralization of the
concrete, predominantly by reaction with atmospheric
carbon dioxide.
 Factors contributing to Corrosion

• Loss of Alkanity due to Carbonation

• Loss of Alkanity due to Chlorides
• Cracks due to Mechanical Loading
• Corrosion of steel reinforcement due to
atmospheric pollution
• Moisture Pathways
• Water-Cement Ratio (Porosity of concrete)
• Low Concrete Tensile Strength
• Insufficient concrete cover
 Durability and Cover
• Durability requirements are to ensure that a structure has satisfactory
durability and serviceability performance under normal circumstances
throughout its lifetime.

• EC2 recommends simple rules concerning the concrete mix and cover
to reinforcement, minimum member dimension, and limits to
reinforcement quantities and spacing which must be taken in to
account at the member sizing and reinforcement detailing stage.

• The cover is the distance between the surface of the reinforcement

closest to the nearest concrete surface. It is for:

the protection of the steel against corrosion;

the safe transmission of bond forces;
an adequate fire resistance.
EXPOSURE CLASSES influence by the DETERIORATION MECHANISMS

Consist of 18 exposure classes which

- Corrosion of reinforcement due to Carbonation (XC) or

chlorides from De-icing agents, industrial wastes, pools (XD)
or Sea water (XS)

- Deterioration of concrete due to Freeze/thaw action (XF) or

chemical Attack (XA)
Exposure classes in EN206-1 referred to in EN1992-1
1) Loss of Alkanity due to Carbonation

It is well known that if bright steel is left

unprotected in the atmosphere a brown
oxide rust quickly forms and will continue
to grow until a scale flakes from the surface.
This corrosion process will continue unless
some external means is provided to prevent
it.
Concrete is permeable and allows the slow ingress of the
atmosphere; the acidic gases react with the alkalis (usually
Ca(OH)2, NaOH, and KOH), neutralising them by forming
carbonates and sulphates, and at the same time reducing
the pH value.

If the carbonation reach to the concrete reinforcement

interface, protection is lost.

The extent of the advance of the carbonation depends on:

 the porosity and permeability of the concrete and
 on the conditions of the exposure.
One method is to surround
the steel with an alkaline
environment having a pH
value within the range 9.5 to
13. At this pH value a passive
film forms on the steel that However, alkalinity can be lost as
reduces the rate of corrosion a result of:
to a very low and harmless (a) Reaction with acidic gases
value. (such as carbon dioxide) in the
Thus, concrete cover provides atmosphere.
chemical as well as physical (b) Leaching of Ca(OH)2 by
protection to the steel. water from the surface.
In the case of carbonation, atmospheric
carbon dioxide (CO2) reacts with pore
water alkali according to the Formation of
generalized reaction, calcium
carbonate

Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O

It consumes alkalinity and reduces pore
water pH to the 8–9 range, where steel
is no longer passive.
 Carbonation

 Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O

 Accompanied by shrinkage → carbonation

shrinkage

 Makes the steel vulnerable to corrosion (due to

reduced alkalinity)
 2) Loss of Alkanity due to Chlorides

The chloride ion can locally de-passivate the

metal and promote active metal dissolution.

Chlorides react with the calcium aluminate and

calcium aluminoferrite in the concrete to form
insoluble calcium chloroaluminates and calcium
chloroferrites in which the chloride is bound in
non-active form;

however, the reaction is never complete and

some active soluble chloride always remains in
equilibrium in the liquid phase in the concrete.

It is this chloride in solution that is free to

promote corrosion of the steel.

At low levels of chloride in the aqueous phase,

the rate of corrosion is very small, but higher
concentration increases the risks of corrosion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX2FdjV4eOY