Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Cement and Concrete Composites

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/cemconcomp

A review on the deterioration and approaches to enhance the durability of

concrete in the marine environment
Yong Yi a, Deju Zhu a, b, *, Shuaicheng Guo a, b, Zuhua Zhang a, b, Caijun Shi a, b
a
Key Laboratory for Green & Advanced Civil Engineering Materials and Application Technology of Hunan Province, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University,
Changsha, 410082, PR China
b
International Science Innovation Collaboration Base for Green & Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, PR
China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper presents a review of the deterioration of concrete under seawater attack with particular interests in
Concrete field exposure. The research reported in the literature has shown that salinity of seawater in different areas varies
Marine environment considerably but the type of ions and their proportion are similar. Because of this variation, laboratory studies
Deterioration
should use specific artificial seawater to simulate on field environments. The phase changes induced by chloride,
Durability
Chloride penetration
magnesium and sulfate ions contained in seawater are reviewed. The interaction between hydrates and chloride
Supplementary cementitious materials ion can lead to the formation Friedel’s and Kuzel’s salts. Magnesium ion can replace the calcium in Portlandite,
and lowers the alkalinity of pore solution and eventually destabilizes C-S-H gel. The expansive ettringite is
inhibited at the presence of chloride ions. At the tidal zone, the phase change mainly occurs on the surface of
concrete, which weakens the structure and leads to spalling and delamination under the physical attack of the
wave. Based on the existing deterioration mechanisms, the protocols to enhance the durability performance of
marine concrete are also reviewed, such as using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to mitigate rate
of chloride penetration and, more promisingly, to use alternative binder systems. This paper also proposes a
concept of designing a more durable concrete cover system by enhancing the chemical stability of cement hy­
drates, rapid self-healing and intelligent alkalinity control.

1. Introduction
The actual life of marine concrete structures is usually much shorter
than the designed service time due to various attacks from seawater [1].
Chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion is regarded as the primary
durability issues [2–5]. Although corrosion resistant reinforcements
including stainless steel [6] and fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) [7]
have been proposed, the carbon steel is still irreplaceable currently in
field construction due to the practical advantages of low cost, easy field
processing, versatile mechanical performances, etc. In reinforced con­
crete (RC) system, steel reinforcements are chemically protected by
alkaline concrete pore solution and physically protected by the barrier
effect of the dense concrete materials, which can inhibit the access of
aggressive species. That means the resistance of concrete to seawater
attack is decisive to service time of RC structure in the marine
environment.
However, the durability and actual service life of concrete are
affected by improper selection mixture materials or inadequate quality
control during construction. Costa and Appleton [2] studied three dorks
and four wharves in Portugal, and found that the steel bars in the deck of
the wharves were seriously rusted (some of them completely lost their
net cross-section and the concrete cover of these dorks were massively
spalled after 30 years. Dousti et al. [5] examined a 40-year-old RC jetty
structure in Persian Gulf region with extensive delamination of concrete
and corrosion of reinforcements, and confirmed that the structure was
designed and built under insufficient qualitative specifications under the
exposed conditions.
It is essential to protect steel reinforcement from corrosion through
strict concrete design. Since all aggressive ions penetrate through pore
structure, the permeability of concrete is important for durability [8].
Well appreciated answers based on conventional wisdom are to make
concrete dense, impermeable and water-repellent by lowering the water

* Corresponding author.Key Laboratory for Green & Advanced Civil Engineering Materials and Application Technology of Hunan Province, College of Civil En­
gineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, PR China.
E-mail address: dzhu@hnu.edu.cn (D. Zhu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103695
Received 25 October 2019; Received in revised form 19 May 2020; Accepted 26 May 2020
Available online 30 May 2020
0958-9465/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Yi et al. Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695

to cement ratio, using better aggregate grading, and increasing thickness

of concrete cover [9,10]. However, some inconsistencies of field studies
challenged these plausible practices. Burkowsky and Englot [11] re­
ported that the durability performances of road bridges in New York and
New Jersey were different, even they had similar mixture design and
construction methods. Melchers and Li [12] also reported some coun­
terintuitive performances of 1000 identical balustrades in durability
exposed to the same aggressive marine environment of the North Sea at
Arbroath. Most of those balustrades built in 1943, which should be
labeled as poor quality (insufficient concrete cover of 25 mm, various
aggregate grading and full of seashells), however, kept excellent status
for more than 60 years. In contrast, the subsequently balustrades con­
structed in 1968 and 1993 with better workmanship showed serious
corrosion and apparent longitudinal concrete cracking [13]. A further
analysis by Melchers and Pape [14] indicated that the type of aggregate
and binder composition influenced the initiation of corrosion. All the
above-mentioned indicates that the long-term durability of RC structure
depends on many factors, such as the texture of the components and the
compactness of concrete.
The seawater will chemically interact with the cementitious mate­
rials and deteriorate the concrete exposed in the marine environment.
This study firstly aims to summarize the current understandings of
durability performance and the deterioration mechanism of concrete Fig. 1. The elemental proportion of seawater from different areas.
infrastructure in the marine environment. It will identify and discuss the
knowledge gap based on the comparison between results published in
enclosed condition near the Persian Gulf lead to a higher concentration
different references. The future research needed to enhance the dura­
of salts than those in other areas. On the other hand, the salinity in the
bility performance of the concrete in the marine environment will be
Baltic Sea, surrounded by Scandinavia peninsula and continental
pointed out based on this review. The outcome of this study can serve as
Europe, is extremely low due to the temperate maritime climate (rainy,
a solid base for the future investigation on the durability performance of
foggy, cloudy and low temperature). Despites the variance on salt con­
concrete in the marine environment and relevant durability-enhancing
centration, the main constituents are almost identical for the seawater
techniques.
around the world. ASTM D1148 [32] specifies similar types and pro­
portions of ions to produce synthetic seawater. However, the study by
2. Seawater and potential attacks
Lindvall [33] mentioned that the salinity of the artificial seawater,
rather than temperature, is actually the main factor influencing the
2.1. Composition of seawater
chloride ingress during laboratory exposure test, as shown in Fig. 2. The
experimental results (two strength grades concrete) of Kaushik and
The main compositions of seawater in different marine areas are
Islam [34] also supported that increasing the salinity of normal artificial
listed in Table 1 [15–31] and the relative concentration of each major
seawater (1 N) by 5 and 10 times (5 N and 10 N) enhanced the loss of
type of ions in total salt was presented in Fig. 1. The salinity of seawater
compressive strength and the chloride penetration (Fig. 2). Thus, the
from these areas varies greatly due to the difference in local climatic and
salinity of the simulated seawater must be adjusted in order to more
geographic conditions. For instance, the subtropical steppe climate
precisely represent the natural conditions during indoor exposure tests.
(characterized by drought, strong daylight intensity and heat) and

Table 1 2.2. Chemical interactions between concrete and seawater

Concentrations of the main ions in the sea water.
Conc.[mg/l] Cl Naþ Mg2þ SO2- Ca2þ Kþ CO2- The chloride-bearing environment is expected to promote the for­
4 3
mation of Friedel’s salt (3CaO⋅Al2O3⋅CaCl2⋅10H2O) [35,36] and/or
UAE [15] 26000 15000 2300 3699 500 520 –
Bandar-Abbas [16] 23400 12600 1600 3300 480 470 –
Kuzel’s salt (3CaO⋅Al2O3⋅0.5CaCl2⋅0.5CaSO4⋅10H2O) [37] in concrete
Red sea [17] 22660 11350 1867 3051 531 1350 150 through dissolution and precipitation and ionic exchange. The presence
Kish island [18] 22330 11400 1600 3069 450 397 – of Friedel’s salt in concrete is often reported in frost environment where
Diterranean [19] 21500 12000 1500 2901 450 400 130 deicing salt was frequently used [38,39]. The chemical interactions can
ondheim Fjord 21100 10990 1330 2670 430 380 140
be more complicated due to the various ions as shown in Table 1. Ahmed
[20]
Barcelona [21] 20800 11640 1360 2820 490 420 – et al. [40] analyzed the concrete samples collected at seashore in the
Melbourne [22] 20700 11940 1430 3420 – 622 – north coast of the Mediterranean Sea and found the existence of crys­
Yellow Sea [23] 19630 10780 1297 2700 408 388 140 talline Friedel’s salt with shape of hexagonal-plate. However, the studies
Andhra Pradesh 19290 10710 1300 2649 420 390 – of Weerdt et al. [20,41] indicated that Friedel’s salt and Kuzel’s salt
[24]
Atlantic [25] 19000 10500 1350 2670 400 380 140
tends to coexist and the former mainly belong to amorphous state as its
Shoeburyness [26] 18200 9740 1200 2601 490 400 – existence could not be identified through XRD but only indirectly
Malacca Straits 17319 2202 1055 1098 285 375 – deduced by element analysis through EDS. The presence of other ions in
[27] seawater e.g. Mg2þ and SO24 can suppresses the formation of Friedel’s
Yokosuka [28] 17087 9920 1167 2379 356 346 110
salt, which is confirmed by analyzing hydration products in cement
North Sea [29] 16550 12200 1110 2220 430 500 –
Marmara Sea [30] 14390 8100 1500 2034 371 500 180 paste interacted with seawater and NaCl solution respectively [20,42].
Black Sea [30] 9500 4900 640 1362 236 230 215 Because of this mechanism, calcium chloroaluminate tends to form in
Baltic Sea [31] 3000 1800 240 1230 98 67 – the interior layer of concrete (beyond the penetration depth of external
ASTM D1141-98 19845 11024 1314 2766 418 397 145 Mg2þ and SO24 but available to Cl ) instead of the surface layer.
[32]
Another possible chloride-related reaction is the formation of the

2
Y. Yi et al.
Fig. 2. Influence of the salinity of seawater on concrete deterioration (laboratory exposure), (a) [33], (b)–(c) [34].
expansive calcium oxychloride (CaCl2⋅3Ca(OH)2⋅12H2O) [43], which
can seriously crack concrete due the expansion pressure [44,45]. The
calcium oxychloride is mostly found in laboratory test as its formation
requires both high concentration of calcium and chloride ions, which is
usually unachievable in nature [46]. Meanwhile, Peterson et al. [47]
assumed that the calcium oxychloride can easily decompose under
natural environment and translate into ubiquitous secondary phase,
which consequently make it undetectable in field concrete and prevent
researchers to link its formation to the deterioration. Some seawater in
the coastal areas with high evaporation (Fig. 3), such as the Persian Gulf
as reported in Ref. [48], might have high concentrations of Ca2þand Cl ,
but it is still difficult to confirm the existence of calcium oxychloride in
field.
The magnesium ion in sea water can react with the calcium hy­
droxide in concrete and precipitate as brucite [49], which lowers the
alkalinity of pore solution and eventually destabilizes the C-S-H [50].
The decalcified C-S-H would part or completely translate into
non-cementitious magnesium-silicate-hydrate (M-S-H) [51,52]. Cole
confirmed the existence of crystalline M–S–H in the finely divide soft
white deposit from an intensively deteriorated concrete sea-wall and
determined its composition as 3 Mg(OH)2⋅MgSiO3⋅5.5H2O from the XRD
and thermogravimetric analysis [53]. The laboratory test results of
Weerdt and Justnes indicated that brucite and M-S-H coexist in cement
paste under seawater attack and the latter has constant Al/Mg ratio of
about 0.2 and Si/Mg ratio of about 1, respectively [54]. Ragab et al. [40]
reported that the morphology of brucite and M-S-H are small rosette
shaped crystals and fiber shape respectively. In the laboratory tests,
brucite tends to form a thin layer on the concrete surface [49,55].
Fig. 3. Crystallization of chloride salts on concrete surface in splash zone [48].
3
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
However, the field study showed that the presence of brucite can was
mainly observed within the calcite crust and only detectable in cracks in
very few specimens [41]. Meanwhile, the M-S-H was observed in most of
the investigated specimens except for several concretes with intact
calcite crust [41]. These results indicate that brucite, more often than
not, coexists with calcite deposits rather than M-S-H in real marine
environment. Sibbick et al. [55] also found similar phenomenon by
surveying the deterioration mechanism of concrete steps in Solva,
Pembrokeshire. Brucite was observed in three out of seven specimens
collected from different parts of the step structure and its coexistence
with carbonate deposits was confirmed in cracks, while M-S-H can be
found in the three out of the four remained samples. Also phase change
caused by magnesium ions in seawater is restricted to the surface due to
its limited penetration ability of the concrete regardless of the quality
[41,56].
The existence of sulfate ions can lead to notorious sulfate attack due
to the formation of expansive ettringite (3CaO⋅Al2O3⋅3CaSO4⋅32H2O)
and gypsum (CaSO4⋅2H2O), resulting in expansion pressure and
cracking of concrete. The presence of ettringite and gypsum can be
identified both in lab-tested [54] and field-exposure [42] conditions, but
the amount of the latter is negligible due to the low concentration of
sulfate ion in seawater. Furthermore, the ettringite normally does not
lead to serious sulfate attack in concrete exposed to seawater. Santha­
nam et al. [55] compared the damage degree of concrete immersed in
groundwater and seawater, which had the same concentration of SO3,
and found that the samples in seawater had much less reduction of
compressive strength and expansion compared the samples exposed to
ground water after 32 weeks. Similarly, Jakobsen et al. reported that
sulfate ions in seawater mainly lead to sulfur enrichment instead of
sulfate attack in concrete [41]. There is no crack or spalling found in the
sulfur-rich zone of the concrete. This phenomenon can be caused by the
abundant chloride ion in seawater, which can enhance the dissolution of
ettringite and suppress its formation. Corner and Rippstain [57] re­
ported that the solubility of ettringite in chloride solution was three
times greater than that in water. Furthermore, Ogawa and Roy [58]
found that the chloride-containing solution can lower the decomposition
temperature of the ettringite. Besides that, aluminate hydrate phases can
be consumed by formation of Friedel’s salt and/or Kuzel’s salt, which
react competitively ettringite [59,60]. The research of Santhanam et al.
indicated that less ettringite was formed in concrete soaked in seawater
indeed [55]. The less expansive ettringite can then lead to less expansive
pressure and reduced deterioration. Another sulfate-induced phase
change is the formation of thaumasite. In presence of soluble carbonate
and reactive silicate, thaumasite (CaSiO3⋅CaCO3⋅CaSO4⋅15H2O) can be
formed at low temperatures, disintegrating the microstructure and
inducing scaling of concrete [61]. When carbonate aggregates are used,
such as limestone and shell fragments, it tends to form this salt [56].
Y. Yi et al. Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695

Thaumasite formed under seawater attack normally own needle-like

structure, i.e. tangled needle shape fibers with size around 5 μm [40,
56]. Due to the difference on penetration ability, the sulfate-rich zone is
restricted to the outer layer of the concrete but slightly deeper than the
magnesium-rich zone [20,41].
Carbonation of marine concrete includes the formation of calcite
with the consumption of Ca(OH)2 and transformation of C-S-H to calcite
and amorphous silica [62], accompanied by the drop of alkalinity. The
low-pH pore solution increases the solubility of Friedel’s salt and ac­
celerates the release of chloride ions [63]. This mechanism can explain
the absence of Friedel’s salt in the surface layer of marine concrete.
Wang et al. [64] found that the carbonation of chloride-contaminated
concrete resulted in inward transport of chlorides. Sadati et al. [65]
reported that bound chloride ions in Friedel’s salt can be released into
pore solution due to the carbonation effect based on the analysis of the
free and total chloride ion concentration. The degree of carbonation of
marine concrete structure is time and location dependent. Castro et al.
[66] checked found that carbonation depth tended to increase with the
height of location by investigating columns of 10 onshore buildings,
Fig. 5. The main attack of concrete exposed to marine environment.
which could reach the location of steel reinforcements (40 mm) for
concrete with the highest location after 25 years exposure. Prachasaree
usually only suffers from the chemical attack and salt weathering,
et al. [67] assessed 80 concrete bridges with ages more than 20 years in
respectively. To be specific, reaction products of magnesium ions, sul­
Thailand and reported that although these bridges were in poor condi­
fate and carbonation (brucite, ettringite, calcite, etc) can fill the voids
tions (cracking and spalling), the carbonation was limited to the surface
and cracks and prevent further ingression of the aggressive ions.
(8–15 mm). Bayuaji et al. [68] also reported that no carbonation was
Consequently, the development of this attack is slow in the submerged
observed in the canal of a power plant after 20-year exposure to the
zone. However, in the tidal zone, the continual splash can wash out these
marine environment. In general, the carbonated part mainly locates at
deposits and make the inner intact part repeatedly suffer from a
top of concrete cover due to the high humidity of the seaside environ­
seawater attack, which leads to the gradual loss of the concrete mass.
ment (more saturated pores). The conceptual illustration of phase
That is to say any one of the attacks on concrete tends to pave the way
changes in concrete induced by seawater is presented in Fig. 4.
for further action by other attacks to increasingly amplify the degree of
deterioration difference among each zone. This feature has been
2.3. Deterioration of marine concrete structures confirmed by the inspection of many marine structures in service. Song
et al. investigated 18, 22 and 14 wharves in the south, southeast and
The aggressive ions in seawater coupled with the environmental north China respectively and summarized that members in the splash
conditions can induce a series of chemical and physical deterioration to zone tends to present the most severe corrosion [69]. Costa and
the coastal and offshore concrete structures. The identified deterioration Appleton [2] reported the wharves subjected to splash and spray pre­
mechanisms include crystallization of salt, later formation of expansive sented much more spalling and delamination of concrete than the part
phases, and decomposition of bulk hydrates in cement, abrasion, etc. below exposed to the tidal zone. Sibbick et al. [56] observed that most of
Furthermore, the degradation in concrete can also be location-based. As the mortar samples collected from the intertidal zone suffered from
illustrated in Fig. 5, for the tidal zone, impacts involve not only chemical cracking while these taken from above this area showed no sign of
attacks of seawater but also physical attack including freezing and degradation. On the other hand, the change of local microclimatic
thawing cycles, wetting and drying cycles and impact from the wave. In conditions could also induce different levels of deterioration. Loreto
contrast, concrete completely submerged in seawater and in atmosphere

Fig. 4. Phase change induced by seawater attack [41].

4
Y. Yi et al.
et al. [70] inspected the Geiger bridge in situ and found that beams and
girders located on the southern area of the bridge deteriorated appar­
ently more than their counterparts on the northern side. Costa and
Appleton [2] reported the northern wall of one deck of presented higher
level deterioration than that on the east and west walls because the
sunshine duration there is longer than the other two walls. As mentioned
above, the salinity of the seawater increases with the exposure tem­
perature. Besides that, the diffusion coefficient can also be enhanced
with higher temperature. Normally, the chemical interaction between
the seawater and cementitious materials will also be accelerated with
enhanced temperature. Hence it can be concluded the deterioration by
the sea water will be accelerated with higher exposure temperature.
Lindvall [33] found that the apparent surface chloride content decreased
while the chloride diffusion coefficient increased with the increase of
field exposure temperature. It should also be noticed that the influence
from the temperature is limited due to the relative stability of the
exposure temperature in these field location (mostly ranging from 10 to
17 � C). Currently the influence of exposure temperature to the deterio­
ration of concrete in the marine environment is quite limited. Balestra
et al. [71] reported that one concrete structure exposed in the marine
atmosphere at Arvoredos Island, Guaruj� a city, Brazil, presented greater
chloride ingress in the right side of the columns than that in the left side,
as the right side directly facing the predominant sea wind. This indicates
that besides temperature, environmental effects also contribute to
variation in the availability of salt, relative humidity (RH) and conse­
quently different deterioration levels of the marine concrete structure.
The high salt concentration and content result in enhanced reactivity of
deterioration, while the high RH of surrounding leads to more free water
in pores of the concrete, facilitating the penetration of external ions and
chemical actions between ions and solid phases.
3. Performance of blended-cement concretes
3.1. Chloride penetration
The transport of chloride in concrete exposed to the marine envi­
ronment can be affected by both the intrinsic performance of concrete
and the exposure condition. Furthermore, the performance of concrete is
governed by its mix design and curing condition. Reducing water to
binder ratio, incorporating pozzolanic materials and prolonging curing
duration can all densify microstructure and improve the chloride-
binding capacity to mitigate chloride penetration. Moreover, the
various vicinity to seawater of each exposure zone results in different
availability of chloride ions and environmental conditions (RH and
temperature). Normally, less chloride source, lower RH and temperature
lead to less chloride ingress. To evaluate the resistance to chloride
penetration for concrete in marine environment, the chloride content in
concrete (water-soluble or acid-soluble) is normally determined at a
function of depth. The parallel experiments would also be performed to
study the influence of concrete mixture design on its resistance to
chloride penetration. Chalee et al. conducted the exposure tests using
concrete specimens with different water to binder ratios and fly ash
replacement levels in the Gulf of Thailand (tidal zone) for 10 years. The
field test results indicated that the lower water to binder (w/b) ratio and
higher fly ash replacement level can prohibit the penetration of chloride
[72,73] through either decrease the chloride diffusion coefficient (CDC)
of concrete or increase its chloride binding capacity [74,75], which
consequently lead to better corrosion resistance [76,77]. Because of the
improved concrete impermeability by these two methods, the required
thickness of concrete cover to postpone the onset of corrosion could be
reduced [78]. Meanwhile, further study demonstrated that ground rice
husk–bark ash also had a similar effect to fly ash [79]. By placing con­
crete with different strength grades in the tidal zone for 10 years,
Thomas and Matthews concluded that the added 30% or more of
pulverised-fuel ash significantly improve the concrete’s resistance of
penetration of chlorides [26]. According to the performance of concrete
5
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
exposed to the marine environment for 19–24 years, Moffatt et al. [80]
reported that the use of high volume of fly ash (56% or 58%) could
effectively delay the chloride ingress. Besides that, Thomas et al. justi­
fied the reliability of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) on
blocking the penetration path of chloride ion in normal concrete [81]
and lightweight concrete [82] through in situ exposure test for 25 years.
A 30-year marine exposure test reported by Mohammed et al. proved
that incorporating slag in cement can significantly depress chloride
ingress and mitigate corrosion of steel bar [83]. Furthermore, the
improvement with adding GGBS was found to be more effective than
reducing w/b. Besides, the results of another 15-year test showed that
with a similar amount of replacement level, GGBA seems more effective
than fly ash [84]. These results were also supported by another 18-year
exposure tests supported this conclusion as well, i.e. concrete cubes
containing 40% GGBS showed slightly better resistance to chloride
penetration than these with 30% fly ash despite the higher w/b of the
former (0.44) than the latter (0.39) [85].
Besides utilizing a single pozzolanic material, the application of
ternary SCMs to enhance resistance to chloride penetration has also been
conducted. The further study by Thomas and Moffatt through long term
exposure tests supported that the combination of a small amount of
silica fume and fly ash [86] could both effectively delay the penetration
of chloride. Zhang et al. [87] found that concrete specimens containing
15% of fly ash and 5% silica fume performed better against chloride
ingress than these only with 5% silica fume or 20% fly ash, especially for
long-term performance. The chloride profile obtained from concrete
submerged in seawater for 16 years illustrates that different concretes
beams containing 92% Portland cement þ8%silica fume, 67% Portland
cementþ29% slagþ4%silica fume, 77% Portland cement þ19%fly
ashþ4% silica fume respectively has a comparable level of chloride
ingress [88].
For other less commonly used pozzolanic materials, there only exist
data from situ marine or simulated exposure experiments with relatively
short exposure time to evaluate their influence on chloride resistance.
Bai et al. [89] put concrete cubes with a ternary binder system, Portland
cement (PC)–pulverised fuel ash (PFA)–metakaolin (MK) in seawater 18
months. The results indicated that the increased replacement level of
cement and enhanced proportion of MK in the binder can both greatly
enhance the resistance to chloride penetration. By analyzing reinforced
concrete prisms exposed in the real marine environment for 3 years,
Binici et al. [90] stated that the combination of ground basaltic pumice
(GBP) and GGBS owned a synergic effect on slowing down the chloride
penetration and corrosion of steel bars, outperforming their counterpart
incorporating with only GGBS or GBP. After 50-month exposure to
marine tidal conditions, Tadayon et al. [91] found that concrete with
10% of natural zeolite has similar effects on reducing chloride ingress
compared to the concrete samples with 5% metakaolin and 5% silica
fume respectively.
In general, as is shown in Fig. 6, the chloride content in PC-conrete
(solid points) is higher than in SCM-concrete (semi-solid points), i.e.
using pozzolanic materials can reduce the penetration of chloride to a
certain extent depending on the type and amount of SCMs. This is more
apparent in the inner layer of the concrete and with the extended
exposure time. However, the knowledge gap still exists on the effect of
ternary SCMs. For example, the use of silica fume, one of the most active
pozzolanic materials, has been demonstrated effective to densify the
microstructure of concrete and reduce chloride ingress [92], but it also
reported to be inferior to its less active counterparts, fly ash and slag
against corrosion of rebar [93]. It was observed in some cases that
concrete containing SCMs tends to have clearer convection zone (skin
effect) after long term exposure [82,82,83,88] which is characterized by
increasing or flat chloride profile against concrete depth in the surface
layer. The formation of this zone is the combined action of capillary
suction, convection and diffusion [94], and the depth of convection zone
is time-dependent, ranging from several millimeters (exposed for less
than 5 years) [87,89,91,95] to more than ten or 20 mm (exposed for
Y. Yi et al.
Fig. 6. Chloride profile of PC concrete with PC-SCM concrete with different exposure time.
more than 20 years) [80,82,83,96]. The type and amount of SCMs seem
to affect the feature of the convection zone. The results reported by
Zhang et al. [87] indicated that concrete with 5% silica fume showed a
flatter chloride profile in convection zone than these with 15% of fly
ashþ5% silica fume and with 20% fly ash. This phenomenon was also
reported by Tadayon et al., [82] (50 months tidal exposure test, concrete
containing 5% silica fume) and Farahani et al. [95] (60 months tidal
exposure test, concrete containing 5% silica fume). These convection
zone depth of chloride from term exposure tests indicated that it cannot
be ignored for the prediction of long term chloride profile. However, the
Fick’s second law solution, which is the common chloride profiles
modeling principle, fails to anticipate the convection zone. More
advanced models considering both convection zone and diffusion zone
should be proposed and verified in the future.
3.2. Strength loss
Table 2 summarized the compressive strength of different concrete
before and after exposure tests [26,79,81,83,84,86,89,90,97–104]. To
obtain a general impression on the effect of different mineral admix­
tures, the results were summarized based on binder composition as
depicted in Fig. 7. The strength ratios for the PC-concrete before and
after the exposure tests were in the range of 0.6–1.87, which is most
scattered among all type samples and may indicate that it is more sen­
sitive to seawater attack. Replacing cement with mineral admixtures
seems to increase the strength retention of concrete in the marine
environment. Specifically, the samples with GGBS is found to be more
effective than the fly ash modified specimens. This superiority of slag is
consistent with the phenomenon observed in term of resistance to
chloride penetration. The use of silica fume (SF), coupled pozzolanic
materials (CPM) and other natural pozzolanic materials (NPM) shows
some advantages as well. However, it is far from conclusive because the
available sample data is insufficient and some of these data mainly based
on relatively short time tests (less than 3 years). Besides, the difference
in concrete quality, exposure conditions and time, and environmental
fluctuation, etc. reduces the comparability among the published results
by different researchers and consequently confounded the conclusion.
6
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
The FCS/ICS ratio supported that using the 28-day strength as the
designed strength for marine concrete structure is reliable in most cases.
To more accurately assess the durability, more investigation about
strength development with the extension of exposure age should be
conducted. The turning point when the strength of concrete begin to
continuously decrease is important because it suggests that the negative
effects of seawater attack start to overtake the positive effects of
continued hydration of cement matrix, and secondary pozzolanic re­
actions of mineral admixtures. Ganjian and Pouya [18,104] reported
that the added silica fume (7–10%) and slag (50%) in concrete could
lead to more loss of compressive strength under seawater attack, which
can be caused by the magnesium ions in seawater. Similarly, Moon et al.
[105] and Lee et al. [106] also reported that Mg2þ oriented attack could
cause severer strength degradation of mortar with silica fume. During
the pozzolanic reaction, the silica fume consumes calcium hydroxide to
form extra C-S-H with a low Ca/Si ratio and allows the magnesium to
more easily attack the C–S–H, leading to the gradual transition of
cementious C-S-H to weak M–S–H phase. The concentration of magne­
sium ions in seawater is relatively low, but their decalcification effect
can be enhanced by coupling effects from some marine environmental
factors, including high exposure temperature and wetting and drying
cycles. To further specify the role of magnesium ions on the deteriora­
tion of different blended concrete exposed at the various marine envi­
ronments, this study recommends the utilization of parallel simulated
exposure tests and artificial seawater with/without magnesium ions.
3.3. Disadvantages on the application of SCMs
Despite the advantages of incorporating SCMs on improving the
durability of marine structures, some disadvantages also exist. The first
drawback is the decrease of chloride threshold (CT) due to reduced
alkalinity of pore solution, which is defined as the acceptable chloride
level for the protection of reinforcing steel. The better performance of
concrete containing SCMs against seawater attack is their positive effect
on the refinement of pore structure and/or increased chloride binding
capacity by reaction with Portlandite to form extra C-S-H. However, the
consumption of Portlandite also reduces the alkalinity and replacing
 Y. Yi et al.
Table 2
Compressive strength of different blended concretes before and after marine exposure.
[Ref] w/b Binder ICS(MPa) FCS(MPa) FCS/ICS Exposure [Ref] w/b binder ICS(MPa) FCS(MPa) FCS/ICS Exposure

[26] 0.32-0.68 PC 32.5–50.0 22.7–52.5 0.70-1.05 10 years tidal [97] 0.42,0.54,0.67 PC 27–51 34–69 0.67-1.60 2.33 years tidal
PCþ15–50% PFA 33.0–53.0 32.1–68.2 0.97-1.64 PCþ25–50% FA 33–40 28–61 0.70-1.53
[79] 0.45,0.65 PC 30.9–45.1 29.5–44.5 0.96-0.99 5 years tidal [98] 0.32 PC 33.8 34.7 1.02 1 year submerged
PCþ15–50% GRBA 28.6–42.9 29.1–46.3 1.02-1.10 PCþ20% MK/SF/ 36.7–59.4 43.7–61.8 1.00–1.19
SL*
[81] 0.4/0.5/ PC 24.4–29.0 37.3–47.4 1.41-1.87 25 years tidal [99] 0.2 PC 104.5 101.3 0.97 1 year submerged
0.6 PCþ25–65% SL 19.8–30.5 32.3–43.4 1.27-1.66 PCþ10–40% FA/SL/ 66.0–85.6 87–107.2 1.02-1.62
SF/LP
[83] 0.52 PC 36.6 47.5 1.30 30 years [100] 0.55 PC 32.2 28.8–35.5 0.89-1.10 10 years
PCþ30–60% SL 38.0 46.3 1.22 submerged PCþ25–50% FA 31.5–31.8 24.8–37.3. 0.78-1.17 Atmospheric/
submerged/splash
[84] 0.45 PC 37.6 45.9 1.22 15 years tidal [101] 0.4 PC 29.0 30.5 1.05 1 year submerged
7

PCþ5–70% SL 29.8–38.3 37.5–42.1 1.10-1.26 PCþ10–30% GP 22.1–27.1 27.4–33.9 1.24-1.25

PCþ10–20% FA 46.6 37.4 0.80
[86] 0.4,0.5,0.6 PC 34.8–46.2 44.0–54.6 1.18-1.26 24–25 years [102] 0.4 PC 28.8 30.6 1.06 1 year submerged
PCþ6.4% SFþ13.6% FA 47.2–54.6 47.1–58.2 1.00–1.12 tidal PCþ10–30% FA 23.4–27.1 27.8–34.3 1.19-1.27
[89] 0.5 PC 56.2 60.8 1.08 1.5 years [103] 0.33,0.36 PC 38.5–42.3 55.8–59.7 1.41-1.44 1 year submerged
PCþ2.5–10% 48.1–71.0 63.8–77.0 1.08-1.43 submerged PCþ45% SL 35.4–42.3 54.1–56.3 1.33-1.53
MKþ5–30% PFA
[90] 0.21-0.45 PC 42.2 25.2 0.60 3 years [104] 0.4 PC 50.4 70.4 1.40 0.5 years tidal
PCþ20-40 % 41.3–41.9 38.5–39.9 0.93-0.96 submerged PCþ7% SF 56.8 72.0 1.27
GPBþ20–40% SL** 25.6–32.3 21.4–25.6 0.76-0.84 PCþ10% SF 71.8 76.5 1.07
PCþ40–80% GPB ** 40.5–42.3 37.1–39.2 0.88-0.95 PCþ10% SFþ50% 57.6 60.1 1.04
PCþ40–80% SL ** SL

ICS: Initial compressive strength (28days, before exposure), FCS: Final compressive strength (at the end of exposure), GRBA: ground rice husk–bark ash, SL: slag, FA: fly ash, SF: silica fume, MK: metakaolin, LP: Limestone

Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695

powder,GP: ground pumice.
GPB: ground basaltic pumice; *: addition **: replacement of sand.
Y. Yi et al. Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695

threshold value is the total chloride ion concentration of 0.4% by weight

of cement in Europe and free chloride ion concentration of 0.15% by
weight of cement in North American, which is assumed to be very
conservative. More research considering the influence of supplementary
cementitious materials on CT of concrete exposed to the marine envi­
ronment should be done to more accurately predict the corresponding
service life.
Another reported disadvantage is that the degree of surface scaling
increases with the increase of slag and fly ash replacement according to
the observation of Malhotra et al. [111] and Thomas et al. [80–82,86].
The common point of the two studies is that the concrete was exposed to
repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. The pozzolanic reaction is more
temperature-dependent than Portland cement and slows down signifi­
cantly below about 15 � C [112], which results in insufficient formation
and precipitation of new hydrates to counter the hydrolysis and loss of
existing matrix caused by seawater attack. This suggests that the prac­
tical cement replacement levels should be properly reduced in the cold
region.

Fig. 7. Compressive strength change of PC concrete and PC-SCM concrete.

4. Alternative binders

4.1. Alkali activated cementitious materials

cement also reduce the amount of Portlandite formed from cement hy­
dration, which can increase the ratio of Cl/OH and then lead to a low
The incompetence on PC-concrete’s long term performance in the
acceptable level of chloride concentration. Thomas [107] defined the
marine environment drives scientists and engineers to look for alterna­
initiation of reinforcement corrosion as steel mass loss being 0.087%.
tive cementitious materials. In essence, this is because the bulk hydra­
Based on this criterion, it is reported that the chloride threshold of
tion products of Portland cement, mainly calcium silicate hydrate and
concrete decreased from 0.7% to 0.2% with the increase of fly ash
calcium hydroxide, can be deteriorated by seawater. Therefore, it is
content from 0% to 50%. By defining chloride threshold as the free
necessary to tailor the hydrates to be less susceptible to seawater attack.
chloride ion concentration corresponding to the rusted area covered 2%
One of the possible alternative is alkali-activated materials, which also
surface of the steel bars, Cheewaket et al. reported that the chloride
known as geopolymer. Through an accelerated reinforcement corrosion
threshold of concrete with 50% fly ash (0.1%) was one third of the plain
test, Reddy et al. [113] demonstrated that geopolymer concrete pro­
concrete (0.3%). It should also be noticed that this reduction gradually
duced with the sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate co-activated fly
weakens with the increase of water to binder ratio, as is presented in
ash, presented excellent resistance to chloride attack and had much
Fig. 8 [77].
longer time against the initiation of corrosion than the reference
Chloride threshold (CT) in concrete varied widely due to the differ­
OPC-concrete (C30). Puertas et al. [114] reported that alkali activated
ence in composition and exposure condition. Furthermore, the variance
slag and fly ash mortars had high resistance to seawater attack, and also
in test methods (direct measuring the corrosion of steel bars, monitoring
presented continued decrease in porosity at least up to 90 days and
the macro-cell current between an anode and a cathode, half-cell po­
generally continued to increase (some fluctuation at early immersion
tential and polarization technique index) coupled with different defi­
age) of compressive and flexural strength at least up to 180 days.
nitions also enhanced the scatter of the CT value. The details discussing
F-Jimenez et al. [115] demonstrated that the strength development of
about the ways to extrapolate chloride threshold and factors influencing
alkali-activated fly ash cement immersed in seawater for one year is
it is beyond scope of this paper, but is available in the literatures [108,
similar to these in tap water, which implies that it is immune to seawater
109] and a newly summarized review [110]. The commonly adopted
attack. Hamdy et al. [116] reported that the compressive strength of
alkali activated slag paste constantly increased up to one year, while the
sulfate resisting cement pastes increased up to 6 months and then
decreased. Similar results were also reported by Palomo et al. [117] on
the durability analysis of alkali-activated metakaolin (AAMK), whose
flexural strength fluctuated at early time and then constantly increase
later regardless of the solution media. However, Rashad et al. [118]
stated that though the compressive strength of AAMK keep increasing in
seawater, the rate of rise is significantly depressed compared to the
reference in air. Similar results were also observed in Ref. [115,117,
119]. The leaching of alkalis into seawater is likely to responsible for
that since the corresponding specimens in deionized water also showed
comparably lower strength development. Thus, it should bearing in
mind that the hydration of alkali-activated cement is highly
alkali-dependent and initial curing is significant before exposed to the
marine environment.

4.2. Other binder systems

Zhang et al. [120] reported a silica-alumina (SA) based cementitious

material containing raw materials with different [SiO4] polymerization
degree. It is found that the compressive strength of SA-concrete was
Fig. 8. Relationship between fly content and chloride threshold [77]. more stable than the PC-concrete with the same mixing proportion

8
Y. Yi et al.
under seawater immersion-drying cycles. Besides, it also presented
lower chloride and water permeability, lower carbonation depth and
less freezing-thawing damage than the reference PC-concrete. Yang
et al. [121] studied the resistance of magnesium potassium phosphate
cement (MKPC) to seawater erosion and stated that this binder is not
durable in seawater, which compressive strength started to reduce at
180 days. The main reason is supposed to be the hydrolysis and loss of
existing MgKPO4⋅6H2O in hardened MKPC pastes. However, the pro­
longed initial curing and adding of LS and SF powders could mitigate the
strength loss and consequently improve its durability in seawater. By
testing full-scale reinforced beams through accelerated laboratory
methods, Pei et al. [122] reported magnesium ammonium phosphate
cement (MNPC) has better anticorrosion ability than MKPC and is
comparable to that of OPC. The 30-year field exposure test about the
durability of alumina cement (AC) concrete should be highlighted.
Mohammed et al. [85] reported that, AC-concrete outperformed that of
various OPC- concrete against long-term strength development, pro­
tection of steel bars and resistance to chloride ingress. Surprisingly, the
AC-concrete mixed with seawater presented better performance
compared to its counterpart mixed with fresh water. Microscopic char­
acterization indicated that the microstructure of the concrete is very
dense even after 30-year exposure. All of these imply that the hydration
of alumina cement is improved by seawater and the related bulk hy­
drates were impervious to seawater attack.
5. Techniques and approaches to enhance durability
Besides tailoring the microstructure of concrete to prevent or retard
the ingress of deleterious ions, chemical admixture and surface coating
have also been tried by some researchers to enhance the durability of
concrete exposed to seawater.
5.1. Surface coating
Rodrigues et al. [123] evaluated the effect of seven acrylic coating
materials on decreasing water and chloride permeability through a
2-year exposure test in the marine environment, founding that the
methacrylate was more effective than the acrylate to enhance the
durability of concrete. Schueremans et al. [124] used
alkyl-triethoxy-silane to enhance the hydrophobicity of the concrete
surface and investigated its short, medium and long term performance
on preventing chloride penetration after 3-, 5- and 12- year exposure
respectively, which confirmed the positive effects of this solvent-free
compound. Nanukuttan et al. [125] investigated the performance of
one chemical admixture called caltite and a silane-based surface treat­
ment method through 7-year marine exposure tests. However, both of
these two methods were not beneficial to decrease the penetration of
chloride in concrete. Dao et al. [126] studied two commercial
permeability-reducing admixture in the simulated coastal environment
for 730 days and stated that the one characterized by hydrophobic and
pore-blocking effects could retard the transport of chloride in concrete,
while the other one characterized by crystallization activity did not
work. To enhance the long-term durability of coating material under
natural offshore environmental loading, Zhang et al. [127] assessed the
feasibility of using geopolymer as coating materials. The results from the
in-situ exposure test indicated that the bonding between geopolymer
and concrete substrate is strong but the large shrinkage led to the early
crack of the geopolymer despite the use of Polypropylene (PP) fiber and
MgO-based expansion agent.
Mohammed et al. revealed that the transition interface between steel
bar and matrix is porous irrespective of the cement type and the location
of the reinforcements even after 15 years of exposure in tidal Environ­
ment [128]. Based on that, they directly coated the steel bar with
different cement instead of the external rendering on the concrete cover
layer. The results revealed that the cement coating with lower the w/c
and added pozzolanic materials created a denser interface and
9
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
significantly improved the chloride-bearing capacity before the initial
corrosion of steel bars [129]. Interestingly, according to the research of
Lv et al., the Crassostrea gigas (CG), a local dominant sessile organism in
Yellow sea, could protect concrete from water and chloride penetration
[130]. The more this plant cemented on the concrete surface would lead
to a lower ingress degree of water and chloride ion. The reason is that the
porosity of the concrete surface was reduced by the adherent cementa­
tion membrane and left valve of CG, which both have dense micro­
structure. Meanwhile, it is also reported two strains of bacteria,
Pseudoalteromonas and Paracoccus marcusii, could decelerate the
penetration of chloride and magnesium ions into the paste and the
leakage of OH out of the paste if they were abound on the surface
[131]. Chlayon et al. [132] reported that surface covering with barna­
cles and biofilm tended to reduce chloride diffusion rates and barnacle
attachments seemed not to cause surface micro-cracking. Through
5-year field exposure test, Coombes et al. [133] found that the abun­
dance of barnacles on concrete (95% cover) can reduce the surface
temperature, mitigate temperature fluctuation and chloride penetration.
Kawabata et al. [134] conducted a 10 years exposure test and found that
the covering with marine sessile organisms could generate a dense basal
membrane on the concrete surface and significantly enhance its resis­
tance to chloride penetration. It was also observed that the detached
area of marine sessile organisms can inhibit chloride penetration.
5.2. Chemical buffering
The use of corrosion inhibitor is to increase the chloride threshold
and/or decrease the rate of corrosion after the onset of corrosion
through chemical buffering. Kondratova et al. [135] reported that using
Calcium Nitrite (CNI) and combination of the amines and esters could
reduce the corrosion rate in sound and pre-cracked concrete slabs.
However, for the cracked specimens, serious corrosion in the cracked
location was still noted after one year of marine exposure, and
corrosion-induced cracking along the longitude of the steel bars
occurred after only three years of exposure. A further factorial experi­
mental revealed that CNI alone is unable to retard the corrosion for both
the sound concrete with high w/b (0.45) and the pre-cracked [136].
Other studies also indicates that the corrosion of the steel bar was
aggravated with the increase of the crack width [136,137]. In general,
according to the results of the natural marine exposure tests, the com­
bination of CNI plus the use of 20–40% of fly ash significantly suppresses
the corrosion in cement with low w/b ratio [138,139]. Nevertheless, in
that case, the improvement is mainly caused by reduced permeability
and diffusivity instead of the addition of CNI. Østnor and Justnes placed
concrete cylinders with embedded steel bars in the tidal zone for 4 years.
The results indicated that 3–4% calcium nitrate by weight of cement
could prevent the corrosion of rebar despite the concentration of chlo­
ride ion nearby higher than 0.1%, which is considered sufficient to
initiate corrosion [140]. Bola and Newtson [141] checked the corrosion
degree of reinforcements in five different sites in Hawaii and found that
when the dosages of calcium nitrite were high enough, 19.8–22.3 L/m3
in their research, the corrosion was significantly reduced even if the
concrete is extensively cracked by shrinkage.
6. Perspectives
6.1. Promising examples to further improve the durability
According to the solutions discussed above, it is evident that there is
still large room to improve the durability of RC in offshore areas by
adopting elaborate modification on the microstructure of matrix, the
interface between rebar and concrete, the crack-control ability of con­
crete. Normally, the stereotype of concrete with good quality is char­
acterized by its dense internal structure. However, the bulk hydrates of
conventional concrete (C-S-H and CH) in essence is vulnerable to
seawater. Consequently, the surface deterioration of the marine
Y. Yi et al.
concrete is inevitable if the chemical inertia of the bulk hydrates is not
enhanced essentially. Jackson et al. [142] reported that the structures of
ancient Roman concrete remained cohesive and intact while under
constant seawater attack for 2000 years, which is partially due to the
better chemical stability of C-A-S-H and Al-tobermorite compared to
C-S-H. Inspired by these results, the long term performance of C-A-S-H in
the marine environment should be further investigated. If this is
confirmed, the durability of concrete can be further improved by arti­
ficial promotion of the formation of C-A-S-H during hydration.
In terms of interface-tailoring, the main principle is to restrict the
growth of large crystals through lowering the w/c ratio and/or consume
them through secondary pozzolanic reactions, refining the pore struc­
ture of interfacial transition zone. The dense interface provides better
physical protection for reinforcements. Thus, deterioration induced by
the corrosion of embedded steel bars can be initially inhibited and may
only occurs after certain service years. Based on that, if a sophisticated
mechanism could automatically be triggered when the reinforcements is
in the risk of corrosion, the service life of concrete structures could be
further prolonged. Wang et al. developed a type of microcapsule whose
core and shell materials are calcium hydroxide and ethyl cellulose,
respectively. These microcapsules can precisely release OH when the
PH of the surrounding is decreasing, restoring high alkaline condition to
prevent corrosion of steel bars [143,144], as is presented in Fig. 9.
Because the release rate is accelerated at low PH levels and decelerated
at high PH levels, this kind of topochemical buffering is more efficient
than ordinary corrosion inhibitors. Currently, the applicability of this
material in concrete still needs further investigation, but the concept of
“intelligent release” is promising.
In most cases, cracks heavily deteriorate the resistance of concrete to
aggressive ions ingress. Montes et al. [136] reported that the corrosion
of steel bars in slab with 20 mm concrete cover is significantly accel­
erated because of the existence of cracks. The corrosion rate increase
obviously with the crack width. Calvo et al. [137] reported that the
crack wider than 200 μm can obviously promote the corrosion rate of
rebar covered by 45 mm concrete and the crack width decreases to 90
μm when concrete cover is reduced to 25 mm. The results of field
exposure by Otieno et al. [145] indicated that the corrosion rate of steel
bar is higher for concrete with wider initial crack. Meanwhile, the
presence of the initial crack can weaken the effectiveness of the common
methods, namely increasing the thickness of the concrete cover, incor­
porating SCMs (slag and fly ash), reducing water to binder ratio. An
ideal situation is that when the concrete is cracked, the embedded rebar
could still be protected by certain mechanism (corrosion inhibitors or
remained intact concrete layer) long enough until the finishing of
self-sealing of the crack to prevent ions permeation. It can be expected
that this can be easier to achieve with thin cracks and a high self-sealing
rate. Erşan et al. proposed an example, i.e. combining the microbe-based
self-healing cementitious composites and microbial induced corrosion
inhibition [146]. The results of 120-day exposure to 0.5 M Cl solution
Fig. 9. Re-alkali of saturated calcium hydroxide solutions (a) and mitigated stain of steel bars (b) [143].
10
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
indicated that the tested mortar with a 300-μm-wide crack presented
similar mass loss compared to that of rebar in the sound plain mortar,
which implies they have an equivalent performance of rebar protection.
6.2. Combination of existing practices
In general, the multiple chemical and physical attacks from the
marine environment, including chloride ingress, freezing-and-thawing
damage, abrasion, and chemical erosion, requires the synergistic ac­
tion of more than one of these aforementioned approaches to further
improve the longevity of RC structure. For example, spraying a thin
alkali-activated binder layer on steel bars before the casting of concrete
could lead to a dense interface locally rich in hydroxyl ion, which can
increase the chloride threshold, reduce the capillary porosity, and buffer
the deleterious topochemical reaction between chloride and the rein­
forcement. On the other hand, the hydrates of alumina cement are
proved to be durable against the long term seawater attack [85] and
fibers have been widely applied for crack-suppressing. Ramli et al. re­
ported that incorporating low volume of natural coconut fiber (0.6%–
1.2%) could reduce the volume change (expansion and shrinkage)
induced by the exposure of concrete to the marine environment,
resulting in higher compressive and flexural strength, longer
strength-improving period and steadier permeability during the testing
age [147]. Nevertheless, the natural degradation of the coconut fiber
was undesirable. The further study demonstrated that barchip fiber
could be a promising alternative to coconut fiber. This fiber is
non-corrosive under seawater attack and maintain the positive effects
similar to coconut fiber [148]. Ito et al. found that the deterioration of
PVA fiber is minimum after 10-year seawater spray, presenting slight
reduction on its average molecular weight [149], which suggested that
PVA fiber is promising for micro-reinforcement against the crack initi­
ation and propagation due to seawater attack. It, thus, can be expected
that the application of fiber-reinforced alumina cement (FRAC) is likely
to reduce the chemical deterioration of concrete and the initiation of
cracks due to external mechanical and environmental load.
To achieve the more durable concrete exposed to the marine envi­
ronment, a conceptual design based on these literature review is pro­
posed as illustrated in Fig. 10. It should emphasize that the combination
of several measures simultaneously will significantly improve the cost of
concrete per cube. Thus, it may be only feasible to be adopted in the
cover layer.
7. Conclusions
Based on the literature review on the studies of the in-filed perfor­
mance of marine concretes, the following conclusions can be drawn:
(1) The ion proportion of seawater in different areas around the
world are similar, but the total salinity varies in a wide range.
Y. Yi et al.
Fig. 10. A proposal for durable concrete cover system against seawater attack.
Therefore, to more precisely predict the long-term behavior of
exposed concrete, the salt concentration of synthetic seawater
used in the laboratory must be similar to that of the actual
seawater at target marine environment, unless a higher concen­
tration is needed in experiment in order to accelerate the
corrosion.
(2) The penetration depths of chloride, magnesium and sulfate ions
vary due to the different interactions with concrete components,
which lead to the formation of three layers with the respective
accumulation of the three elements: a thin layer of magnesium-
rich layer (usually less than 1 mm) on the surface of the con­
crete, a sulfate-rich layer (several millimeters of thickness) in the
outer layer and a relatively wide chloride-rich layer extending to
the inner of the concrete.
(3) The physical impacts of the natural marine environment can
result in some phase changes that are different from laboratory
observation. For example, the coexistence of the non-adhesive
productions, M-S-H and brucite, are undetectable in concrete
subjected to the abrasion of splash wave. Also, it can cause
discrepant degradation in the whole concrete structure, such as
the severest damage of the tidal zone.
(4) The incorporation of SCMs, including fly ash, granulated blast-
furnace slag, silica fume, metakaolin and several other natural
pozzolanic materials in ordinary Portland cement can improve
the resistance to chloride penetration and the retention of me­
chanical properties after seawater attack. The slag has better
performance than others in general, as observed from the current
literatures.
(5) Several alternative binders, such as alumina cement, silica-
alumina cement and alkali-activated cement, show advantages
under seawater attack in laboratory studies. Further field expo­
sure tests should be carried out to confirm this and also identify
other possible issues and corresponding solutions.
(6) Surface coating and chemical buffering create extra defenses
against the aggression of seawater. The effectiveness of both
using alkyl-triethoxy-silane to create a hydrophobic surface and
applying inorganic anti-corrosion admixture calcium nitrite as a
corrosion inhibitor has been justified through long-term field
experiments.
Declaration of competing interest
There is no conflict of interest.
11
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
Acknowledgements
The project was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foun­
dation of China (Grant No. U1806225, 51778220, 51638008,
51878263), National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0703006),
and High-level Talent Gathering Project in Hunan Province
(2018RS3057).
References
[1] D.V. Val, M.G. Stewart, Life-cycle cost analysis of reinforced concrete structures
in marine environments, Struct. Saf. 25 (4) (2003) 343–362.
[2] A. Costa, J. Appleton, Case studies of concrete deterioration in a marine
environment in Portugal, Cement Concr. Compos. 24 (1) (2002) 169–179.
[3] F. Moradi-Marani, M. Shekarchi, A. Dousti, B. Mobasher, Investigation of
corrosion damage and repair system in a concrete jetty structure, J. Perform.
Constr. Facil. 24 (4) (2010) 294–301.
[4] K.C. Liam, S.K. Roy, D.O. North wood, Chloride ingress measurements and
corrosion potential mapping study of a 24-year-old reinforced concrete jetty
structure in a tropical marine environmen, Mag. Concr. Res. 44 (1992) 205–215.
[5] A. Dousti, M. Moradian, S.R. Taheri, R. Rashetnia, M. Shekarchi, Corrosion
assessment of RC deck in a jetty structure damaged by chloride attack, J. Perform.
Constr. Facil. 27 (5) (2013) 519–528.
[6] S.D. Cramer, B.S. Covino, S.J. Bullard, G.R. Holcomb, J.H. Russell, F.J. Nelson, H.
M. Laylor, S.M. Soltesz, Corrosion prevention and remediation strategies for
reinforced concrete coastal bridges, Cement Concr. Compos. 24 (1) (2002)
101–117.
[7] D.Y. Yang, D.M. Frangopol, J.G. Teng, Probabilistic life-cycle optimization of
durability-enhancing maintenance actions: application to FRP strengthening
planning, Eng. Struct. 188 (2019) 340–349.
[8] Mehta, Durability of concrete exposed to marine environment-A fresh look, ACI
Mater. J. (1988) 1–30. SP-109.
[9] C.M. Wakeman, E.V. Dockweiler, L.L.H.E. Stover, Whiteneck, Use of concrete in
marine environments, Proc. ACI. 54 (4) (1958) 841–856.
[10] M. Moradian, M. Chini, M. Shekarchi, Durability performance of a structure made
with high-performance concrete and prefabricated elements in a marine
environment, J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 29 (6) (2015).
[11] B. Burkowsky, J. Englot, Analyzing good deck performance on Port Authority
bridges, Concr. Int. 10 (11) (1988) 25–33.
[12] R.E. Melchers, C.Q. Li, Reinforcement corrosion initiation and activation times in
concrete structures exposed to severe marine environments, Cement Concr. Res.
39 (11) (2009) 1068–1076.
[13] R.E. Melchers, C.Q. Li, M.A. Davison, Observations and analysis of a 63-year-old
reinforced concrete promenade railing exposed to the North Sea, Mag. Concr. Res.
61 (4) (2009) 233–243.
[14] R.E. Melchers, T. Pape, Aspects of long-term durability of reinforced concrete
structures in marine environments, Eur. J. Environ. Civ. En. 15 (7) (2011)
969–980.
[15] J.J. Wang, E.G. Liu, L. Li, Multiscale investigations on hydration mechanisms in
seawater OPC paste, Construct. Build. Mater. 191 (2018) 891–903.
[16] M. Shekarchi, A. Rafiee, H. Layssi, Long-term chloride diffusion in silica fume
concrete in harsh marine climates, Cement Concr. Compos. 31 (10) (2009)
769–775.
Y. Yi et al.
[17] O.S.B. Al-Amoudi, Durability of plain and blended cements in marine
environments, Adv. Cement Res. 14 (3) (2002) 89–100.
[18] E. Ganjian, H.S. Pouya, Effect of magnesium and sulfate ions on durability of
silica fume blended mixes exposed to the seawater tidal zone, Cem, Concr. Res. 35
(7) (2005) 1332–1343.
[19] P. Garces, L.G. Andion, E. Zornoza, M. Bonilla, J. Paya, The effect of processed fly
ashes on the durability and the corrosion of steel rebars embedded in cement-
modified fly ash mortars, Cement Concr. Compos. 32 (3) (2010) 204–210.
[20] K. De Weerdt, H. Justnes, M.R. Geiker, Changes in the phase assemblage of
concrete exposed to sea water, Cement Concr. Compos. 47 (2014) 53–63.
[21] M. Etxeberria, A. Gonzalez-Corominas, Properties of plain concrete produced
employing recycled aggregates and seawater, Int. J. Civ. Eng. 16 (9a) (2018)
993–1003.
[22] Y.L. Li, X.L. Zhao, R.K.R. Singh, S. Al-Saadi, Experimental study on seawater and
sea sand concrete filled GFRP and stainless steel tubular stub columns, Thin-
Walled Struct. 106 (2016) 390–406.
[23] C.J. Yu, Q. Wu, J.M. Yang, Effect of seawater for mixing on properties of
potassium magnesium phosphate cement paste, Construct. Build. Mater. 155
(2017) 217–227.
[24] R. Bansal, N.K. Dhami, A. Mukherjee, M.S. Reddy, Biocalcification by halophilic
bacteria for remediation of concrete structures in marine environment, J. Ind.
Microbiol. Biotechnol. 43 (11) (2016) 1497–1505.
[25] A. Demayo, Elements in sea water, in: D.R. Lide (Ed.), CRC Handbook of
Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press, U.S.A., 1992, 14-10.
[26] M.D.A. Thomas, J.D. Matthews, Performance of pfa concrete in a marine
environment - 10-year results, Cement Concr. Compos. 26 (1) (2004) 5–20.
[27] R.P. Jaya, B.H. Abu Bakar, M.A.M. Johari, M.H.W. Ibrahim, M.R. Hainin, D.
S. Jayanti, Strength and microstructure analysis of concrete containing rice husk
ash under seawater attack by wetting and drying cycles, Adv. Cement Res. 26 (3)
(2014) 145–154.
[28] T.U. Mohammed, H. Hamada, T. Yamaji, Performance of seawater-mixed
concrete in the tidal environment, Cement Concr. Res. 34 (4) (2004) 593–601.
[29] A. Yeginobali, Sulfate resistance of mortars mixed with sea waters, Proceedings
3rd international conference on durability of building materials and components,
ESPOO, Finland 3 (1984) 55–65.
[30] R.D. Browne, A.F. Baker, The reinforcement of structural concrete in a marine
environment, in: F.D. Lydon (Ed.), Development in Concrete Technology-I,
Applied Science Publishers, Ltd., London, 1979, pp. 111–149.
[31] A. Cwirzen, P. Sztermen, K. Habermehl-Cwirzen, Effect of Baltic seawater and
binder type on frost durability of concrete, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 26 (2) (2014)
283–287.
[32] A. D1141–98, Standard Practice for the Preparation of Substitute Ocean Water,
ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA, 2013, p. 2013.
[33] A. Lindvall, Chloride ingress data from field and laboratory exposure - influence
of salinity and temperature, Cement Concr. Compos. 29 (2) (2007) 88–93.
[34] S.K. Kaushik, S. Islam, Suitability of sea water for mixing structural concrete
exposed to a marine environment, Cement Concr. Compos. 17 (1995) 177–185.
[35] A. Suryavanshi, J.D. Scantlebury, S.B. Lyon, Mechanism of Friedel’s salt
formation in cements rich in tri-calcium aluminate, Cem, Concr. Res. 26 (5)
(1996) 717–727.
[36] U.A. Birnin-Yauri, F.P. Glasser, Friedel’s salt, Ca2Al(OH)6(Cl,OH).2H2O its solid
solutions and their role in chloride binding, Cement Concr. Res. 28 (12) (1998)
1713–1723.
[37] F.P. Glasser, A. Kindness, S.A. Stronach, Stability and solubility relationships in
AFm phases Part I. Chloride, sulfate and hydroxide, Cem, Concr. Res. 29 (1999)
861–866.
[38] C.Y. Qiao, P. Suraneni, J. Weiss, Damage in cement pastes exposed to NaCl
solutions, Construct. Build. Mater. 171 (2018) 120–127.
[39] C.Y. Qiao, P. Suraneni, M.T. Chang, J. Weiss, Damage in cement pastes exposed to
MgCl2 solutions, Mater. Struct. 51 (2018) 74.
[40] A.M. Ragab, M.A. Elgammal, O.A. Hodhod, T.E. Ahmed, Evaluation of field
concrete deterioration under real conditions of seawater attack, Construct. Build.
Mater. 119 (2016) 130–144.
[41] U.H. Jakobsen, K. De Weerdt, M.R. Geiker, Elemental zonation in marine
concrete, Cement Concr. Res. 85 (2016) 12–27.
[42] K. De Weerdt, B. Lothenbach, M.R. Geiker, Comparing chloride ingress from
seawater and NaCl solution in Portland cement mortar, Cement Concr. Res. 115
(2019) 80–89.
[43] Y. Farnam, S. Dick, A. Wiese, J. Davis, D. Bentz, J. Weiss, The influence of calcium
chloride deicing salt on phase changes and damage development in cementitious
materials, Cement Concr. Compos. 64 (2015) 1–15.
[44] L. Berntsson, S. Chandra, Damage of conrete sleepers by calcium chloride,
Cement Concr. Res. 12 (1982) 87–92.
[45] C.Y. Qiao, P. Suraneni, J. Weiss, Flexural strength reduction of cement pastes
exposed to CaCl2 solutions, Cement Concr. Compos. 86 (2018) 297–305.
[46] F.P. Glasser, J. Marchand, E. Samson, Durability of concrete-degradation
phenomena involving detrimental chemical reactions, Cement Concr. Res. 38 (2)
(2008) 226–246.
[47] K. Peterson, G. Julio-Betancourt, L. Sutter, R.D. Hooton, D. Johnston,
Observations of chloride ingress and calcium oxychloride formation in laboratory
concrete and mortar at 5 � C, Cem, Concr. Res. 45 (2013) 79–90.
[48] M. Valipour, F. Pargar, M. Shekarchi, S. Khani, M. Moradian, In situ study of
chloride ingress in concretes containing natural zeolite, metakaolin and silica
fume exposed to various exposure conditions in a harsh marine environment,
Construct. Build. Mater. 46 (2013) 63–70.
12
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
[49] N.R. Buenfeld, J.S. Newman, The development and stability of surface layers on
concrete exposed to sea-water, Cement Concr. Res. 16 (1986) 721–732.
[50] E. Bernard, B. Lothenbach, F. Le Goff, I. Pochard, A. Dauzeres, Effect of
magnesium on calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), Cement Concr. Res. 97 (2017)
61–72.
[51] P.J. Tumidajski, G.W. Chan, Durability of high performance concrete in
magnesium brine, Cement Concr. Res. 26 (4) (1996) 557–565.
[52] D. Bonen, Composition and appearance of magnesium silicate hydrate and its
relation to deterioration of cement-based materials, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 75 (10)
(1992) 2904–2906.
[53] W.F. Cole, A crystalline hydrated magnesium silicate formed in the breakdown of
a concrete sea-wall, Nauture 171 (1953) 354–355.
[54] K. De Weerdt, H. Justnes, The effect of sea water on the phase assemblage of
hydrated cement paste, Cement Concr. Compos. 55 (2015) 215–222.
[55] M. Santhanam, M. Cohen, J. Olek, Differentiating seawater and groundwater
sulfate attack in Portland cement mortars, Cement Concr. Res. 36 (12) (2006)
2132–2137.
[56] T. Sibbick, D. Fenn, N. Crammond, The occurrence of thaumasite as a product of
seawater attack, Cement Concr. Compos. 25 (8) (2003) 1059–1066.
[57] H. Corner, D. Rippstain, Effect of aqueous sodium chloride solution on ettringite,
Touindustrie-Zeitung (TIZ), Fachberichte. 109 (9) (1985) 680–683.
[58] K. Ogawa, D.M. Roy, C4A3S hydration,ettringite, and its expansion mechanism III
effect of CaO, NaOH, NaCl; conclusions, Cement Concr. Res. 12 (1982) 247–256.
[59] O.S.B. Al-Amoudi, M. Maslehuddin, Y.A.B. Abdul-Al, Role of chloride ions on
expansion and strength reduction in plain and blended cements in sulfate
environments, Construct. Build. Mater. 9 (1) (1995) 25–33.
[60] W.H. Harrison, Effect of chloride in mix ingredients on sulphate resistance of
concrete, Mag. Concr. Res. 42 (152) (1990) 113–126.
[61] J. Bensted, Thaumasite—background and nature in deterioration of cements,
mortars, and concretes, Cement Concr. Compos. 21 (1999) 117–121.
[62] S. Sadati, M.K. Moradllo, M. Shekarchi, Long-term durability of onshore coated
concrete—chloride ion and carbonation effects, Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 10 (2016)
150–161.
[63] A. Suryavanshi, R.N. Swamy, Stability of Friedel’s salt in carbonated concrete
structural elements, Cement Concr. Res. 26 (5) (1996) 729–741.
[64] Y. Wang, S. Nanukuttan, Y. Bai, P.A.M. Basheer, Influence of combined
carbonation and chloride ingress regimes on rate of ingress and redistribution of
chlorides in concretes, Construct. Build. Mater. 140 (2017) 173–183.
[65] S. Sadat, M.K. Moradllo, M. Shekarchi, Long-term performance of silica fume
concrete in soil exposure of marine environments, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 29 (9)
(2017), 04017126.
[66] P. Castro, E.I. Moreno, J. Genesca, Influence of marine micro-climates on
carbonation of reinforced concrete buildings, Cement Concr. Res. 30 (2000)
1565–1571.
[67] W. Prachasaree, S. Limkatanyu, O. Wangapisit, S. Kraidam, Field investigation of
service performance of concrete bridges exposed to tropical marine environment,
Int. J. Civ. Eng. 16 (2018) 1757–1769.
[68] R. Bayuaji, M. Sigit, N.A. Husin, et al., DarmawanCorrosion damage assessment of
a reinforced concrete canalstructure of power plant after 20 years of exposure in a
marine environment: a case study, Eng. Fail. Anal. 84 (2018) 287–299.
[69] Y.P. Song, L.Y. Song, G.F. Zhao, Factors affecting corrosion and approaches for
improving durability of ocean reinforced concrete structures, Ocean. Eng. 31
(5–6) (2004) 779–789.
[70] G. Loreto, M. Di Benedetti, A. De Luca, A. Nanni, Assessment of reinforced
concrete structures in marine environment: a case study, Corrosion Rev. 37 (1)
(2019) 57–69.
[71] C.E.T. Balestra, T.A. Reichert, G. Savaris, Contribution for durability studies
based on chloride profiles analysis of real marine structures in different marine
aggressive zones, Construct. Build. Mater. 206 (2019) 140–150.
[72] W. Chalee, M. Teekavanit, K. Kiattikomol, A. Siripanichgorn, C. Jaturapitakkul,
Effect of w/c ratio on covering depth of fly ash concrete in marine environment,
Construct. Build. Mater. 21 (5) (2007) 965–971.
[73] W. Chalee, C. Jaturapitakkul, P. Chindaprasirt, Predicting the chloride
penetration of fly ash concrete in seawater, Mar. Struct. 22 (3) (2009) 341–353.
[74] W. Chalee, C. Jaturapitakkul, Effects of w/b ratios and fly ash finenesses on
chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete in marine environment, Mater. Struct.
42 (4) (2009) 505–514.
[75] T. Cheewaketa, C. Jaturapitakkul, W. Chalee, Long term performance of chloride
binding capacity in fly ash concrete in a marine environment, Construct. Build.
Mater. 24 (8) (2010) 1352–1357.
[76] W. Chalee, P. Ausapanit, C. Jaturapitakkul, Utilization of fly ash concrete in
marine environment for long term design life analysis, Mater. Des. 31 (3) (2010)
1242–1249.
[77] T. Cheewaket, C. Jaturapitakkul, W. Chalee, Concrete durability presented by
acceptable chloride level and chloride diffusion coefficient in concrete: 10-year
results in marine site, Mater. Struct. 47 (9) (2014) 1501–1511.
[78] T. Cheewaket, C. Jaturapitakkul, W. Chalee, Initial corrosion presented by
chloride threshold penetration of concrete up to 10 year-results under marine
site, Construct. Build. Mater. 37 (2012) 693–698.
[79] W. Chalee, T. Sasakul, P. Suwanmaneechot, C. Jaturapitakkul, Utilization of rice
husk-bark ash to improve the corrosion resistance of concrete under 5-year
exposure in a marine environment, Cement Concr. Compos. 37 (2013) 47–53.
[80] E.G. Moffatt, M.D.A. Thomas, A. Fahim, Performance of high-volume fly ash
concrete in marine environment, Cement Concr. Res. 102 (2017) 127–135.
[81] M.D.A. Thomas, A. Scott, T. Bremner, A. Bilodeau, D. Day, Performance of slag
concrete in marine environment, ACI Mater. J. 105 (6) (2008) 628–634.
Y. Yi et al.
[82] M. Thomas, T. Bremner, Performance of lightweight aggregate concrete
containing slag after 25 years in a harsh marine environment, Cement Concr. Res.
42 (2) (2012) 358–364.
[83] T.U. Mohammed, H. Hamada, T. Yamaji, Marine durability of 30-year-old
concrete made with different cements, J. Adv. Concr. Technol. 1 (1) (2003)
63–75.
[84] T.U. Mohammed, T. Yamaji, H. Hamada, Chloride diffusion, microstructure, and
mineralogy of concrete after 15 years of exposure in tidal environment, ACI
Mater. J. 99 (3) (2002) 256–263.
[85] J. Kim, W.J. McCarter, B. Suryanto, Performance assessment of reinforced
concrete after long-term exposure to a marine environment, Construct. Build.
Mater. 192 (2018) 569–583.
[86] E.G. Moffatt, M.D.A. Thomas, Performance of 25-year-old silica fume and fly ash
lightweight concrete blocks in a harsh marine environment, Cement Concr. Res.
113 (2018) 65–73.
[87] J.Z. Zhang, J. Zhao, Y.R. Zhang, Y.H. Gao, Y.Y. Zheng, Instantaneous chloride
diffusion coefficient and its time dependency of concrete exposed to a marine
tidal environment, Construct. Build. Mater. 167 (2018) 225–234.
[88] K. De Weerdt, D. Orsakova, A.C.A. Muller, C.K. Larsen, B. Pedersen, M.R. Geiker,
Towards the understanding of chloride profiles in marine exposed concrete,
impact of leaching and moisture content, Construct. Build. Mater. 120 (2016)
418–431.
[89] J. Bai, S. Wild, B.B. Sabir, Chloride ingress and strength loss in concrete with
different PC-PFA-MK binder compositions exposed to synthetic seawater, Cement
Concr. Res. 33 (3) (2003) 353–362.
[90] H. Binici, O. Aksogan, E.B. Gorur, H. Kaplan, M.N. Bodur, Performance of ground
blast furnace slag and ground basaltic pumice concrete against seawater attack,
Construct. Build. Mater. 22 (7) (2008) 1515–1526.
[91] M.H. Tadayon, M. Shekarchi, M. Tadayon, Long-term field study of chloride
ingress in concretes containing pozzolans exposed to severe marine tidal zone,
Construct. Build. Mater. 123 (2016) 611–616.
[92] M. Khanzadeh-Moradllo, M. Meshkini, E. Eslamdoost, S. Sadati, M. Shekarchi,
Effect of wet curing duration on long-term performance of concrete in tidal zone
of marine Environment, Int. J. Concr. Struct. Mater. 9 (4) (2015) 487–498.
[93] A. Abd El Fattah, I. Al-Duais, K. Riding, M. Thomas, Field evaluation of corrosion
mitigation on reinforced concrete in marine exposure conditions, Construct.
Build. Mater. 165 (2018) 663–674.
[94] P. Castro, O.T. De Rincon, E.J. Pazini, Interpretation of chloride profiles from
concrete exposed to tropical marine environments, Cement Concr. Res. 31 (2001)
529–537.
[95] A. Farahani, H. Taghaddos, M. Shekarchi, Prediction of long-term chloride
diffusion in silica fume concrete in a marine environment, Cement Concr.
Compos. 59 (2015) 10–17.
[96] C.E.T. Balestra, T.A. Reichert, W.A. Pansera, G. Savaris, Chloride profile modeling
contemplating the convection zone based on concrete structures present for more
than 40 years in different marine aggressive zones, Construct. Build. Mater. 198
(2019) 345–358.
[97] R. Vedalakshmi, V. Saraswathy, A.K. Yong, Performance evaluation of blended
cement concretes under MgSO4 attack, Mag. Concr. Res. 63 (9) (2011) 669–681.
[98] H.E.H. Seleem, A.M. Rashad, B.A. El-Sabbagh, Durability and strength evaluation
of high-performance concrete in marine structures, Construct. Build. Mater. 24
(6) (2010) 878–884.
[99] C.Z. Han, W.G. Shen, X. Ji, Z.W. Wang, Q.J. Ding, G.L. Xu, Z.J. Lv, X.L. Tang,
Behavior of high performance concrete pastes with different mineral admixtures
in simulated seawater environment, Construct. Build. Mater. 187 (2018)
426–438.
[100] S.J. Kwon, H.S. Lee, S. Karthick, V. Saraswathy, H.M. Yang, Long-term corrosion
performance of blended cement concrete in the marine environment - a real-time
study, Construct. Build. Mater. 154 (2017) 349–360.
[101] K.M.A. Hossain, Pumice based blended cement concretes exposed to marine
environment: effects of mix composition and curing conditions, Cement Concr.
Compos. 30 (2) (2008) 97–105.
[102] S. Kumar, Influence of water quality on the strength of plain and blended cement
concretes in marine environments, Cement Concr. Res. 30 (3) (2000) 345–350.
[103] H.J. Chen, S.S. Huang, C.W. Tang, M.A. Malek, L.W. Ean, Effect of curing
environments on strength, porosity and chloride ingress resistance of blast
furnace slag cement concretes: a construction site study, Construct. Build. Mater.
35 (2012) 1063–1070.
[104] E. Ganjian, H.S. Pouya, The effect of Persian Gulf tidal zone exposure on
durability of mixes containing silica fume and blast furnace slag, Construct. Build.
Mater. 23 (2) (2009) 644–652.
[105] H.Y. Moon, S.T. Lee, S.S. Kim, Sulphate resistance of silica fume blended mortars
exposed to various sulphate solutions, Can. J. Civ. Eng. 30 (2003) 625–636.
[106] S.T. Lee, H.Y. Moon, R.N. Swamy, Sulfate attack and role of silica fume in
resisting strength loss, Cement Concr. Compos. 27 (2005) 65–76.
[107] M. Thomas, Chloride thresholds in marine concrete, Cement Concr. Res. 26 (4)
(1996) 513–519.
[108] U. Angst, B. Elsener, C.K. Larsen, O. Vennesland, Critical chloride content in
reinforced concrete - a review, Cement Concr. Res. 39 (12) (2009) 1122–1138.
[109] K.Y. Ann, H.W. Song, Chloride threshold level for corrosion of steel in concrete,
Corrosion Sci. 49 (11) (2007) 4113–4133.
[110] Y. Cao, C. Gehlen, U. Angst, L. Wang, Z.D. Wang, Y. Yao, Critical chloride content
in reinforced concrete - an updated review considering Chinese experience,
Cement Concr. Res. 117 (2019) 58–68.
13
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
[111] V. Malhotra, G. Carette, T. Bremner, Durability of concrete containing
supplementary cementing materials in marine environment, Aci. Mater. J. sp-
100–63 (1986) 1227–1258.
[112] B. Lothenbach, K. Scrivener, R.D. Hooton, Supplementary cementitious materials,
Cement Concr. Res. 41 (12) (2011) 1244–1256.
[113] D.V. Reddy, J.B. Edouard, K. Sobhan, Durability of fly ash-based geopolymer
structural concrete in the marine environment, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 25 (6) (2013)
781–787.
[114] F. Puertas, R. de Gutierrez, A. Fernandez-Jimenez, S. Delvasto, J. Maldonado,
Alkaline cement mortars. chemical resistance to sulfate and seawater attack,
Mater. Construcci� on 52 (267) (2002) 55–71.
[115] A.F. Jimenez, I.G. Lodeiro, A. Palomo, Durability of alkali-activated fly ash
cementitious materials, J. Mater. Sci. 42 (9) (2007) 3055–3065.
[116] H.E. Didamony, A.A. Amer, H.A. Ela-ziz, Properties and durability of alkali-
activated slag pastes immersed in sea water, Ceram. Int. 38 (5) (2012)
3773–3780.
[117] A. Palomo, M.T. Blanco-Varela, M.L. Granizo, F. Puertas, T. Vazquez, M.
W. Grutzeck, Chemical stability of cementitious materials based on metakaolin,
Cement Concr. Res. 29 (1999) 997–1004.
[118] A.M. Rashad, A.S. Ouda, D.M. Sadek, Behavior of alkali-activated metakaolin
pastes blended with quartz powder exposed to seawater attack, J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
30 (8) (2018), 04018159.
[119] F. Slaty, H. Khoury, H. Rahier, J. Wastiels, Durability of alkali activated cement
produced from kaolinitic clay, Appl. Clay Sci. 104 (2015) 229–237.
[120] N. Zhang, H.X. Li, D.D. Peng, X.M. Liu, Properties evaluation of silica-alumina
based concrete: durability and environmental friendly performance, Construct.
Build. Mater. 115 (2016) 105–113.
[121] J.M. Yang, J. Zhang, S.C. Zheng, Experimental research on seawater erosion
resistance of magnesium potassium phosphate cement pastes, Construct. Build.
Mater. 183 (2018) 534–543.
[122] H. Pei, Z. Li, J. Zhang, Q. Wang, Performance investigations of reinforced
magnesium phosphate concrete beams under accelerated corrosion conditions by
multi techniques, Construct. Build. Mater. 93 (2015) 989–994.
[123] M.P.M.C. Rodrigues, M.R.N. Costa, A.M. Mendes, M.I.E. Marques, Effectiveness of
surface coatings to protect reinforced concrete in marine environments, Mater.
Struct. 33 (234) (2000) 618–626.
[124] L. Schueremans, D. Van Gemert, S. Giessler, Chloride penetration in RC-structures
in marine environment - long term assessment of a preventive hydrophobic
treatment, Construct. Build. Mater. 21 (6) (2007) 1238–1249.
[125] S.V. Nanukuttan, L. Basheer, W.J. McCarter, D.J. Robinson, P.A. Muhammed
Basheer, Full-scale marine exposure tests on treated and untreated concretes-
initial 7-year results, ACI Mater. J. 105 (1) (2008) 81–87.
[126] V.T.N. Dao, P.F. Dux, P.H. Morris, A.H. Carse, Performance of permeability-
reducing admixtures in marine concrete structures, ACI Mater. J. 107 (3) (2010)
291–296.
[127] Z.H. Zhang, X. Yao, H. Wang, Potential application of geopolymers as protection
coatings for marine concrete III. field experiment, Appl. Clay Sci. 67–68 (2012)
57–60.
[128] T.U. Mohammed, T. Yamaji, H. Hamada, Microstructures and interfaces in
concrete after 15 years of exposure in tidal environment, ACI Mater. J. 99 (4)
(2002) 352–360.
[129] T.U. Mohammed, H. Hamada, A. Hasnat, M.A. Al Mamun, Corrosion of steel bars
in concrete with the variation of microstructure of Steel-Concrete Interface,
J. Adv. Concr. Technol. 13 (4) (2015) 230–240.
[130] J.F. Lv, J.Z. Mao, H.J. Ba, Influence of crassostrea gigas on the permeability and
microstructure of the surface layer of concrete exposed to the tidal zone of the
Yellow Sea, Biofouling 31 (1) (2015) 61–70.
[131] J.F. Lv, J.Z. Mao, H.J. Ba, Influence of marine microorganisms on the
permeability and microstructure of mortar, Construct. Build. Mater. 77 (2015)
33–40.
[132] T. Chlayon, M. Iwanami, N. Chijiwa, Combined protective action of barnacles and
biofilm on concrete surface in intertidal areas, Construct. Build. Mater. 179
(2018) 477–487.
[133] M.A. Coombes, H.A. Viles, L.A. Naylor, E.C. La Marca, Cool barnacles: do common
biogenic structures enhance or retard rates of deterioration of intertidal rocks and
concrete? Sci. Total Environ. 580 (2017) 1034–1045.
[134] Y. Kawabata, E. Kato, M. Iwanami, Enhanced long-term resistance of concrete
with marine sessile organisms to chloride ion penetration, J. Adv. Concr. Technol.
10 (2012) 151–159.
[135] I.L. Kondratova, P. Montes, T.W. Bremner, Natural marine exposure results for
reinforced concrete slabs with corrosion inhibitors, Cement Concr. Compos. 25
(2003) 483–490.
[136] P. Montes, T.W. Bremmer, D.H. Lister, Influence of calcium nitrite inhibitor and
crack width on corrosion of steel in high performance concrete subjected to a
simulated marine environment, Cement Concr. Compos. 26 (3) (2004) 243–253.
[137] H.Z. Lopez-Calvo, P. Montes-Garcia, V.G. Jimenez-Quero, H. Gomez-Barranco, T.
W. Bremner, M.D.A. Thomas, Influence of crack width, cover depth and concrete
quality on corrosion of steel in HPC containing corrosion inhibiting admixtures
and fly ash, Cement Concr. Compos. 88 (2018) 200–210.
[138] H.Z. Lopez-Calvo, P. Montes-Garcia, E.M. Alonso-Guzman, W. Martinez-Molina,
T.W. Bremner, M.D.A. Thomas, Effects of corrosion inhibiting admixtures and
supplementary cementitious materials combinations on the strength and certain
durability properties of HPC, Can. J. Civ. Eng. 44 (11) (2017) 918–926.
[139] H.Z. Lopez-Calvo, P. Montes-Garcia, M.D.A. Thomas, T.W. Bremner, Effectiveness
of CNI in slabs with a construction joint in a marine environment, Mag. Concr.
Res. 64 (4) (2012) 307–316.
Y. Yi et al.
[140] T.A. Ostnor, H. Justnes, Anodic corrosion inhibitors against chloride induced
corrosion of concrete rebars, Adv. App.l Ceram. 110 (3) (2011) 131–136.
[141] M.M.B. Bola, C.M. Newtson, Field evaluation of marine structures containing
calcium nitrite, J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 19 (1) (2005) 28–35.
[142] M.D. Jackson, S.R. Chae, S.R. Mulcahy, C. Meral, R. Taylor, P.H. Li, A.H. Emwas,
J. Moon, S. Yoon, G. Vola, H.R. Wenk, P.J.M. Monteiro, Unlocking the secrets of
Al-tobermorite in Roman seawater concrete, Am. Mineral. 98 (10) (2013)
1669–1687.
[143] Y.S. Wang, W.J. Ding, G.H. Fang, Y.Q. Liu, F. Xing, B.Q. Dong, Feasibility study on
corrosion protection of steel bar in a self-immunity system based on increasing
OH- content, Construct. Build. Mater. 125 (2016) 742–748.
[144] Y.S. Wang, G.H. Fang, W.J. Ding, N.X. Han, F. Xing, B.Q. Dong, Self-immunity
microcapsules for corrosion protection of steel bar in reinforced concrete, Sci.
Rep. 5 (1) (2015), 18484.
14
Cement and Concrete Composites 113 (2020) 103695
[145] M. Otieno, H. Beushausen, M. Alexander, Chloride-induced corrosion of steel in
cracked concrete – Part I: experimental studies under accelerated and natural
marine environments, Cement Concr. Res. 79 (2016) 373–385.
[146] Y.C. Ersan, K. Van Tittelboom, N. Boon, N. De Belie, Nitrite producing bacteria
inhibit reinforcement bar corrosion in cementitious materials, Sci. Rep. 8 (1)
(2018), 14092.
[147] M. Ramli, W.H. Kwan, N.F. Abas, Strength and durability of coconut-fiber-
reinforced concrete in aggressive environments, Construct. Build. Mater. 38
(2013) 554–566.
[148] M. Ramli, W.H. Kwan, N.F. Abas, Application of non-corrosive barchip fibres for
high strength concrete enhancements in aggressive environments, Compos. B Eng.
53 (2013) 134–144.
[149] H. Ito, K. Watanabe, S. Todoroki, H. Suemori, R. Shinjyo, Study on performance of
PVA fiber reinforced concrete exposed for 10 years to seawater spray, J. Adv.
Concr. Technol. 16 (3) (2018) 159–169.