STUDIES ON DURABILITY OF

REINFORCED CONCRETE
ANILKUMAR P M1, Dr. J SUDHAKUMAR2

Department of Civil Engineering

National Institute of Technology,

Calicut
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INTRODUCTION

Durability

of a structure is its resistance

to weathering action , abrasion , chemical
attack, cracking , or any other process of
destruction.
The structure is considered to be durable
in the actual environment, as long as its
function is acceptable.
Poor durability

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Degradation in
performance

Reduction in the
useful life

Durability of Reinforced Concrete

Durability

of concrete is the resistance to

deleterious influences arising from external
or internal causes.

 The external causes may be due to

Weathering
Extreme temperatures
Abrasion
Electrolytic action
Attack by natural or industrial liquids
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and gases

 The internal causes may be due to

Alkali-aggregate reaction
Volume changes due to difference in
thermal properties of aggregates and
cement paste
Permeability of the concrete
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 Some specific aspects are :

1. Water-cement Ratio
. determines the permeability of concrete
0.55 for moderate
exposure
Water-cement
Ratio
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0.45 for severe

exposure

2. Cement content
Increase in the cement content increases
durability, as it increases the alkalinity of the
concrete.
IS 456 gives the values of minimum cement
content

for

concrete

exposed

to

mild,

moderate, severe, very severe and extreme

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exposure conditions. These values are

Reinforced Concrete
Maximum w/c ratio as per IS 456

mild exposure 0.55

moderate exp. 0.50
severe exp.
0.45
very severe exp. 0.45
extreme exp.
0.40

Reinforced Concrete Minimum grade

mild exposure M 20
moderate exp. M 25
severe exp.
M 30
very severe exp. M 35
extreme exp.
M 40
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3. Type of Cement

It affects durability only when the

concrete is subjected to chemical
attack.
For chloride attack, cement having a
moderate to high C3A content should be
used.
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11

Certain admixtures such as pozzolanas,

air-entraining agents and super plasticizers
can be used for reducing the permeability
of concrete.

In acidic environment, super- sulphated

cement is preferred; since it can withstand
acidic waters with PH value up to 3.5

4. Permeability
The deterioration of concrete occurs
when it is permeable to sulphate,
chloride and acid attack.
Relatively low w/c ratios are essential
for impermeable concrete.
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 Certain admixtures such as pozzolanas,

air-entraining
agents
and
super
plasticizers can be used for reducing the
permeability of concrete.
In RCC, the ingress of moisture and air
results in corrosion of steel, leading into
cracking, spalling and ultimately to the
deterioration of the concrete
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5. Corrosion of Reinforcement

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It is defined as a gradual wearing

away or alteration by a chemical or
electrochemical oxidizing process

In many environments, most metals

are not stable and they tend to revert
to some more stable combinations.

 Mechanism of corrosion
Normal corrosion is an electrochemical
phenomenon

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In metals, corrosion is caused by a flow

of electricity from one metal to another
metal, or
from one part to another
part of the same metal

 Electrochemical corrosion

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For this type of corrosion to occur, the

following components must be present :
A metal anode
A metal cathode
A metallic conductor between the anode
and cathode
An electrolyte in contact with the anode
and cathode

 The metal that ionizes more rapidly is

called the anode
The metal at which the above reaction
tends to reverse is called the cathode

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 Consider the corrosion of iron or steel.

Following are the reactions that occur at
the anode and cathode:
The metal Fe at the anodic area is
ionized into ferrous ions, releasing the
electrons
Fe
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Fe 2+ +

2 e-

 These electrons are consumed at the

cathodic area, where they combine with
oxygen and water to form hydroxyl
ions.
O2 + 2 H2 O + 4 e Fe++ + 4 (OH)-

4(OH)Fe (OH)2

4 Fe (OH)2 + O2 + 2H2 O
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4Fe(OH)3

 Corrosion of steel in concrete

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Steel gains protection from concrete

If the alkalinity around the reinforcement falls
below a PH value of 11.5 , from the normal PH
of 12.5 to 13, the protective film is impaired
This can be due to carbonation, chloride and
acid attack
Other factors are presence of moisture, oxygen,
electrolyte, high temperature and humidity.
The electrochemical potential which arises
from the differences in the steel-concrete
system is the main cause of corrosion

 Marine corrosion
Sea

water is an electrolyte of high

conductivity and it contains corrosive
salts.
It causes corrosion, even when metals are
exposed to atmospheric conditions in
marine environment.
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 Sea

water contains chlorides and

sulphates. Magnesium sulphate is the
most harmful salt in sea water. Sea water
has a PH value in the range of 7.8 to 8.3

Zones

of corrosion can be atmospheric,

splash, tidal, and full immersion.

Corrosion
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is most serious in the splash

zone, due to the combined effects of
oxygen, salt and water.

 The corrosion rate can be functionally

represented as

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dc/dt = f ( t, O2 , T, V, S, PH )
where
t = duration of exposure
O2 = oxygen content
T = temperature of sea water
V = velocity of sea water
S = salinity of sea water
PH = hydrogen ion concentration

 Measurement

of rate of corrosion

The

corrosion rate may be represented by

the weight loss of metal in milligram per
square decimeter of surface area per day
( mdd )

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( Wo Wf ) 1000
mdd = --------------------------------dlt

 where,
Wo and Wf are the original and final
weights in grams
d is the diameter
l is the length of wire in decimeter
t is the age of the structure in days
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 The corrosion rate can also be reported by

metal penetration in cms of penetration
per year (cpy) or by the percent loss of
strength per year ( plspy )
( Wo Wf )
plspy =

----------------------

Wo
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100 x 365
x

---------------------

 Metals may be classified according to

their corrosion rates as :
Good corrosion resistance material,
having cpy < 0.013
Satisfactory, having cpy in the range
of 0.013 and 0.13
Unsatisfactory, with cpy > 0.13
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 Protective measures against

reinforcement corrosion
1. Use
of
corrosion
inhibiting
admixtures in concrete. They can be
organic and inorganic.

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. Organic inhibitors include sodium

benzoate, ethyl-aniline and mercapto
benzo- thiazole

 Inorganic inhibitors are potassium

dichromate, stannous chloride, zinc and
lead chromates, calcium hypophosphate,
sodium and calcium nitrate etc.
2. Another protective measure is coatings on
the reinforcement. Examples are epoxy
chlorinated rubber, zinc, nickel, copper
etc.
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3. Another method is by coatings on the

surface of concrete. They include oil
based coatings, varnishes, lacquers,
bitumen and tar-based coatings etc.
4. An important method of protection is
known as cathodic protection
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 Cathodic protection is the most versatile method of

corrosion control. There are two ways in which it
can be achieved.
1. Sacrificial anode method
2. Impressed current method

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In the first method, an electrode made of a metal or

alloy, more negative than the structure to be
protected is used.
In the second method, a favorable electrochemical
circuit is established by introducing electrical
current from an external source.

 Sulphate attack
Sodium, magnesium and calcium sulphates
can cause distress in concrete.
Effects include expansion, cracking, loss of
strength and stiffness, disintegration etc.
This is caused by the expansive forces created
by the reaction of soluble sulphates with the
C3A content in cement.
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 A low C3A content cement such as

sulphate-resisting cement with less than
5% content, is ideally suited for concrete
subjected to sulphate attack.

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Chloride attack
corrosion of reinforcement can take place
even in highly alkaline conditions, if
sufficient chloride ions are present in the
concrete.

 If C3A content is low, the amount of free

chloride in the pore water increases and
steel corrosion becomes more likely.
IS 456 gives limiting value of 0.15% by
mass of cement in fresh concrete.

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Experimental
Investigations

35

 Laboratory tests

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1. Alternate heating and cooling test

-simulate the field conditions of
structures partially immersed in
corrosive liquids such as sea water,
and subjected to alternate heating and
cooling.

 Specimens are kept in a trough

containing sea water, in a semi-immersed
condition
Heating can be done by using infra-red
lamps at 600C
One cycle of 12 hours heating and 12
hours cooling
Total of 90 cycles
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2. Alternate soaking and drying test:

. Specimens are fully immersed in sea
water for 12 hours and then they are dried
in an oven at 650C.

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. This test simulates the actual conditions

of structures exposed to aggressive
solutions and subjected to cycles of full
immersion and drying.

3. Salt spray test :

. Specimens are suspended vertically
inside the salt spray chamber and spray
is done for 12 hours per day at room
temperature.

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 Field exposure tests

It is done for a longer duration-one year
or more
Specimens are kept in the following
zones

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1. Atmospheric zone
2. Splash zone
3. Immersion zone

 Tests on specimens after exposure

1. Tensile strength test
2. Chemical analysis :
. Chloride content
. Sulphate content

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Experimental

flexural beam tests

Full scale beams can be tested under third point

loading until failure for both concrete grades.
Full scale beams can be tested under third point
loading until failure for both concrete grades.

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The beams can be loaded up to failure and the

curvature can track through material strains using
electrical gauges and transducers.

Column

ductility investigation

square column 400x400 mm with eight 16 or 30

mm bars is may studied using grade 25 normal and
lightweight concretes.

Lightweight

concrete ductility is better than that of

normal concrete.

The

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advantage of LWC is more pronounced with

higher steel ratio and increased compression forces.

 Suggestions to improve ductility

Confinement

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using highly stiff material

use of rubber wastes,
polymeric admixtures
Partial substitution of cement with micro or
Nano- sized pozzolonic materials in presence of
suitable super plasticizer may also increase the
ductile property.
Material like steel fibers enhances the dutilitic
properties.

 CONCLUSIONS
Ductile

detailing is provided in structures so as to

give them adequate toughness and ductility to
resist severe earthquake shocks without collapse.

The

different tests discussed in this paper can be

used as a guideline.

Accurate

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prediction of the performance of

structures made with reinforced concrete can be
done, by increasing the duration of the laboratory
studies as well as field exposure studies.

 REFERENCES

Visvesvaraya

(1988), 'Corrosion and Durability', Ferrocement Applications and Progress, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference
on Ferrocement, India, pp. xxx - xxxii.

Pranesh

and Sudarsan (1981), 'Mathematical Model for the Corrosion

Rate in Marine environment', Behaviour of Materials under Marine
Environment, First Indian Conference on Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras,
February 1981.

Trikha,

Sharma, Kaushik and Tiwari (1984), 'Corrosion Studies in

Ferrocement Structures', Journal of Ferrocement, Vol.14, No.3, July 1984,
pp. 221-233.

Chalisgaonkar, (1987),

46

'Corrosion of Steel in Concrete and Ferrocement',

Ferrocement Corrosion, Proceedings of the International Correspondence
Symposium.

 REFERENCES

Rangaswamy, Srinivasan

and Mohan (1987), 'Evaluation of Protective

Coatings for Reinforced Concrete', Ferrocement Corrosion, Proceedings
of the International Correspondence Symposium, Bangkok, Thailand.

Aslam,

Srivastava and Minocha (1987), 'Durability of Concrete in

Sulphorous Atmosphere', Indian Concrete Journal, Vol.61, May 1987, pp.
135 - 138.

ACI

Committee 222 (1985), 'Corrosion of Metals in Concrete', ACI

Journal, Jan-Feb 1985, pp. 3-32.

Cusens (1985), 'Corrosion of Reinforcement - A Review', Journal of

Ferrocement, Vol.15, No.4, Oct. 1985, pp. 365 - 370.

Abdelhamid

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Charif,M. Jamal Shannag,Saleh Dghaither (2014) , 'Ductility

of reinforced lightweight concrete beams and columns', Latin American
Journal of Solids and Structures On-line version ISSN 1679-7825

If you can dream it, you can do it.

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THANK YOU

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Contact: anilkumar_bce11@nitc.ac.in
skumar@nitc.ac.in
Department of Civil Engineering. National Institute of
Technology, Calicut