Chloride Penetration into the cracked tensile zone of reinforced concrete structures before and after water repellent treatment

Title: Chloride Penetration into the cracked tensile zone of reinforced concrete structures before and after water repellent treatment
Author(s): Fuxiang Jiang, Folker H. Wittmann, Tiejun Zhao, Furu Li, Song Gao
Paper category : conference
Book title: 2nd International Symposium on Service Life Design for Infrastructures
Editor(s): K. van Breugel, Guang Ye, Yong Yuan
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-096-7
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-097-4
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2010
Pages: 875 - 882
Total Pages: 8
Nb references: 13
Language: English

Abstract: Reinforced concrete structures are usually designed in such a way that they will have cracks under service load. Depending on the expected environment different crack widths may be tolerated. In this contribution reinforced concrete beams have been artificially cracked by three point bending and cracks with two different widths have been kept constant by a special loading device. The cracked elements have been exposed to wetting-drying cycles. For wetting they were immersed in a 3 % NaCl solution followed by drying in laboratory atmosphere (T ˜ 20 °C, RH ˜ 70 %). The penetration of chloride into the cracked zone of two types of concrete has been investigated. As could have been expected more chloride penetrates into elements with wider cracks. Some reinforced concrete beams have been treated with silane with the aim to make the cracked zone water repellent in order to prevent or at least slow down capillary suction. Water repellent treatment did not prevent chloride penetration completely but the ingress was significantly reduced. In this way service life of reinforced concrete structures can be extended considerably.

Online publication: 2011-04-20
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00