Reliability Study of Reinforced Concrete Stru...

Reliability Study of Reinforced Concrete Structures under Carbonation Attack

Author Name : N. Dedeepya, Y. Jyotshna

ABSTRACT

Premature deterioration in concrete is the manifestation of durability issue observed in the recent times. This is mainly due to the exposure of concrete to aggressive environments and poor surface porosity of the concrete to resist the ingress of weathering agents. Carbonation of concrete is one such durability issue where atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves with pore solution in concrete to form calcium carbonate upon reaction with calcium phases in concrete. This reduces the pH of the reinforced concrete and leads to corrosion of steel reinforcement. The present work deals with the influence of water binder ratio on the mechanical properties and durability of carbonated concrete. To achieve the carbonation conditions, the concrete specimens were exposed to a carbon dioxide concentration of 5%, thereby accelerating the process of carbonation in controlled conditions which otherwise would take decades under natural environmental exposure conditions.

Key words: Carbonation of concrete, premature deterioration, water binder ratio