Concrete Repair

and Protection (1)

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 Concrete Repair
Contents

- Importance of concrete deterioration in

general
- Concrete as building material
- Reasons for concrete deterioration
- Concrete Repair

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 Importance of Concrete
Deterioration in general
The economic loss related to concrete
deterioration is significant.
Valuable resources must be spent for
concrete repair
Concrete deterioration can endanger the
lives of people

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The life of a concrete structure

Phase A Design, construction and concrete curing

Phase B Deterioration initiation processes are

underway but damage is not yet obvious

Phase C Deterioration is underway and starts

becoming visible

Phase D Deterioration process is advanced, extensive

damage is visible 4
Law of Fives

1 $ spent in Phase A

= saving 5 $ repair expenditure in Pahse B

= saving 25 $ repair expenditure in Phase C

= saving 125 $ repair expenditure in Phase D

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 Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Concrete as Building Material
What is concrete?
Sand + Aggregate + Cement + Water
+ (Additives) + (Steel)

=> Hydration => Conctere

What makes concrete perform?

Design
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 Concrete as Building Material
Concrete Surface
Aggregate

Cement Skin Fine

Mortar Zone

Coarse Mortar

Zone Fine

Reinforcement Concrete Zone

Concrete
according to
design with normal
cement content
and planned
aggregate
distribution

Typical cross section of reinforced concrete 7

Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Concrete as Building Material
Classification according to compressive strength classes

5 to 10 MPa Lean concrete, provisional structures

20 to 30 MPa Structural components in housing and

industry

40 to 50 MPa Concrete for higher requirements in

housing and industry

60 to 120 MPa High performance concrete for special

structures

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Concrete as Building Material

If concrete is produced according to

international stand of technique, it is a
very long lasting material, wear resistant
and relatively cheap.

Important is the proper design of the

concrete components and the proper
handling of the material during the
casting process at site.
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Reasons for Concrete
Deterioration
Reasons, which already exist before
the concrete component has been
finished
- Mistakes during planning and design
- Mistakes related to concrete technology
- Mistakes during production at site

Reasons, which attack the

concrete after finishing the
building
- Environmental influence
- Extraordinary stress
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Reasons for Concrete
Deterioration

Main damages to concrete

components

Corrosion of the reinforcement

Expansion reaction

Dissolving deterioration

Spalling, cracking and weakening of

composite 11
Reasons for Concrete
Deterioration
What is the reason for corrosion of
the reinforcement?
•Inside a “healthy" concrete, the steel is
imbedded in an alkaline environment of pH
13.On the surface of the steel this produces a
protective passive layer, which prevents the
steel from corroding. Reducing of this alkaline
milieu < pH 11 causes corrosion of the
reinforcement.
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Reasons for Concrete
Deterioration

Entrance of harmful agents

Entrance of chlorides

Carbonation

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 Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Existing before finishing the Building

Mistakes during planning and design

Design of minimum measurements as design

measurements.

Too slim concrete components

Wrong load assumptions

Construction situations are not being taken into

consideration

Insufficient investigation of the construction ground

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 Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Existing before finishing the Building

Mistakes during planning and design

- Form deviations are not being considered

sufficiently
Wrong joint design
Disregard of !Stand of Technique“

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration under
Responsibility of the Designer

Concrete
Composition
Measurements
Building
Shape

Designer
Reinforcement Concrete
Cover

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Existing before finishing the Building

Insufficient concrete technology

Wrong concrete composition

Wrong cement class
Wrong kind of cement
Too low cement content
Too high water/cement (W/C) ration
Insufficient quality of aggregates
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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration

 Mistake No. 1:

 Too much water! W/C > 0.5

 Why? Makes life easier at site!

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 Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Consequences of too high W/C ratio
Too much Water Too many Easy access of Harmful
W/C > 0.5 Pores Substances

Rusting of Loss of Steel Carbonation Chloride

Reinforcement Passivation Contamination
Steel

Spalling,
Delaminating, Weakening
Cracking of of Concrete
Concrete Components

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration

Effect of W/C on (type GP cements):

a) Compressive strength b) Concrete permeability

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration Existing
before finishing the Building

 Mistakes during concrete production at site

Unauthorized a
Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Existing after finishing the Building

Physical influences

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Existing after finishing the Building

Chemical influences

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Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Consequences of Carbonation
CO2 enters
concrete Carbonation
CO2 + Ca(OH)2 CaCO3 + H2O Alkalinity drops
pH < 12

Spalling, Depassivation
Corrosion of steel
delamination, of steel
cracking of
concrete
Note:
Weakening of Carbonation
concrete usually stops at a
components certain depth

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 Reasons for Concrete Deterioration
Consequences of Chloride Attack

CL- enters CL- > 0.4% total

concrete chloride W/W
Depassivation
cement
of steel

Spalling,
Weakening of delamination, Corrosion of steel
concrete cracking of
components concrete
Note:
Chloride attack
does not stop at a
certain depth

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Reasons for Concrete
Deterioration
•Influence of humidity and concrete quality on
critical chloride content

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Damages

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Damages

•Cracking • Spalling

•Delamination •Corner Effects 28

Requirements for Good
Quality Concrete

Dense, not too many pores (total pore

volume < 16 Vol.-%)
Water/cement ratio W/C < 0.5 Cement
content > 300 kg/m3 Alkalinity pH > 12
Water dispersible chlorides < 0.35 %
related to cement in compacted fresh
concrete
Concrete cover > 2 cm (3 cm)
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Requirements for good Quality
Concrete

Proper grading of aggregate

Proper aggregate quality Use good
quality cement
Correct cement type (GP, HE, LH, SR,
SL)
(GP = general purpose, HE = high early strength, LH = low heat, SR

= sulfate resistant, SL = shrinkage limited)

Limit fly ash content

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Measures to achieve good Quality
Concrete

Carry out proper compacting

procedure Carry out the necessary
quality checks Check the batching
plant
Control the mix at site (Slump Test)
Do not trust documents without
checking

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 Measures to achieve good
Quality Concrete
Slump Test

1) Filling 2)
Compacting

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3) Lifting 4)
Measuring
Damage Analysis

Formation and types of cracks

Inspection techniques
Visual inspection
Cover meter
– Cylinder compressive strength test
– Phenolphthalein indicator
– Half-cell potential mapping

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