Chapter A: Repair and Maintenance of Concrete

concrete structures. The need for protection may also be indicated by pattern
cracking, surface scaling or spalling, and shrinkage cracking. By treating
vulnerable surfaces in the early stages of deterioration, later repairs may be
avoided or at least postponed.

Other maintenance actions can include making changes to the operation of the
facility to protect the concrete. For concrete that is subject to damage from
freezing and thawing weather, reducing the number of cycles of freezing and
thawing while the concrete is critically saturated can extend its service life. This
can be done by insulating the concrete or by changing operating procedures to
keep critical areas under water (that does not freeze) in cold weather, or by
varying the depth of water over the years to avoid concentrating the damage at
one elevation. For example, the concrete damage shown in figure 3 could have
been reduced if the water level was varied during cycles of freezing and thawing
weather.

Figure 3. Freeze-thaw damage that could have been reduced by changing

operation of the structure.

Concrete in contact with high velocity flowing water has special needs. Small
offsets at joints, or cracks or small holes in the concrete surface, can result in
cavitation damage to concrete. The hole or offset causes the flowing water to
separate from the concrete surface. This separation causes vapor bubbles to form
in the flowing water. When these bubbles collapse downstream, they exert forces
that destroy concrete and most other rigid materials including high strength
stainless steel.

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