CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The Philippines face various natural issues facing the Pacific Ocean
where the greater part of the world's tropical storms is formed, which
results in the nation being hit with multiple typhoons consistently. These
and other ecological issues contrarily sway the country in numerous ways,
and one of these is flooding. There are 143 rainfall days in Manila alone,
and 2025.7mm (79.8") of precipitation is accumulated throughout the year.
In relation to engineering, these rainfalls and floods can result in the
damage of steel and concrete structures due to corrosion.

Corrosion is an entire deterioration process. It has become one of the

significant issues in reinforced concrete structure durability assessment.
The action of calcium carbonate and chloride ion at the protective oxide film
on reinforcing steel in concrete has been identified as corrosion's root
cause. The activity of the harmful compounds formed because of the
reaction between the ions and the embedded reinforcing steel generates
tensile stress that produces cracks and degenerates to concrete spalling.
Although the passive film on the reinforcing steel protects concrete against
corrosion, reinforced concrete structure exposed to the moist area is liable
to corrode, especially at carbon dioxide and chloride ion.

One of the corrosion solutions is to predict the time of corrosion and

the corrosion rate of the reinforced concrete by using Artificial Neural
Network (ANN). It is a system that solves complex problems. It is applied to
several Civil Engineering problems, which have difficulty solving or
interrupting conventional approaches of civil engineering mechanics. These
include building material behavior, Geotechnical and Structural
Engineering, structural identification and control, transport infrastructure
issues, management and technology in construction, and installation
issues.

As a country that is always hit by a typhoon, most of the concrete is

submerged or moist by rainfalls that make the reinforcement in the
concrete corrode. A study to predict the corrosion of steel fiber using
Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is needed to predict the concrete structure's
serviceability life.
 1.2 Background of the Study

This study predicts the time of corrosion and corrosion rate of steel
fiber reinforcement in concrete using Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The
steel fiber has widely used to enhance concrete properties without Steel
Reinforcement bars however the steel fiber within the area of the concrete
cover are always risky of corrosion, as corrosive environmental component
like water and oxygen are present are directly in contact with the steel fiber
to corrode, leading to a reduction of the properties of concrete, depending
to the extent of fiber corrosion. The corrosion risk of steel fiber has been
limitedly dealt with in qualitative ways, for example by a destructive
measurement of half-cell potential of the steel fiber or by determining the
occupation of rust stain on the surface of concrete cover. (Hwa 15)

Concrete steel fiber may be susceptible to chemical degradation as

the steel fiber in concrete may impose development of air void or porosity.
Air bubbles generated in the process of casting fresh concrete may be
unexpectedly arrested underneath the steel fiber even after the vibration
and compaction; in fact, only 0.5–1.0% point of air void and bubbles in
volume can be removed by vibration. [Wiley] The open pores in the steel
fiber concrete may allow aggressive external ion penetrate the reinforced
steel fiber concrete and corrode its concrete cover.

Based on the result of the study, the researchers will be able to

predict the time of corrosion and corrosion rate of the concrete and steel
fiber by using ANN.