DURABILITY

Durability of concrete: ability to resist

weathering action, chemical attack,
abrasion, or any process of deterioration
 DURABILITY
A durable concrete is the one which will
withstand in a satisfactory degree, the
effects of service conditions to which it will
be subjected.
 DURABILITY
Properties of Durable Concrete
 Low permeability
 Low chloride ion permeability
 Good resistance to deterioration due to deicing salts
 Good freeze-thaw resistance
 Good resistance to chemical attack
 DURABILITY

Factors Affecting Durability:

 External → Environmental

 Internal → Permeability, Characteristics of

ingredients, Air-Void System...
 PERMEABILITY OF
CONCRETE
 The permeability of concrete is controlled
by capillary pores, which is mostly affected
by w/c, age, degree of hydration, curing
regime, etc.
 In general the higher the strength of
cement paste, the higher is the durability &
the lower is the permeability.
 Permeability
 The permeability of concrete is a measure
of the relative ease with which liquid and
gaseous agents migrate through the pores
of concrete material.

 Such agents include moisture, carbon

dioxide, sulfur dioxide, chloride ions etc.
 Permeability

 These substances penetrate the concrete

interior, where they often have deleterious
effects on both the concrete matrix and
the embedded reinforcing steel.
 Permeability
 In concrete, water is a necessary
ingredient for the cement hydration
reactions and an agent that facilitates the
mixing of the components of concrete,
water is present from the beginning.
 Gradually, most of the evaporable water in
concrete is lost, leaving the pores empty or
unsaturated.
 Remember the pores of concrete !
Pores of Concrete
 Permeability - Durability
 The permeability of concrete generally depends
on its pore structure.
 The pore structure is a representation of the
size, shape, distribution and tortuosity of the
pores.
 It is accepted that permeability is an
important index of concrete
durability.
 Permeability - Pores
 Permeability is primarily influenced by the capillary pores
(0.01 to 1 m) of the material’s structure.
 The sizes of capillary pores increase with increasing
water cement (w/c) ratio and decrease with increasing
degree of hydration (curing).
 The higher the w/c ratio, the larger the size of the initial
pores to be filled during the cement hydration process.
 As hydration progresses, the hydration products in which
the pores on the average are considerably smaller and
more segmented replace the capillary pores.
 This condition results in a less permeable medium.
 Permeability - Porosity
 Often, porosity and permeability are confused.
 Porosity and permeability are two different
material properties.
 Porosity is the volume of pores with respect to
total volume.

Porous, impermeable Porous, permeable

 Permeability - Porosity
 It is conceiveable, although somewhat
improbable, that a concrete could be porous and
impermeable, if it contained a series of
disconnected air pockets separated by
impermeable material.
 Generally capillary pores are related to
permeability.
High porosity, low permeability Low porosity, high permeability
 Causes of Concrete
Deterioration
 The mechanisms of deterioration and their rate
are controlled by the environment, the
microstructure and the fracture strength of the
concrete.
 Environmental factors such as seasonal
temperature variations, cyclical freezing and
thawing, rainfall and relative humidity changes,
and concentration of deleterious chemicals in the
atmosphere/water in contact with the concrete
are the main causes of degradation.
 Importance of
Permeability
 However, the most important parameter that
leads to premature deterioration is the ingress of
moisture into the concrete.
 Permeability of concrete to the macro-
environment during its service life therefore can
be used as a measure of its durability.
 Concrete is inherently weak in tension and for
this reason its fracture strength is one of the
most important factors in relation to the rate of
deterioration.
 Importance of
Permeability
 Thus, in a general failure model; the permeability and
the fracture strength are inter-related and can be identified
as the two most important variables for assessing concrete
durability.
 Transport Mechanisms

 Absorption: Generally defined by absorption

capacity, and the rate at which liquid enters the
pores is defined as sorptivity.
 Diffusion: Generally defined by diffusion
coefficient.
 Permeability: Generally defined by permeability
coefficient.
 PERMEABILITY TESTING

 EN and ASTM standards use different

transport mechanisms to characterize
permeability
Depth of Water Penetration
 EN 12390-8: Testing hardened concrete: Depth of
penetration of water under pressure
 Pressurized water is applied on one side of a hardened
concrete specimen
 Pressure of 500 kPa for 72 hours
 Later concrete is split into
two.
Depth of Water Penetration
 The penetration depth is
measured to the nearest 1 mm.
 Specimen should be at least
150 mm
 The depth of penetration may
be difficult to observe.
 DURABILITY

A durable concrete is the one which will

withstand in a satisfactory degree, the
effects of service conditions to which it will
be subjected.
Factors Affecting Durability:
 External → Environmental

 Internal → Permeability, Characteristics of

ingredients, Air-Void System...
 Structure of “un-damaged”
Concrete
 Macrostructure
– Aggregates (CA, FA)
– Hydrated cement paste (hcp)
– Entrapped air voids
 Microstructure
– Hydrated cement paste (Hydration products: C-S-H,
ettringite, monosulfate; porosity: gel, capillary pores
entrained/ entrapped air voids)
– Transition zone (TZ)
Structure of “un-damaged”
Concrete

Macrostructure Microstructure
 Structure of “damaged”
Concrete
Macrostructure Microstructure
 Alkali-silica reaction:
Visible cracks in hcp Reaction product forms
and aggregates due at TZ and expands
to volume changes  Frost action: Water
(to understand freezes in capillary
pores and expands
cause of cracks,
 Sulfate attack: reaction
microstructure products form in hcp
should be examined) and expand
Durability Problems
 Leaching and Effloresence
 Sulfate Attack
 Sea water
 Acid Attack
 Carbonation
 Alkali-aggregate reactions
 Corrosion
 Freezing/Thawing
 Scaling
 Abrasion
 ...
Internal Parameters

 Alkali aggregate reactions

(Cement and aggregate)
 Free CaO, MgO
(Cement)
 Sulfate Attack
(Ingredients of concrete)
External Parameters

 Corrosion
 Sulfate Attack
 Freezing/Thawing
 Abrasion
 Leaching & Efflorescence

 When water penetrates into concrete, it

dissolves the non-hydraulic CH (and
various salts, sulfates and carbonates of
Na, K, Ca)

 Remember C-S-H and CH is produced

upon hydration of C3S and C2S
 These salts are taken outside of concrete
by water and leave a salt deposit.
 Sulfate Attack

 Ground water in clayey soils containing alkali

sulfates may affect concrete.
 These solutions attack CH to produce gypsum.
Later, gypsum and calcium alumina sulfates
together with water react to form “ettringite”.
 Formation of ettringite is hardened cement
paste or concrete leads to volume expansion
thus cracking.
 Moreover, Magnesium sulfate may lead to the
decomposition of the C-S-H gel.
 Sulfate Attack

1. aşama:

2. aşama:
Gypsum Ettringite
 Sulfate Attack

 To reduce the sulfate attack

1. Use low w/c ratio→ reduced permeability &
porosity
2. Use proper cement → reduced C3A and C3S
3. Use pozzolans → they use up some of the
CH to produce C-S-H
 Sulfate Attack

 Seawater contains some amount of Na and Mg

Sulfates.
 However, these sulfates do not cause severe
deleterious expansion/cracking because both
gypsum and ettringite are soluble in solutions
containing the Cl ion.
 However, problem with seawater is the frequent
wetting/drying and corrosion of reinforcing steel
in concrete.
 Sulfate Attack

 Formation of relatively insoluble magnesium

hydroxide. In the absence of hydroxyl ions in the
solution C-S-H is no longer stable and is also
attacked by the sulfate solution.
 The magnesium sulfate attack is, therefore, more
severe on concrete.
MgSO4 +Ca(OH)2 +2H2O CaSO4.2H2O + Mg(OH)2

3 MgSO4 + 3CaO .2SiO2 .3H2O + 8 H2O 

3CaSO4.2H2O + 3 Mg(OH) 2 + 2SiO2.H2O
 Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)

 Alkalies of cement + Reactive Silica of Aggs

→ Alkali-Silica Gel

 Expansions in volume

 Slow process

 Don’t use aggs with reactive silica or use

cements with less alkalies.
 Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)

The gel expands when absorbs moisture. This expansion casues

internal pressure which will eventually cause cracking.
Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)

 Influencing Factors
– Reactive forms of
silica in the
aggregate,
– High-alkali (pH) pore
solution
– Sufficient moisture
If one of these conditions is
absent ― ASR cannot occur.
Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)

 Test Methods
– Mortar-Bar Method (ASTM 227)
– Chemical Method (ASTM C 289)
– Petrographic Examination (ASTM C 295)
– Rapid Mortar-Bar Test (ASTM C 1260)
– Concrete Prism Test (ASTM C 1293 )
Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)

 Controlling ASR
– Non-reactive aggregates
– Supplementary cementing materials or
blended cements
– Limit alkalis in cement
– Lithium-based admixtures
– Limestone sweetening (~30% replacement
of reactive aggregate with crushed limestone
 Corrosion

 Electrochemical reactions in the steel rebars

of a R/C structure results in corrosion
products which have larger volumes than
original steel.

 Thus this volume expansion causes cracks in

R/C. In fact, steel is protected by a thin film
provided by concrete against corrosion.
However, that shield is broken by CO2 of air
or the Cl- ions.
 Corrosion
(Baradan v.d., 2002)

Fe+O2+H2O
Fe2++ 2(OH)-
Fe(OH)2

Corrosion
Products
Fe  2e- + Fe2+ O2+ H2O + 2e-  2(OH)-
Corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion
 Corrosion

For corrosion to start

of

 Chlorides
Corrosion

Humidity
 Carbonation
Degree

O2

CO2, Cl-
For corrosion to continue
Initiation Progress
 Water
Useful Life
 Oxygen
 Carbonation

 Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O

pH~12.5 pH~8.5

 Accompanied by shrinkage → carbonation

shrinkage
 Makes the steel vulnerable to corrosion
(due to reduced alkalinity)
 Freezing and Thawing

 Water when freezes expands in volume.

This will cause internal hydraulic pressure
and cracks the concrete.
 To prevent the
concrete from this
distress air-entraining
admixtures are used
to produce air-
entrained concrete.
AIR VOID CHARACTERISTICS

Entrained Air Entrapped Air

 AIR VOID CHARACTERISTICS
 Air void analyzer (Fresh concrete)
 Petrography (Hardened concrete)
 Acid Attack

 Concrete is pretty resistant to acids. But in

high concentrations:

 Causes leaching of the CH

 Causes disintegration of the C-S-H gel.
 Abrasion

 Aggregates have to be hard & resistant to

wear.

 Bleeding & finishing practices are also

important.
 CONCLUSION

 Permeability is an index of DURABILITY.

 Permeability can be decreased by:
– Proper constituents
– Proper mix design
– Proper curing