Construction

and Building

Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971

MATERIALS
www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Effect of W/C ratio on covering depth of fly ash concrete in

marine environment
W. Chalee, M. Teekavanit, K. Kiattikomol, A. Siripanichgorn, C. Jaturapitakkul *

Department of Civil Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Prachautid Road, Bangmod, Tungkru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand

Received 19 January 2006; received in revised form 9 March 2006; accepted 15 March 2006
Available online 15 May 2006

Abstract

This investigation studied the effect of W/C ratio on covering depth required against the corrosion of embedded steel of fly ash con-
crete in marine environment up to 4-year exposure. Fly ash was used to partially replace Portland cement type I at 0%, 15%, 25%, 35%,
and 50% by weight of cementitious material. Water to cementitious material ratios (W/C) of fly ash concretes were varied at 0.45, 0.55,
and 0.65. The 200-mm concrete cube specimens were cast and steel bars with 12-mm diameter and 50 mm in length were inserted in the
concrete with the covering depth of 10, 20, 50, and 75 mm. The specimens were cured in water for 28 days, and then placed to the tidal
zone of marine environment in the Gulf of Thailand. Subsequently, the concrete specimens were tested for the compressive strength,
chloride penetration profile and corrosion of embedded steel bar after being exposed to tidal zone for 2, 3, and 4 years. The results
showed that the concrete mixed with Portland cement type I exhibited higher rate of the chloride penetration than the fly ash concrete.
The chloride penetration of fly ash concrete was comparatively low and decreased with the increasing of fly ash content. The increase of
fly ash replacement and the decrease of W/C ratio could reduce the covering depth required for the initial corrosion of the steel bar.
Interestingly, fly ash concretes with 35% and 50% cement replacement and having W/C ratio of 0.65 provided better corrosion resistance
at 4-year exposure than the control concrete with W/C ratio of 0.45. In addition, the covering depth of concrete with compressive
strength of 30 MPa (W/C ratio of 0.65) could be reduced from 50 to 30 mm by the addition of fly ash up to 50%.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: W/C ratio; Fly ash; Marine environment; Covering depth; Threshold chloride

1. Introduction nificantly affects the durability of concrete in marine envi-

It is well known that the reinforcing steel bar in concrete
corrode mainly due to chloride and sulfate attacks in marine
environment. Traditionally, the performance of concrete
used in marine environment depends on the concrete with
a higher compressive strength and a lower permeability,
and it can be achieved by low using the W/C ratio, an
appropriate cementitious material, and compacting well.
These performances have been proposed to reduce the con-
crete covering for protecting the steel from corrosion. Fur-
thermore, the trend to optimize the structural dimensions
has led to the reduction of concrete covering. This trend sig-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 2 470 9131; fax: +66 2 427 9063.
E-mail address: chai.jat@kmutt.ac.th (C. Jaturapitakkul).
ronment. However, in practice, the effectiveness of
concrete covering used in marine environment depends on
both performance of concrete and environment condition.
Thus, in long term study, the investigated corrosion data
of reinforcing steel bar are unquestionably needed for con-
crete used in marine site, especially the data on corrosion of
reinforcing steel bar related to chloride content and com-
pressive strength of concrete. In particular, a study of
threshold chloride would be presented in term of the level
of chloride concentration required to initiate the corrosion
of reinforcing steel bar. This chloride concentration has led
to the finding of sufficient concrete covering for marine
environment. Presently, many researchers have presented
the threshold chloride in concrete with various cementitious
materials [1–3]. However, most researches were investigated

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.03.002
966 W. Chalee et al. / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971

in laboratory and very few were found for the practical site
studies of marine environment which was also affected by
the abrasion-erosion damage.
In addition, no publication presents the corrosion data
of reinforcing steel bar in long term study of marine envi-
ronment of high humidity and hot climate in South East
Asia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to present the
effects of W/C ratio, compressive strength, and fly ash
replacement on the covering depth required against the
corrosion of embedded steel bar in concrete in marine envi-
ronment up to 4-year exposure.

2. Experimental program

2.1. Concrete materials

The concrete materials used in this study consist of Port-

land cement type I, fly ash obtained from Mae Moh power
plant in Thailand, river sand, and crushed limestone with
maximum size of 19 mm. Physical properties of these mate-
rials are shown in Table 1. Fly ash and Portland cement
type I have the median particle sizes of 30.6 and 25 lm,
respectively. In addition, the chemical properties of fly
ash and Portland cement type I are presented in Table 2.

2.2. Specimens and tested program

Fig. 1. Detail of embedded steel bar in concrete. (a) Top view detail and
In this study, 200-mm concrete cube specimens with the (b) Isometric view detail.
steel bar of 12 mm in diameter and 50 mm in length were
prepared. The steel bars were embedded in concrete with

the coverings of 10, 20, 50, and 75 mm as shown in

Table 1 Fig. 1. Fly ash concretes were cast by replacing Portland
Physical properties of Portland cement type I and fly ash cement type I by fly ash at 15%, 25%, 35%, and 50% by
Parameter Material weight of cementitious material (Portland cement and fly
Cement type I Fly ash (F) ash). Water to cementitious material ratios (W/C) were
Specific gravity 3.15 2.22 varied at 0.45, 0.55 and 0.65. For control concrete having
Blaine fineness (cm2/g) 3250 2830 W/C ratios of 0.65, 0.55 and 0.45, the compressive
Median particle size (lm) 25 30.6 strengths are about 30, 40 and 50 MPa, respectively. Mix-
ture proportions of concrete used in this study are shown
in Table 3.
Table 2 The concrete specimens were removed from the molds
Chemical composition of Portland cement type I and fly ash after casting for 1 day and then cured in water for 27 days.
Chemical composition (%) Sample The compressive strengths of concretes at the age of 28
days were determined by using the cylindrical specimen
Cement type I Fly ash (F)
of 100 mm diameter and 200 mm length. After that, the
Silicon dioxide, SiO2 20.80 44.95
200-mm concrete cube specimens were transferred to the
Aluminum oxide, Al2O3 5.50 23.70
Iron oxide, Fe2O3 3.16 10.80 tidal zone of the marine site (The Gulf of Thailand) in
Calcium oxide, CaO 64.97 13.80 Chonburi Province, Thailand. The annual temperature at
Magnesium oxide, MgO 1.06 3.47 this site is between 26 °C and 30 °C, and the chemical anal-
Sodium oxide, Na2O 0.08 0.07 ysis of seawater is shown in Table 4. The concrete speci-
Potassium oxide, K2O 0.55 2.38
mens were tested to determine the compressive strength,
Sulfur trioxide, SO3 2.96 1.31
Loss on ignition, LOI 2.89 0.52 chloride penetration profile, and corrosion of the embed-
Tricalcium silicate, C3S 56.50 – ded steel bar after being exposed to seawater in the wet-
Dicalcium silicate, C2S 17.01 – dry conditions for 2, 3, and 4 years. All data were used
Tricalcium aluminate, C3A 9.23 – for analysis of the covering depth required against the ini-
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite, C4AF 9.62 –
tial corrosion of embedded steel bar.
 W. Chalee et al. / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971 967

Table 3
Mixture proportions of concrete
Mix Fly ash Mixture proportions of concretes (kg/m3) W/C
replacement (%)
Cement Fly ash Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Water
I45 0 478 – 639 1,024 215 0.45
I45F15 15 406 72 639 1,004 215 0.45
I45F25 25 359 119 639 990 215 0.45
I45F35 35 311 167 639 977 215 0.45
I45F50 50 239 239 639 957 215 0.45
I55 0 478 – 639 971 262 0.55
I55F15 15 406 72 639 948 262 0.55
I55F25 25 359 119 639 933 262 0.55
I55F35 35 311 167 639 918 262 0.55
I55F50 50 239 239 639 897 262 0.55
I65 0 478 – 639 922 311 0.65
I65F15 15 406 72 639 898 311 0.65
I65F25 25 359 119 639 881 311 0.65
I65F35 35 311 167 639 864 311 0.65
I65F50 50 239 239 639 840 311 0.65

Table 4 steel bar at the specified covering depth was investigated by

Chemical analysis of seawater
Parameter January May August
2002 2002 2003
pH 8.2 8.2 7.9
Chloride (mg/l) 18.035 16.210 17.125
Sulphate (mg/l) 2.240 2.500 2.230
2.3. Determination of compressive strength of concrete
specimen
After the concrete cube specimens were placed in marine
environment for 2, 3, and 4 years, they were moved back to
the laboratory. The determination of compressive strengths
of concretes were then carried out from the cored cylinders
having 50 mm diameter and 100 mm length.
2.4. Determination of chloride penetration profile
In parallel to the compressive strength test, test was con-
ducted to measure the chloride ingress at any depth of con-
crete. The concrete sample was dry-cored to obtain a 50-
mm diameter cylinder at the center of the specimen. The
cored sample was cut from surface having each slide of
10-mm thickness then each slide of concrete was ground
into fine particles. The ground concrete powder of 10 g
was used to test for chloride content by acid-soluble chlo-
ride method, in order to determine the total chloride con-
tent in concrete, in accordance with ASTM C1152 [4].
The chloride content was plotted against the covering
depth, presenting the chloride penetration profile in con-
crete. In addition, the chloride content at the position of
the embedded steel bar was also determined.
2.5. Determination of corrosion of the embedded steel bar
After finishing coring, the embedded steel bars were
removed from the concrete cube specimens, and then were
cleaned by brush in dry condition. Corrosion of embedded
measuring the rusted area.
December
2003
2.6. Calculation of threshold chloride and penetration depth
8.2
18.820
The threshold chloride value was determined from the
2.680
amount of chloride required to initiate the corrosion of
the embedded steel bar. In this study, Clt, represents the
threshold chloride content for the initial corrosion of the
embedded steel bar. The initiation corrosion of the embed-
ded steel bar is defined as the initial rusty (about 1–2% of
rusted area) of the embedded steel bar. Throughout, the
penetration depth of threshold chloride content can be
interpolated from the chloride penetration profiles. For
example, Fig. 2 shows the corrosion of the embedded steel
bar in term of percentage of rusted area related to the chlo-
ride content in concrete with W/C ratio of 0.45 (concrete
I45) at 4-year exposure. The initial occurrence of rusted
area is detected with chloride content of 0.70% by weight
of binder. This is defined as the threshold chloride content
(Clt) of concrete I45 at 4-year exposure. From the Clt
value, the penetration depth of Clt has to be extrapolated
from the chloride penetration profile, as shown in Fig. 3.
Thus, the penetration depth of Clt of concrete I45 is
38 mm at 4-year exposure. With the same procedure, the
Clt of the other concrete mixtures at a given age can be
achieved.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Threshold chloride
Table 5 shows the threshold chloride content (Clt) of all
concretes at 2-, 3- and 4-year exposure. The results showed
that the fly ash concrete presented lower Clt than concretes
without fly ash for all W/C ratios at any age of exposure.
These results indicated that the level of chloride concentra-
tion for the initial corrosion in fly ash concrete was lower
than that of control concrete. Therefore, the increasing of
968 W. Chalee et al. / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971

I45 I45F15 I45F25 I45F35 I45F50

7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5

Cl (% by w t of binder)
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
-

2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
I45(Clt =0.7%)
0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Rusted area (%)

Fig. 2. Relationship between chloride content and rusted area of concrete with W/C ratio of 0.45 at 4-year exposure.

I45 I45F15 I45F25 I45F35 I45F50

4.5

4.0

3.5
Cl (% by w t of binder)

3.0

2.5

2.0
I45 (Covering depth
1.5 for initial corrosion=38 mm)
-

1.0

0.5

0.0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0
Distance from surface (mm)

Fig. 3. Chloride penetration profile of concrete with W/C ratio of 0.45 at 4-year exposure.

fly ash replacement resulted in the decreasing of Clt and it depth of 60, 48, 38, 35 and 30 mm, respectively, as shown in
was also confirmed by other research [5]. For example, con- Fig. 4. These values indicates the minimum covering depth
cretes I55, I55F15, I55F25, I55F35 and I55F50 had Clt of of concrete required to protect the reinforcing steel from the
0.70%, 0.50%, 0.50%, 0.40% and 0.20% at 4-year exposure, initial corrosion at 4-year exposure. Using of fly ash helps
respectively. the concrete to resist the chloride penetration since the
lower rate of chloride content was found as compare to
3.2. Effect of fly ash on covering depth for initial corrosion the concrete I65. These results confirmed the generally
knowledge that the pozzolanic reaction of fly ash in con-
Figs. 4–6 show the covering depth for initial corrosion of crete performs lower permeability than control concrete
embedded steel bars at any exposure period (the penetration with the same W/C ratio and it was strongly supported by
rate of Clt) for concretes with W/C ratios of 0.65, 0.55, and several studies [6–10]. Particularly, all fly ash concretes
0.45, respectively. At W/C ratio of 0.65, the initial corrosion had the corrosion resistance at 4-year exposure better than
at 2-year exposure was started at 46-, 36-, 30-, 28- and 20- the control concretes at 2-year exposure. This clearly
mm depth from surface for concretes I65, I65F15, I65F25, explains that the addition of fly ash at least 15% by weight
I65F35 and I65F50, respectively. At 4-year exposure, the of cementitious material, the resistance for initial corrosion
initial corrosion of these concretes were occurred at deeper of embedded steel bar at least 2 years of exposure could be
 W. Chalee et al. / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971 969

Table 5 enhanced. The faster rate of chloride penetration was also

Threshold chloride content of concrete at 2, 3, and 4 years exposure in leading to the faster rate of corrosion. For instance, the ini-
marine environment
tial corrosion of embedded steel bar with the 50-mm cover-
Mix Threshold chloride content, Clt (% by weight of binder) ing depth was occurred at 2-year exposure in concrete
2-year Exposure 3-year Exposure 4-year Exposure without fly ash, but it might take 4-year exposure for fly
I45 1.0 1.8 0.7 ash concrete with 15% replacement (implicitly presented
I45F15 0.8 0.7 0.3 from Fig. 4). The chloride penetration rates were also sim-
I45F25 0.6 0.7 0.6 ilarly presented in Figs. 5 and 6, for concretes with W/C
I45F35 1.0 0.8 0.2
I45F50 0.4 0.3 0.2
ratios of 0.55 and 0.45, respectively.
I55 0.9 1.6 0.7
I55F15 0.8 0.6 0.5 3.3. Effect of W/C ratio and compressive strength on
I55F25 0.9 0.5 0.5 covering depth for initial corrosion
I55F35 0.7 0.4 0.4
I55F50 0.3 0.1 0.2
I65 0.8 1.4 0.4
Fig. 7 shows the effect of W/C ratio and fly ash content
I65F15 0.6 0.2 0.4 on the covering depth required for initial corrosion of steel
I65F25 0.6 0.4 0.4 bar in concrete at 4-year exposure. Interestingly, fly ash
I65F35 0.5 0.2 0.5 concretes with W/C ratio of 0.65 and fly ash replacement
I65F50 0.2 0.2 0.2 of 35% and 50% provided the better result of corrosion

70.0
Covering depth for initial corrosion (mm))

60.0 I65

50.0 I65F15

40.0 I65F25
I65F35
30.0 I65F50

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Age (years)

Fig. 4. Effect of fly ash on the covering depth for initial corrosion of embedded steel bar for concrete with W/C ratio of 0.65.

50.0
I55
Covering depth for initial corrosion (mm))

40.0
I55F15
I55F25
30.0 I55F35
I55F50

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Age (years)

Fig. 5. Effect of fly ash on the covering depth for initial corrosion of embedded steel bar for concrete with W/C ratio of 0.55.
970 W. Chalee et al. / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971

40.0
I45

Covering depth for initial corrosion (mm))

I45F15
30.0
I45F25
I45F35
I45F50

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Age (years)

Fig. 6. Effect of fly ash on the covering depth for initial corrosion of embedded steel bar for concrete with W/C ratio of 0.45.

70.0
W/C=0.65 W/C=0.55 W/C=0.45
Covering depth for initial corrosion (mm))

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 50.0 55.0
Fly ash replacement (%)

Fig. 7. Effect of W/C ratio on the covering depth for initial corrosion of embedded steel bar in concrete at 4-year exposure in marine environment.

resistance at 4-year exposure than the control concrete with cantly affect on the water permeability of fly ash concrete
W/C ratio of 0.45. For example, with 35% and 50% of fly [11]. Typically, the increasing of W/C ratio from 0.45 to
ash in concretes with W/C ratio of 0.65 (concretes I65F35 0.65, the control concrete needed to increase the covering
and I65F50), the covering depths for initial corrosion were depth of 22 mm (from 38 to 60 mm) for initial corrosion
found of 35 and 30 mm, respectively, while, the thicker cov- of embedded steel bar while the 50%-fly ash concrete
ering depth of 38-mm was observed in control concrete needed only 5 mm (from 25 to 30 mm).
with W/C ratio of 0.45 (concrete I45). Decreasing in W/C Relationship between the compressive strength and the
ratio also resulted in the decrease of covering depth, parti- covering depth for initial corrosion of embedded steel bar
cularly as shown in the control concrete. This result can be at 4-year exposure in marine environment is shown in
explained that the water permeability of the control con- Fig. 8. The results clearly showed that the increase in com-
crete is mainly depended on the compressive strength which pressive strength of concrete leads to decrease the covering
is achieved by the use of low W/C ratio. Owing to the depth for the initial corrosion of embedded steel bar. For
results, W/C ratio significantly affects on the chloride compressive strength of 30 MPa, the use of fly ash reduced
penetration of the control concrete. However, the effect of the covering depth of concrete from 50 mm to 48, 38, 37
W/C ratio on penetration depth of fly ash concrete was not and 30 mm for fly ash replacements of 15%, 25%, 35%
significant for the high volume fly ash concrete. It was the and 50%, respectively. This implied that the concrete with
result of W/C ratio that mainly influenced on the water compressive strength of 30 MPa could reduce the covering
permeability of cement concrete. Furthermore, the physical depth from 50 to 30 mm if the adding of fly ash up to 50%
properties and chemical compositions of fly ash signifi- was introduced.
 W. Chalee et al. / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 965–971 971

0%-Fly ash 15%-Fly ash 25%-Fly ash 35%-Fly ash 50%-Fly ash
70.0

Covering depth for initial corrosion (mm)

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Compressive strength (MPa)

Fig. 8. Effect of compressive strength on the covering depth for initial corrosion of embedded steel bar in concrete at 4-year exposure in marine
environment.

4. Conclusions kut’s University of Technology Thonburi, and Burapha

University, Thailand for providing facilities and equip-
Based on the results and discussions, the following con- ments.
clusions are made:
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