ABRASION, CAVITATION

AND ACOUSTIC
PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
 ABRASION
• ABRASION WEAR OCCURS DUE TO
RUBBING, SCRAPING, SKIDDING, OR
SLIDING OF OBJECTS ON THE
CONCRETE SURFACE. THIS FORM
OF WEAR IS OBSERVED IN
PAVEMENTS, FLOORS, OR OTHER
SURFACES ON WHICH FRICTION
FORCES ARE APPLIED DUE TO
RELATIVE MOTION BETWEEN THE
SURFACES AND MOVING OBJECTS.
• 1. SEQUENCE OF ABRADING CONCRETE SURFACE IN HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES [11]
[A) INITIAL STAGE, B) CONCRETE SURFACE UNDER ABRASIVE ACTION, C) LOSS OF
COARSE AGGREGATE AND MORTAR FROM CONCRETE SURFACE, D) FURTHER LOSS
OF COARSE AGGREGATE AND MORTAR FROM CONCRETE SURFACE].
RESISTANCE TO ABRASION
 CAVITATION

• CAVITATION DAMAGE TO CONCRETE

STRUCTURE SURFACE IS MOST
COMMON IN CASE OF SPILLWAY IN
DAMS. THIS LEADS TO CRACKS ON
THE CONCRETE SURFACE WHICH
FURTHER INCREASES THE RISK OF
DAMAGE TO CONCRETE BY MEANS OF
SULFATE ATTACK, FREEZE-THAW,
ALKALI-SILICA REACTION AND OTHER
MEANS.
 THE INITIATION OF CAVITATION
DAMAGE
• IRREGULARITIES ALONG THE FLOW SURFACE AND A LOW CAVITATION INDEX
ASSOCIATED WITH A SPILLWAY FLOW. CAVITATION IS TYPICALLY INITIATED BY
SINGULAR ISOLATED IRREGULARITIES OR ROUGHNESS ALONG A FLOW
SURFACE. IN CONDITIONS SUCH AS
• OFFSETS INTO THE FLOW.
• OFFSETS AWAY FROM THE FLOW.
• HOLES OR GROOVES IN THE FLOW SURFACE.
• PROTRUDING JOINTS.
• CALCITE DEPOSITS ON THE FLOW SURFACE.
 MEASURES TO REDUCE CAVITATION

• TO DATE, NO MATERIAL, INCLUDING STAINLESS STEEL AND CAST IRON, HAS

BEEN FOUND CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING FULLY DEVELOPED INSTANCES OF
CAVITATION. SUCCESSFUL REPAIRS MUST FIRST INCLUDE MEDIATION OF THE
CAUSES OF CAVITATION.
• A STANDARD RULE OF THUMB IS THAT CAVITATION DAMAGE WILL NOT
OCCUR AT FLOW VELOCITIES LESS THAN ABOUT 40 FEET PER SECOND AT
AMBIENT PRESSURES.
• MORE LIKELY, HOWEVER, THE CONCRETE THAT DOES NOT MEET SURFACE
SPECIFICATIONS MUST BE REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH REPLACEMENT
CONCRETE OR EPOXY-BONDED REPLACEMENT CONCRETE.
 ACOUSTICS

• THE ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE ARE DEFINED AS ITS ABILITY TO

REDUCE THE TRANSMISSION OF SOUND THROUGH IT. THE DENSITY OF
STANDARD CONCRETE MIXES CAN, IN RELATIVELY SMALL THICKNESSES,
PROVIDE SUFFICIENT MASS TO REFLECT SOUND. PREVIOUS RESEARCH. HAS
DEFINED CONCRETE AS A GOOD INSULATOR WHICH, DUE TO ITS HIGH
DENSITY, CAN REFLECT UP TO 99% OF SOUND ENERGY. HOWEVER, PLAIN
CONCRETE IS A POOR SOUND ABSORBER WHICH CAN LEAD TO ECHOES
WITHIN ENCLOSED SPACES.
 SOUND ABSORPTION CO-EFFICIENT

Material Sound absorption co-

efficient
Concrete 0.02–0.06
Unpainted blockwork 0.02–0.05
Hardwood 0.3

ABSORPTION CO-EFFICIENT OF ANYTHING ABOVE 0.25 IS CONSIDERED TO BE A GOOD

ACOUSTIC MATERIAL IN CONCRETE IT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY PARTIAL REPLACEMENT
OF REINFORCED RUBBER FIBRES
THANK YOU