Major Causes of Concrete Damage
Because of its exceptional durability, concrete is the most used building material. Concrete deterioration, however, can result from poor design and building methods, material constraints, and exposure to harsh weather. This may have an impact on a structure’s structural, functional, and aesthetic features. Concrete can sustain considerable damage from a variety of sources, including chemical attacks, overloading, collision, carbonation, dry and wet cycling, and fire. A construction contractor enumerated the main reasons why concrete gets damaged:
Carbonation
When carbon dioxide combines with hydroxides like calcium hydroxide in concrete, such as through microcracks and holes, calcium carbonate is created. The reaction’s end product lowers the pH of concrete from 13 to 8. The drop in alkalinity makes the steel bars embedded more susceptible to rust. Nevertheless, carbonation does not speed up the corrosion of steel bars.
Reinforcement Corrosion
Concrete damage is frequently caused by corrosion of the reinforcement. When concrete’s pH is lowered to 10 or less and chloride ions, oxygen, and moisture get inside, it happens.
Rust builds up in larger volume than steel as a result, placing stress on the nearby concrete and causing it to crack, delaminate, or spall off.
By using low permeability, crack-free concrete and providing enough concrete cover over steel bars, corrosion of reinforcement embedded in concrete can be greatly reduced.
Chemical Attack
Concrete deterioration can result from sulfates of sodium, potassium, calcium, or magnesium dissolved in soil, seawater, or groundwater penetrating the surface, reacting with hydrated substances, and expanding. Moreover, a substance that absorbs water and results in substantial swelling and cracking is produced by an internal sulfate attack (delayed ettringite development).
In both rainy and dry cycling circumstances, this type of chemical attack is more severe. The greatest defense against sulfate attacks is to use cement with a small amount of tricalcium aluminates and a low water-cement ratio.
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