ASSESSMENT OF CONCRETE DETERIORATION DUE TO CRUDE OIL BY NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

Abstract

The present work describes an investigation into the use of non-destructive method in determining the degree of concrete deterioration due to crude oil penetration. The pulse velocity, resonant frequency, damping capacity and compressive strength were measured by using concrete specimens soaked in crude oil for different periods and the resulting changes were compared with similar specimens soaked in water and others sealed and stored as control specimens. The load at which the first crack occured during the compression test was generally lower for these soaked in crude oil than those water cured specimens. The resonant frequency increased by 3.2-4.3% after soaking the concrete in oil for 580 days compared to the dry specimens before soaking. The increase was between 6.5–9.5% lower than that of the water cured specimens. The studies of logarithmic decrement indicate that the loss of moisture is the most important factor influencing damping capacity. The studies also indicate that there is no single relationship between the logarithmic decrement and the cube crushing strength for concrete of different soaking condition.