Development of a low-alkalinity seawater sea sand concrete for enhanced compatibility with BFRP bar in the marine environment

Abstract

To enhance the durability performance of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) bar reinforced Seawater Sea Sand Concrete (SWSSC) structure components in the marine environment, this paper investigated the feasibility of reducing SWSSC alkalinity to improve its compatibility with BFRP bars. The low-alkalinity ternary mixtures were designed with ordinary Portland cement (OPC), silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) through the simplex centroid design method. The evolutions of micro-morphology and hydration phase were characterized by isothermal calorimeter, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis. The added SF and FA inhibit the formation of AFm phases and Friedel's salt, and consume the Portlandite content in seawater cement paste. Exposure in the marine environment can lead to magnesium and sulfur abundant zonation in the low-alkalinity SWSSC. The durability performances of BFRP bars reinforced SWSSC columns are evaluated through accelerated aging tests in a simulated marine environment at 55 °C. The tensile strength degradation of BFRP bars embedded in low-alkalinity SWSSC is significantly mitigated due to the less alkaline and less moist internal environment. After 180-day accelerated aging, the tensile strength retentions of BFRP bars wrapped by low-alkalinity and normal SWSSC are higher than 70% and less than 24%, respectively. After accelerated aging in seawater, the load-bearing capacity of BFRP bars reinforced low-alkalinity SWSSC column slightly improves and the ductility remains unaffected. Meanwhile, the ductility of BFRP bars reinforced normal SWSSC column is reduced by about 30% after conditioning. The research outcomes can serve as a solid base for the durability design of BFRP-SWSSC structures in the marine environment.