Development of a New Concrete Marine Exposure Site on the Arabian Gulf-East Coast of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

A concrete durability site in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia that exposes Saudi concrete to harsh marine conditions on the Arabian Gulf and salty air conditions was constructed. The site contains 32 concrete blocks formed from eight different mixtures made with Cement Type I, Cement Type V, Cement Type I with 6% silica Fumes, 25% fly Ash, 70% Ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), Migrate Corrosion Inhibitors (MCI), Calcium Nitrite based inhibitors (CNI) and Caltite. Each mixture formed 4 blocks; 2 were reinforced with black steel and two were plain concrete. The concrete blocks were 1200 mm high, 460 mm wide and 230 mm thick placed vertically. The concrete blocks were placed at three zones to achieve different exposure conditions which are atmospheric, splash or spray zone and tidal zone. Samples will be taken periodically to measure the rate of chloride ingress in each concrete mixture under the different exposure conditions. Embedded steel reinforcement in specimens in atmospheric zone have not recorded corrosion activities at six months of exposure. The steel bars in three zones will be monitored for corrosion activity through linear polarization test. The measured chloride profiles in the exposure site will be compared to the measured concrete transport properties from the companion laboratory specimens. Standard compressive test and bulk diffusion test were conducted for 150x300 mm and 75x150 standard cylinders, respectively. All of the cylinders’ strength exceeded the designed compressive strength of 28 MPa. Whereas for 35 days standard bulk diffusion test, mix contained 100% cement type I had the least chloride concentration, and mix 5 that had 70% GGBFS and 30% cement type I had the highest surface chloride concentration. Overall chloride profiles for all the mixes were within ranges reported in literature. Further tests of chloride binding capacity and bulk diffusion for different intervals will be undertaken.