Abstract
In many cases, service life of reinforced concrete structures is severely limited by chloride penetration until the steel reinforcement or by carbonation of the covercrete. Water repellent treatment on the surfaces of cement-based materials has often been considered to protect concrete from these deteriorations. In this paper, three types of water repellent agents have been applied on the surface of concrete specimens. Penetration profiles of silicon resin in treated concrete have been determined by FT-IR spectroscopy. Water capillary suction, chloride penetration, carbonation, and reinforcement corrosion in both surface impregnated and untreated specimens have been measured. Results indicate that surface impregnation reduced the coefficient of capillary suction of concrete substantially. An efficient chloride barrier can be established by deep impregnation. Water repellent surface impregnation by silanes also can make the process of carbonation action slow. In addition, it also has been concluded that surface impregnation can provide effective corrosion protection to reinforcing steel in concrete with migrating chloride. The improvement of durability and extension of service life for reinforced concrete structures, therefore, can be expected through the applications of appropriate water repellent surface impregnation.
Highlights
The development of cement and concrete dates to the mid1800s, and it proved to be a revolutionary innovation in building materials
It is nowadays generally accepted that service life of many reinforced concrete structures is frequently not sufficient
The service life of a concrete structure exposed to sea water or deicing salt can be extended
Summary
The development of cement and concrete dates to the mid1800s, and it proved to be a revolutionary innovation in building materials. Today, reinforced concrete is the single most widely used building material in the world for both entire buildings and key structural elements that need to be able to withstand various substantial loads. Reinforced concrete is used in such large amounts because it shares the characteristics of relatively good durability, low maintenance cost, and convenience. It is nowadays generally accepted that service life of many reinforced concrete structures is frequently not sufficient. The major origin of these problems of maintenance and repair costs and poor serviceability is a lack of durability for reinforced concrete structures [1,2,3]
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