DURABILITY OF

CONCRETE STRUCTURES
presented by

Gopal
VIII sem
S. J. College of engineering

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
FACTORS GOVERNING DURABILITY

BEHAVIOUR OF CONCRETE
CAUSES FOR DETORIATION
IS CODE
DESIGN FOR DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
STRUCTURES
RECOMMENDATION
CONCLUSION
REFRENCES
2

INTRODUCTION
During the recent past , the problem of early
deterioration of concrete structure has posed a serious
problem all over the world. In India also, this problem is
being witnessed in the past few years, especially in
coastal and industrial area as well as in other aggressive
environments.

WHAT IS DURABLE CONCRETE ?

Durable concrete can be defined as one that is
designed, constructed and maintained to perform satisfactorily
in the expected environment for the specified designed life.

Generally, concrete suffers from more than one causes

of deterioration, which is generally seen in the form of
cracking, spalling, loss of strength, etc. It is now
accepted that the main factors influencing the durability
of concrete is its impermeability to the ingress of
oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, chlorides, sulphates, etc.

A detailed investigation of deteriorated structures

is essential before planning its remedial measures. The
investigations involve initial inspection, condition survey
for cracks and other defects, sampling, measurement of
concrete cover and assessing the material strength. The
intensity of damage can be assessed on the data
collected through Various investigations including Non
Destructive techniques.

FACTORS GOVERNING DURABILITY

Mix design
Structural design
Reinforcement detailing
Concrete cover

Curing
supervision
Quality of material used

Mix design

Structural design & detailing

Concrete cover
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Curing

Supervision

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BEHAVIOUR OF CONCRETE
The behaviour of concrete depends on
several processes.
1. Physical
2. Chemical
3. Biological

1.Physical process
Physical processes lead to gradual deterioration of
concrete, and govern its long-term behaviour.
Cracking : Concrete cracks whenever tensile strains
exceed its tensile strain capacity. Cracks may occur in
green concrete due to plastic shrinkage, settlement of
forms and support movements
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Abrasion : The movements of person and traffic on

concrete surfaces cause abrasive wear. Industrial floor
and bridge deck slabs are subjected to abrasive wear.
Frost & de-icing salts : The transition of water from
liquid state to solid state due to icing involves an
increase in volume by about 9%. In the porous
concrete, the freezing of water induces splitting forces.
Several cycles of freezing and thawing of water may
result in spalling of concrete.The frost resistance of
concrete depends upon several parameters.

2.CHEMICAL PROCESS
Acid attack: Acid attack involves conversion of calcium
compound to calcium salts. The rate of deterioration
depends not only on the strength of the reactants but
also upon the solubility of the resultant salts and their
transport.

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Sulphate Attack: Sulphate attack on aluminate

compounds, calcium and hydroxyl of hardened Portland
cement forming ettringite and gypsum. In the presence of
sufficient water, these reactions of delayed ettringite
formation cause expansion of concrete leading to irregular
cracking. The cracking of concrete provides further access
to penetrating substances and to progressive deterioration.
Alkali attack : Alkalis react with silica containing
aggregates and not with cement. The pore solution in
concrete is lime-saturated and contains potassium and
sodium ions. Free alkalis present in cement dissolve in the
mixing water and forming a caustic solution, which attack
the reactive silica in the aggregate. The alkali silica gel so
formed swells in the presence of moisture, and exerts
osmotic pressure on the concrete internally.
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3. BIOLOGICAL PROCESS
a)Environmental factors
The service life of the concrete structures depends on
the environmental factors as well. The nature, intensity
and timing of environmental influences affect the
behaviour of materials. The permeability of concrete,
concrete cover, structural form, type and location of
reinforcement, and nature of cement and aggregates
determine the response of concrete to environmental
influences.
Exposure conditions
The general exposure conditions are as given below :
Mild Conditions
Severe conditions
Very severe Conditions
Extreme Conditions

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B. Temperature and humidity

An increase in temperature increases the rate of reaction
The rate of corrosion is maximum, when relative
humidity is 90-95%.
Carbonation of concrete takes place rapidly, when the
relative humidity is around 50-60%.

Water
Water is essential for most of the processes leading to
concrete deterioration.
Constant wetting and drying is more detrimental to
concrete than submerged conditions.
The concentration of aggressive substances in the pore
structures increases as a result of cyclic wetting and
drying leading to corrosion.

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Aggressive elements :

Aggressive elements in nature include water and air. The

usual substance present in water and their actions
detrimental to concrete are listed below.
Oxygen dissolved in water.
Carbon dioxide
Chlorides.
Acids in water.

Alkalis in water.
Sulphates.
Aggressive fumes from industrial processes.

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Marine conditions: Marine conditions are more severe than

those occurring on land. Seawater contains MgCl2, MgS04,
CaSO4, KCl, K2SO4. The mean concentration of these salts is
about 35 gm/L. Apart from these salts, sea water also
contains dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide to add to
corrosive process.
The marine, environment may be classified in four zones
according to exposure conditions :
Marine Atmosphere Zone
Splash Zone
Tidal Zone
Submerged Zone

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CAUSES OF DETERIORATION
Concrete normally provides excellent corrosion
protection to embedded reinforcement. The high alkalinity of
concrete, i.e. above pH 12.5, results in the formation of
protective oxide film on steel bars. However, unless concrete is
well compacted and dense, it is susceptible to carbonation, and
looses its capacity to protect reinforcement. Some of the
causes for deterioration of concrete structures are,
Design and construction defects
Poor quality materials
Inadequate supervision
Environment
Corrosion of reinforcement
Inadequate understanding of materials

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IS CODE
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THE TWO IMPORTANT CRITERIA FOR THE

DURABILITY OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES ARE
CONTROL OF DEFLECTION
CONTROL OF CRACKING

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CONTROL OF DEFLECTION
FOR FLEXURAL MEMBERS THE DEFLECTION
IS CALCULATED BY CONSIDERING THE SHORT
TERM DEFLECTION, DEFLECTION DUE TO
SHRINKAGE AND DEFLECTION DUE TO CREEP.

VERTICAL DEFLECTION LIMITS

CANTILEVER

SIMPLY SUPPORTED 20

CONTINUOUS

SPAN UPTO 10M

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21

CONTROL OF CRACKING
FLEXURAL MEMBERS
COMPRESSION MEMBERS
SPACING REQUIREMENTS
Minimum spacing
Maximum spacing

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1. Shape & size of members

Care should be taken to minimize any cracks that may
collect or transmit water.
2. Exposure condition

Exposure

Nominal concrete
cover not less than
(mm)

Mild

20

Moderate

30

Severe

45

Very severe

50

Extreme

75
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3.Freezing & thawing

Where freezing & thawing actions exist, enhanced durability
can be obtained by the use of suitable air entraining
admixtures
Nominal maximum size
aggregate(mm)

Entrained air percentage

20

51

40

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4.Exposure to sulphate attack

Table 4 of IS 456(2000) shows recommendations for the
type of cement, maximum free water/cement ratio and
minimum cement content, which are required at different
sulphate concentration in near-neutral ground water having
pH of 6 to 9.
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5.Concrete mix proportion

The free water-cement ration is an important factor in
governing the durability of concrete and should always be the
lowest value. Appropriate values for minimum cement content
and the maximum free water-cement ratio are given below,

Exposure

Plain concrete
Min. cement
content
Kg/m3

Max. free
W/C ratio

Reinforced concrete
Min. grade
of concrete

Min. cement
content
Kg/m3

Max. free
W/C ratio

Min. grade
of concrete

Mild

220

0.60

300

0.55

M20

Moderate

240

0.60

M15

300

0.50

M25

Severe

250

0.50

M20

320

0.45

M30

Very sever

260

0.45

M20

340

0.45

M35

Extreme

280

0.40

M25

360

0.40

M40

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6. Chlorides in concrete
There is an increased risk of corrosion of embedded metal
whenever there is chloride in concrete. The total amount of chloride
content in the concrete at the time of pacing shall be given below,
Types or use of concrete

Max. total acid soluble Cl

content (Kg/m3 of concrete)

Concrete containing metal and

steam cured at elevated temp. and
pre-stressed concrete.

0.4

Reinforced concrete or plain

concrete containing embedded
metal

0.6

Concrete not containing embedded

metal or any material requiring
protection from chloride.

3.0

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DESIGN FOR DURABILITY OF CONCRETE

STRUCTURES
The main concept in the design is to minimize deflection
and cracking.
The procedure for control of deflection is to control span
to effective depth ratio. It assumes that the deflection of beam
and slab will depend on the following factors.
1.The span/effective depth ratio
2.Type of supports as to whether simply supported , fixed or
continuous
3.Percentage of tension steel or the stress level in the steel level
at service loads if more than the necessary steel is provided at
the section.
4.Percentage of compression steel provided.
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Design for limit state of deflection

Excessive deflection of beams and slab is not only an
eyesore in itself but it can also cause cracking of portion.As
given in IS 456(2000) the commonly accepted limits of
allowable deflection are,
1 A final deflection of span/250 for
the deflection of
horizontal bending members like slabs and beam due to all
load so as to be noticed by the eye.
2 A deflection of span/350 or 20mm which is less for these
members after the construction of the partitions and finishes
etc,to prevent damages to finishes and partitions.

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CRACKING
A crack is a complete or incomplete separation of
concrete into two or more parts produced by breaking or
fracturing. The crack in concrete is one, which cannot be
completely prevented but can only be controlled and
minimized.
There are two types of crack
1.Structural cracks
2.Non-structural cracks

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METHOD OF CRACK CONTROL

Method of crack control
To control the crack width the important
factors to be considered are the following
1.Maximum and minimum spacing of
reinforcements

2.Maximum and minimum area of steel in the

member
3.Curtailment of reinforcement bars

4.Anchorage of reinforcement bars

5.Cover to reinforcement.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Good quality concrete mix with the lowest water cement ratio
compatible with practical placement and finishing techniques
should be used.
Concrete should be properly placed, consolidated and cured.
Over stressing of structures should be avoided.
Application of flexible surface coatings to avoid concrete
surfaces, which can effectively control the ingress of chlorides,
sulphates, carbon dioxide, oxygen and moisture, can be
considered as an effective corrosion control measure.
Exercising adequate care at every stage of planning,
analysis, design and construction for the expected exposure
conditions.

The performance of structures should be monitored

regularly from the stage of commencing.
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CONCLUSION
Durability of concrete structures should be considered as a
significant aspect of structural design. A designer should be
aware of the constructional aspects of structures, as well as, in
order to foresee durability problems due to any peculiarities of
structural loads, layout as well as environment.

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REFERENCES
Concrete technology, Shetty.M.S
Limit state design of reinforced concrete,
Varghese.P.C
IS 456 (2000)

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