Abstract
In the Arabian Gulf countries where soil and groundwater has high contents of sulfates an chlorides, underground reinforced concrete structures deteriorate, due to chloride-induced corrosion of reinforcing steel bars, within a fraction of their design life. One way of overcoming this deterioration problem is by applying a water proofing material (WPM) on the exposed surface of underground concrete structures. The objective of this study was to characterize the WPM and validate the manufacturers claim regarding the growth of crystals and thus assess the chemistry and mechanism involved in the formation of such corrosion protection of the reinforced concrete. Spectroscopic studies of the WPM showed that it is made up of the normal constituents of cement such as calcium carbonates, sulfates, silicates etc. plus some organic products such as sodium fumarate, fumaric acid and melamine-formaldehyde polymers. The mechanism of protection seems to be dual i.e one by controlling the pH of the concrete by providing buffering effect with the fumaric/fumarate combination and second one by reducing permeability of the concrete and thus preventing further ingress of deleterious and corrosive species from outside sources.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1085-1094 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Cement and Concrete Research |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1993 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgement : The authors wish to extend their thanks to the Research Institute of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals for providing the support for this work.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Building and Construction
- General Materials Science