C O U P L E D DE T E R I O R A T I O N P R O C E S S E S I N C O N C R E T E
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E X P O S U R E T O A C I DI C E N V I R O N M E N T , C Y C L I C L O A DI N G A N D I M P A C T L O A DI N G
I n g . Ja k u b G r i n g e r
C z e c h T e c h n i c a l U n i v e r s i ty i n P r a g u e , F a c u l ty o f C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g , De p a r tm e n t o f C o n c r e te a n d M a s o n r y S tr u c tu r e s
S u p e r v i s o r : Do c . I n g . M a r e k F o g l a r , P h . D.
ANNOTATION
Durability of the structures is one of the most discussed issues of last decades. Modern
high-performance concretes enable to design extremely slender structures which are
more vulnerable to the deterioration effects due to their minimal dimensions. In case of
the transport infrastructure at least two deterioration mechanisms are involved; chemical
- the material is exposed e.g. to acid solution which reacts with concrete components
and successively weakens composition of the binder and mechanical the material is
exposed to e.g. cyclic loading which leads to the formation and further propagation of
cracks in the material matrix.
The state of the art in the thesis provided information that the problems of the combined
deterioration processes are not so thoroughly described. Therefore the work is focused
on the problem of coupled deterioration processes in concrete, particularly acidic
chemical deterioration, cyclic loading and extreme type of loading impact.
The thesis presents an analytical tool for the evaluation of the chemical deterioration
degree of concrete elements based on the chemical kinetics. This model was further
verified for the use in the assessment of the deflection increase due to the cyclic loading,
so-called cyclic creep, and in the estimation of the beam energy dissipation during the
impact loading.
The analytical model and its extensions were verified with the data obtained from the
long-term experimental program which involved many testing methods (Atomic
Absorption Spectrometry, Scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray
spectroscopy, Photon Doppler velocimetry etc.).
CHEMICAL DETERIORATION OF CONCRETE
For most cases of material deterioration the main factors influencing the degree of
deterioration are the duration of the process and its aggressiveness (rate). For chemical
deterioration, the rate is based on the chemical reaction rate, which can be expressed by
chemical kinetics.
For the thesis, hydrochloric acid (HCl) was used as a deteriorative substance. In this
case, it can be assumed, that the deteriorative reaction, that takes place when an
aggressive environment comes into contact with concrete will correspond with the
neutralization according to the following equation (left) together with the appropriate
rate equation (right):
Based on the long-term pH measurements (Fig. 1) the rate constant was found as a first
order pseudo-rate constant.
Fig. 1. Reinforcement scheme of the specimens.
With the rate constant and the solved rate
equation the actual rate of dissolution of
the calcium ions in time can be
calculated. These quantities are insufficient for quantifying the degree of deterioration
of the concrete elements. To overcome these difficulties, it is necessary to link the
obtained chemical equations with methods for quantifying the material properties. For
this purpose two methods to determine the deterioration degree of concrete exposed to
aggressive environment were proposed: 1) determination of the reduced compressive
strength and 2) evaluation of the time variable cross-sectional area of sound specimen
core.
The first method (reduced
compressive strength) is based on
the modification of the Fret
function for the compressive
strength calculation (equations on
the right). The second method
(reduced cross-sectional area) is based on the elimination of the deteriorated layer
(without Ca2+ ions) from the further calculations.
Assumptions for the analytical model and for both methods for acidic deterioration
assessment stated in the theoretical part of the thesis were verified on the long-term
experimental program. The specimens stored in dry or aggressive environment were
consequently exposed to cyclic loading and at last to the impact loading.
Do c to r a l d e g r e e p r o g r a m : C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g
B r a n c h o f s tu d y : B u i l d i n g a n d S tr u c tu r a l E n g i n e e r i n g
CYCLIC LOADING
It is well-known fact, that the concrete structures deflections increase under the cyclic
loading, the phenomenon is called cyclic creep. In the thesis the mathematical extension
of the deflection increase calculation developed by doc. Foglar was proposed. The
extension is further supplemented by the deterioration methods.
The extension of the method is based on the partial integration over the compressive
zone height which reflects the real stress distribution in the cross-section. The strain rate
effect was included in the evaluation due to the higher strain rates during the fatigue
testing. Comparison of the calculated and measured deflection can be seen in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Static and dynamic deflections with the calculated trend curves for specimen A5
IMPACT LOADING
The impact loading is not a deteriorative effect, but extreme type of loading, therefore it
was evaluated separately, but for the reduced material characteristics due to the
aggressive environment and cyclic loading.
The impact testing was recorded with high-speed camera together with the deflection
measurements using the Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV). For the evaluation of the
dissipated energies during the impact loading the numerical model in LS-DYNA
software was prepared and fitted with the measured data for all tested specimens. The
amount of energy which dissipated in the deflections during the impact loading was
compared for differently deteriorated specimens. The methods for the chemical
deterioration degree assessment were incorporated to the formula for estimating the
dissipated energies during the impact. Evaluation of one specimen can be seen in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. Development of burden speed / deflection and forcedeflection curve / area (right) of spec. A8
CONCLUSIONS
The main focus of the thesis was to propose an analytical model dealing with the acidic
chemical deterioration of concrete structures which can be further extended for the use
in assessment of the deflection increase due to the cyclic loading and for use in the
estimation of the impact resistance of concrete elements.
Main results ofthe thesis are:
Two different analytical approaches for the evaluation of the deterioration degree
of the concrete elements were proposed and successfully verified with the
experimental program. All used assumptions were proved with laboratory testing,
SEM and EDS.
The analytical system for the evaluation of the deflection increase due to the
cyclic loading was extended and the obtained results were experimentally
verified. An approach for the estimation of the remaining fatigue life-time
independent on the total number of applied cycles N and number of already
applied cycles n was proposed.
The approach for possible estimation of the energy dissipated during the impact
loading in dependency on the deterioration degree was formulated. The
recommendations for the FEM modelling of the impact loading were stated.
Both proposed methods for the assessment of deteriorated specimens were
implemented in the consequent systems of cyclic loading and impact loading
assessments. Suitability of particular method for different limit states was
obtained by comparing the calculated and measured data. Principle of the
proposed methods implementation can be seen in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Principle of the proposed approaches implementation to different design states analysis
P e r i o d o f d o c to r a l s tu d y : 0 1 / 2 0 1 2 - 0 9 / 2 0 1 6