CONCRETE AND ITS DURABILITY

Dr K M Soni

Chief Engineer, CPWD, Mumbai

In India, economic life of a normal RCC structure is considered to be 75 years

(CPWD Works Manual 2014). In case, the structures last for more than 75 years, it helps the
environment by conserving resources, reducing wastes and the environmental impacts of its
repair and replacement. Construction and demolition waste also are reduced and thus they
neither need to be recycled or dumped into the landfills. Thus, in case RCC structures do not
last for their design life, they further pose a problem on environment, ecology, economy of a
country, and inconvenience to the citizens. Hence, durability has to be ensured in a RCC
structure for the welfare of the society.

For the durability of a RCC structure, concrete should be able to resist weathering
action, chemical attack, and abrasion while maintaining its desired engineering properties.
Since, weather, chemicals and abrasion properties vary from place to place, concrete of
particular specifications will not behave similar at all the places thus durability is site
specific and factors affecting durability are required to be included accordingly. For example,
for same degree of durability, concrete exposed to coastal area or in sea will have different
requirements than a concrete in land area. Even concrete exposed to outside weather
conditions like exposed columns and beams will have different requirements than interior
beams and columns. Thus concrete ingredients, their proportion, interaction between the
material ingredients, placement, compaction, curing, and the external environment determine
the durability and life of concrete.

Creation of permanent assets requires considerable amount of capital and if quality is

compromised affecting durability, their replacement or repair and rehabilitation cost leads to
loss of economy. Therefore, such cost is wasted at the cost of quality of life of its public and
particularly has considerable effect in a developing country due to its limited resources.
Though causes of distress may be many, broadly they either are the outcome of poor quality
of education, research and training of engineers and workers, or, poor quality of design,
construction, and maintenance carried out. Sometimes causes are of these individual factors
or of the combination of two or more factors. Unawareness, lack of knowledge or lack of
resources cannot be considered excuses for the durability distress.
 It is really alarming that some of RCC structures which were constructed 35 -40 years
back are in very bad conditions and even at many places had to be pulled down due to safety
requirements and large rehabilitation costs. Corrosion has been noted in many structures
particularly constructed with cold twisted bars. Reasons of corrosion though may be varying
from site to site but few reasons are; no control on w/c ratio, quality of cement, chlorides in
water, quality of reinforcement, environmental factors and poor quality of construction.

Maintenance of structures is not given due importance in the country whether

buildings, flyovers, bridges, or dams. Poor maintenance exposes RCC to the atmospheric
adverse conditions and durability distress starts in such members. even in private buildings,
occupants are very sensitive to interior and maintain interiors in superb conditions but
external members which are more vulnerable from durability considerations are not taken due
care. Leakage and seepage on RCC members and alternate drying and wetting make such
members less durable.

CONCRETE DURABILITY

Concrete durability has been defined by the American Concrete Institute as its
resistance to weathering action, chemical attack, abrasion and other degradation processes.
Thus durability is the ability of concrete to last for a long time without significant
deterioration. Durability is also defined as the continued ability of the structure to withstand
the expected wear and deterioration, performing satisfactorily in the normal operating
conditions throughout its intended life without the need for undue maintenance. Thus it is
implied that certain degree of deterioration is built in during the design but the materials,
process and placement have to correspondence to the design requirements for the durability.
To include the durability in the design, codes specify the provisions for addressing factors
affecting the durability such as carbonation, chloride ingress, leaching, sulphate attack, alkali
silica reaction and freezing thawing.

Durability of concrete gets affected due to following reasons;

i. Engineers or designers not possessing required knowledge of design,

specifications and construction techniques

ii. Not following specified design criterion during structural design

iii. Not following specified criterion of the design during its execution i.e. selection of
materials, their mixing, placement, compaction and curing.
 iv. Not following the specified criterion of maintenance required to maintain
conditions of the construction.

v. Change of specified conditions and assumptions of the design criterion either

during its construction or maintenance period.

A well designed, well executed during its construction and well maintained concrete would
be substantially water tight and durable for the prescribed life of the structure.

DURABILITY DISTRESS

It has been observed that some of RCC structures have even shown distress within
very short period of say 15 years. External symptoms of distress include cracking to spalling
of concrete mostly involving corrosion of reinforcement. Such conditions normally are result
of penetration of water and aggressive chemicals though natural causes of deterioration of
concrete are said to be carbonation, leaching, sulphate attack, alkali silica reaction and
freezing thawing. Though damages may also occur due to fire or natural hazards, these are
not included here.

For deterioration process, various models are available. In two stage model describing
deterioration from environmental effects, during the first stage of loading and weathering, the
voids and micro cracks in the interfacial zone between the cement paste and coarse aggregate
or reinforcing steel become interlinked. When interlinked network of micro cracks gets
connected to any crack present in the concrete, it provides the passage for fluid to the interior
of concrete. In the second stage, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and acidic ions penetrate
easily into the concrete due to availability of passage into the concrete leading to cracking,
spalling and loss of mass, resulting into loss of durability of concrete. From another model,
loss of durability is from three stages. During first stage, protective barrier breaks down such
as depassivation of the reinforcement steel, or chloride penetration. In second stage, damage
is initiated and during third stage, damage gets propagated. From yet another model,
deterioration of concrete is described through water cement (w/c) ratio. Three principal
elements included in the concept are; interconnected porosity of cement paste, exposure to
aggressive chemicals and intermittent presence of water. All three elements are essential for
the damage of RCC.

Porosity

Porosity or permeability of concrete is key success and key failure of the durability of
concrete. Low permeability is required for the success while high permeability is the cause of
failure. High permeability is caused due to deficient compaction resulting into air voids in the
concrete, high w/c ratio, insufficient and inconsistent curing, micro cracks due to loading and
cyclic exposure to thermal variations etc. Compressive strength of concrete also is a function
of w/c ratio, degree of curing and compaction. In addition to this, proper proportion of
aggregates is also required to have less permeability.

Interconnected porosity is required for the passage of fluid whether water or

chlorides/sulphates or even oxygen. High w/c ratio and inadequate curing lead to capillary
porosity, inadequate and improper compaction to air voids, and extra loads, weathering,
inadequate curing, improper placement of concrete, poor maintenance etc may lead to micro
cracks. Macro cracks are produced due to improper placement, hardening process, intrinsic
chemical attack and corrosion of reinforcement.

Aggressive Chemicals

Concrete is resistant to most of the conditions of natural environment and even many
chemicals. Concrete is effectively used for the construction of wastewater transportation and
treatment facilities because of its ability to resist corrosion caused by the highly aggressive
chemicals in the wastewater or used for its treatment. However concrete is sometimes
exposed to aggressive chemicals that can cause deterioration of concrete like in chemical
manufacturing and storage facilities, due to sulphates and chlorides, etc.

Aggressive chemicals may be present in the atmosphere or in the contact surface of

the concrete. The deterioration of concrete starts once aggressive chemicals are able to
penetrate into the concrete and migrate to the reinforcement steel. When concrete cover is
not able to prevent penetration of aggressive chemicals, they reach inside and if
interconnected porosity is present, chemicals attack to the cement and other constituents of
RCC. Corrosion of reinforcement bar is due to carbonation of concrete and ingress of
chlorides. Lower the permeability of concrete cover, longer the time it takes for the
penetration and depassivation of embedded steel to affect the RCC. Oxygen available in the
air becomes available for the corrosion process.

Excessive amount of sulphates in soil or water for example calcium sulphate, sodium
sulphate, and magnesium sulphate can attack and destroy a concrete if not designed properly.
Sulphates cause deterioration of concrete as a result of reaction between the minerals in
hardened Portland cement paste and sulphate ions. Sulphate attack and salt crystallization are
more severe where the concrete is exposed to wetting and drying cycles. Low w/c ratio and
specially formulated cements prevent sulphate attack. Sulphate attack can be external or
internal. External attack is due to penetration of sulphates in solution for example through
groundwater, sea water, sewer lines or soil from outside and may cause extensive cracking,
expansion, loss of bond between the cement paste and aggregate etc. leading to loss of
concrete strength. Internal attack is due to a soluble source being incorporated into the
concrete at the time of mixing for example gypsum in the aggregates for examples from
water, aggregates, excessive gypsum added in the cement etc.

Chlorides may be present in the fresh mix or may penetrate from external source into
the hardened concrete. Chlorides destroy the passive film on reinforcing steel and initiates
corrosion of steel. Sea water and hard water are the easy carriers of the chlorides including
soils on which structures are founded. Chlorides present in RCC affect the durability of RCC
though not of much concern in plain concrete. Steel is protected by concrete as high pH of
concrete causes a passive and non corroding oxide film on steel. However, as the chlorides
destroys the film and penetrate the film in a way of reaching the threshold, an electric cell is
formed along the steel and the electrochemical process of corrosion starts.

Alkali Silica Reaction

When the aggregates in concrete contain reactive forms of silica, the phenomenon of
chemical reaction is called as alkali silica reaction (ASR). Expansion, cracking, and loss of
strength, elasticity and durability are observed due to ASR. Chemical reactions between
aggregates containing certain reactive constituents and alkalis and hydroxyl ions released by
the hydration of cement can have a deleterious effect on concrete. Thus ASR is an expansive
reaction between reactive forms of silica in aggregates, admixtures, water and potassium and
sodium alkalis, mostly from cement. This reaction produces significant expansion and leads
to a network of cracks, joints, and movement of portions of a structure. Therefore, selection
of proper aggregate, admixtures and water becomes essential for the durability.

Seawater Exposure

A RCC structure is more vulnerable in the coastal areas and thus, special care is
required in selection of mix design and materials used, not only in concreting but also for
finishing items. Repetitive wetting and drying process further affects the durability. In case of
structures under seawater, sulphates and chlorides in seawater require the use of low
permeability concrete to minimize corrosion. Use of sulphate resistant cement, proper w/c
ratio and proper cover are important factors to be taken care.
Freezing and Thawing

Deterioration is caused by the freezing of water and subsequent expansion in the

concrete paste, particularly when concrete is wet. With the addition of an air entrainment
admixture, concrete becomes resistant to freezing and thawing as space created by air
entrained admixtures takes care of the expansion.

Durability of concrete is also affected by several other factors like design deficiency,
detailing deficiency, poor or deficient construction, use of poor materials, poor workmanship,
including adverse environment. Though normal strength concrete has been used for last many
years, space constraints and heavy load requirements have worldwide forced to engineers to
use high strength concrete. To include durability criterion, high performance concrete is now
adopted which provides high strength as well as high performance.

HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE

Though concrete is said to have been used since ancient times, its use in the form of
reinforced cement concrete (RCC) has been started in nineteenth century. Today, around the
world, RCC construction is adopted more than any other type of construction. Compressive
strength of concrete was the main factor considered in the design of RCC structures. The
structures were few storied structures and thus normal structural concrete was used generally
having compressive strength of 20 to 50 MPa but with high rise structures and high
compressive strength requirements initially for special structures like bridges, flyovers and
piers for railways, high strength concrete was invented. Though constituents were not
changed from normal concrete but admixtures were added. High strength concrete (HSC)
started with compressive strength of about 50-100 MPa, and then many terms were used like
ultra strength concrete with compressive strength about 100-150 MPa, and especial strength
concrete having compressive strength more than 150 MPa. General principles in the design of
HSC were reduction of w/c ratio, and reducing porosity, in-homogeneity and micro cracks in
the hydrated cement paste and the transition zone. The utilization of fine pozzolanic materials
in HSC reduced the size of the crystalline compounds, particularly, calcium hydroxide,
leading to reduction of the thickness of the interfacial transition zone.

Often silica fume was added to prevent the formation of free calcium hydroxide
crystals in the cement matrix. Low w/c ratio and the use of silica fume made concrete mixes
significantly less workable, posing a problem in HSC applications where dense reinforcement
is likely to be used. To compensate for the reduced workability, super plasticizers were
added.

Then the concept of high performance concrete (HPC) was invented possessing high
workability, high durability and high ultimate strength. As per ACI, HPC is defined as a
concrete meeting special combination of performance and uniformity requirements that
cannot always be achieved routinely using conventional constituents and normal mixing,
placing, and curing practices. HPC is relatively a new term for concrete that conforms to a set
of standards above those of the most common applications, but not limited to strength. While
all HSC are also high performance, not all HPC are high strength. Some examples of such
criteria for HPC are ease of placement, compaction without segregation, early age strength,
long term mechanical properties, low permeability, density, heat of hydration, toughness,
volume stability, long life in severe environments, and dependability its implementation and
adverse environmental conditions. U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsored
a national programme of field testing HPC bridge decks from which the assumption that
“stronger concrete mixtures would be more durable” did not turn out to be true in the case of
many cast in place, exposed, concrete structures. Therefore FHWA revised the definition of
HPC for highway structures as the concrete that has been designed to be more durable and if
necessary, stronger than conventional concrete. Therefore, durability is a basic criterion in
HPC.

To eliminate defects in concrete due to high w/c ratio and to increase workability, and
poor compaction mostly due to the need of speedy construction, Professor Hajime Okamura
during the 1980s, and Kazamasa Ozawa, Japan developed a concrete called self compacting
concrete (SCC) that was cohesive but flow able and took the shape of the formwork without
use of any mechanical compaction, also known as self-consolidating concrete in the United
States. SCC is characterized by extreme fluidity, thereby having no need for vibrators for
compaction and has characteristics of easier placement, no bleed water, or aggregate
segregation.

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is relatively new term in HSC. RPC was developed
in France in the early 1990s and the world’s first RPC structure, the Sherbrooke Bridge in
Canada, was erected in 1997. RPC is an ultra high strength and high ductility cementitious
composite with advanced mechanical and physical properties. It consists of a special concrete
where the microstructure is optimized by precise gradation of all particles in the mix to yield
maximum density. It uses extensively the pozzolanic properties of highly refined silica fume
and optimization of the Portland cement chemistry. It has been used successfully for isolation
and containment of nuclear wastes in Europe due to its excellent impermeability. RPC is
composed of very fine powders (cement, sand, quartz powder and silica fume), steel fibres
(optional) and superplasticizer. Reactive Powder Concretes have compressive strengths
ranging from 200 MPa to 800 MPa.

Therefore, concrete has become inseparable material in civil construction. Since land
is becoming scarce material and very special multi storied structures are required to be
constructed, durability is going to be major concern in the time to come.

SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES OF DURABILITY DISTRESS

Cracking and concrete spalling are easy symptoms of durability distress in a RCC
structure. Concrete spalling occurs due to one or more of the following reasons;

i. Poor quality of concrete leading to porosity and ingress of water/moisture leading

to corrosion in RCC.

ii. Insufficient cover to the reinforcement.

iii. Too much w/c ratio used in concrete mix producing porous concrete and less
durable.

iv. Finishing works started when concrete is green like plaster, and cladding
preventing water evaporation from the concrete.

v. In cold climates, non provision of air entrained materials in concrete subject to

freezing and thawing.

vi. Providing corroded steel in RCC.

vii. Alternate wetting and drying of concrete surface continuously.

viii. Poor maintenance of RCC structures like no painting on exposed RCC surfaces

ix. Poor compaction of concrete leading to porosity.

x. Damaging RCC components like for installation of coolers, providing false

ceiling, providing service installations like electrical, telephone, dish TV antenna
etc. In case, concrete cover is damaged or reinforcement is exposed, water ingress
starts and corrosion starts.
 xi. Poor installation of service pipes, sewer lines etc. in concrete surfaces where water
leakage starts.

Though concrete has become a useful material in building construction as it has the
resistance to deformation, any potential expansion or shrinkage may lead to complications.
Cracks may be produced in relatively low tensile strength of the concrete. Cracks not only
weaken the ability of a structure to carry its design loads but also affect its durability. In
addition, shrinkage and creep may increase deflections in particular members adversely
affecting the global stability of the structure. Thus, quality and durability are dependent on
various stages of the concrete mix including its placement and setting.

Concrete is in a plastic state before it begins to set. After the placement, there is a period
of settlement when the particles come closer together. During setting, there is volume change
but not of great significance because the concrete is in a plastic or semi plastic state and no
appreciable stresses result from these changes. During settlement, water often appears at the
surface known as bleeding. Though accumulation of water at the top of a mass of concrete is
often undesirable as the upper part can gain progressively more water as the concreting
progresses leading to relatively poor quality at the top but it is also required to prevent plastic
shrinkage in a limited quantity. But excess surface water may lead to weak susceptible layer
on the surface of the concrete. When the evaporation rate exceeds the rate of bleeding,
application of water sprays or application of a curing compound is required to minimise
evaporation. Finishing should be started only after the bleeding period is over.

Since, concrete is not a solid inert mass and large number of small pores or capillaries
exists in it, during curing process, the pores and capillaries are usually full of water and
stresses do not develop but as drying takes place, stresses are said to develop in the concrete.
Also, in case of any unhydrated cement, stresses can develop. Therefore, poor quality of
cement has the effect on volume expansion. Some of the mini cement plants controlling
ingredients manually do not produce consistently good quality of cement.

Water content is probably the largest single factor influencing the shrinkage of paste and
concrete. In general, higher water content increases the shrinkage of concrete. For given
materials and uniform water content, the shrinkage of concrete varies little for a wide range
of cement contents.

Fineness of cement seems to be a factor in shrinkage and coarser particles reacting with
water very slowly, have a restraining effect similar to that of aggregate. Thus, finely grinded
high early strength cements shrink more than normal cement. Thus, use of different grade of
cements like 43 grade, 53 grade and their mixing should be made carefully and avoided.

The size and grading of aggregate do not, by themselves, influence the magnitude of
shrinkage, but aggregates of larger sizes permit the use of a mix with less cement and hence
have lower shrinkage. Some aggregates of sandstones, slate, basalt, trap rock etc. may contain
clay and have large shrinkage and thus the shrinkage of aggregates may be of considerable
importance in the shrinkage of concrete. Various harmful effects of abnormal shrinkage of
concretes, caused by the aggregate have excessive cracking, large deflection of reinforced
beams and slabs and spalling. Particularly in fine grained aggregates (sand), clay content is
observed which has the deleterious effect on durability of concrete.

Admixtures that increase the water requirement of concrete increase shrinkage and those
that decrease the water requirement decrease it. Some admixtures, if used in somewhat larger
than normal doses, do increase shrinkage greatly and care must be exercised in their
proportioning.

The size of RCC member and conditions of exposure are important in the shrinkage
problems. Temperature and relative humidity of the atmosphere have significant effect
particularly in thin concrete members exposed to atmospheric conditions of particular
temperature and humidity. Adequate precautions need to be taken for curing especially thin
members during such conditions.

When a structural element is dried under load, the creep that occurs is much large as it
would be under constant moisture conditions. Thus creep can be several times as large as the
elastic strain on loading. When a sustained load is removed, the strain decreases immediately
by an amount equal to the elastic strain at the given age. This instantaneous recovery is
followed by a gradual decrease in strain but recovery is not complete because creep being
completely a reversible phenomenon. Concrete that exhibits high shrinkage generally also
shows a high creep. When hydrated cement is completely dried, little or no creep occurs.
Creep is also closely related to the w/c ratio. Even when creep does not affect the ultimate
strength of the component in which it takes place, its effect may be extremely serious as far
as the performance of the structure as a whole is concerned. Therefore, RCC members should
be loaded when they have attained adequate strength.

CONCLUSIONS
Durability of concrete is major considerations to be given in design, construction and
maintenance of RCC structures. Factors affecting durability include poor design, poor
construction in terms of high w/c ratio, inadequate compaction, inadequate curing, inadequate
cover, wrong placement of reinforcement, inadequate precautions for chlorides and sulphates,
use of reactive aggregates, use of poorly graded aggregates, use of clayey materials, use of
hard water and not taking adequate precautions for shrinkage, thermal movement, deflection,
and environmental factors. Materials like cement and reinforcement are to be used according
to the design specifications. During service life of structure, maintenance of services and
structural members are to be taken care to avoid direct exposure of RCC members to the
environment and prevent seepage and leakage affecting RCC. An integrated approach of
good quality having quality in design, quality in construction and quality in maintenance
makes structure durable.

REFERENCES

1. CPWD Works Manual 2014, New Delhi.

2. Handbook on Repair and Rehabilitation of RCC Buildings, 2002, New Delhi.

3.Gopal Mishra on Factors Affecting Durability of Concrete through

http://theconstructor.org/2010/01/durability-of-concrete/

4. Kumar Vinay and Soni, K M (2013), High Strength Concrete – Concrete of tomorrow.
Journal of Indian Buildings Congress, XXII (2).

5. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_Concrete

6. www.ce.berkeley.edu/ high performance concrete by P K Mehta and J M Monteiro

7. Study Report no. 146 (2005). Reactive Powder Concrete by Jared Weisman

8. Soni, K M (2014).Article published in the Souvenir of 2nd International Conference on

Durability of Concrete.