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Showing 1-5 of 11 Abstracts search results

Document: 

SP-308

Date: 

July 25, 2016

Author(s):

David Tepke, David Trejo, and O. Burkan Isgor

Publication:

Symposium Papers

Volume:

308

Abstract:

The detrimental influence of chlorides on the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete has been widely documented. The literature clearly shows that chloride concentration at the steel level must exceed a critical chloride threshold to initiate active corrosion of reinforcement embedded in concrete. It is now well accepted that this critical chloride threshold is not a unique value, but rather a range that depends on several factors. Regardless, placing concrete with chloride concentrations above the critical chloride threshold for a particular situation would result in active corrosion of the reinforcement and is therefore undesirable. Unnecessarily restrictive limits, however, can lead to preclusion of some otherwise acceptable materials or require use of supplemental materials or alternative mixture designs that may increase costs or impact sustainability. Thus, there is a need from a practical standpoint to establish conservative, yet reasonable, limits so that the effects of corrosion can be managed without undue restrictions. ACI documents place limits on the amount of chlorides that can be incorporated into new concrete – these limits are referred to as the allowable admixed chloride limits.

Documents published by ACI Committees 201 and 222 currently recommend limiting admixed chlorides based on a mass percentage of the portland cement in the concrete mixture. Other documents, such as ACI 318, limit the admixed chlorides based on weight percentage of cement. With the movement of the industry towards greener systems, the inclusion of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) as part of the cement could be beneficial. SCMs, however, when used in large quantities, have been reported to decrease the pH of the pore solution, which may lower the critical chloride threshold values. If the critical chloride threshold values for concrete systems containing only portland cement are different than the critical chloride threshold values for systems containing portland cement and SCMs, the published allowable admixed chloride limits may not be applicable. A further complication in establishing values exists due to performance-based cements in which the specific amounts of SCMs might not be known to the specifier.

This special publication (SP), based on two technical sessions held during the Fall 2015 Concrete Convention and Exposition in Denver, CO, November 8-11, 2015, addresses challenges associated with allowable admixed chloride limits, critical chloride thresholds, testing for the critical chloride threshold, binding of chlorides in different systems, and how admixed chlorides influence service life. Authors and presenters from North America and Europe provided a variety of perspectives, experiences, and opinions. Based on the presentations, the open discussion that followed the presentations, and the papers in this SP, evidence indicates that allowable chloride limits should be based on cementitious materials content including both portland cement and SCMs. However, because research on the amount of chlorides required to initiate corrosion in systems containing high SCM replacement levels suggests that there may be upper limits at which the inclusion is appropriate, it was suggested that it may be appropriate to place limits on the replacement percentages of SCMs used for calculations of cement content when determining allowable admixed chloride limits. Although the Denver sessions and the papers in this SP provide a significant move forward on better defining allowable chloride limits and likely allow for refinement of current recommendations in ACI documents, more research is needed.

On behalf of ACI Committees 201 and 222, the editors sincerely thank all authors and presenters for their efforts and contributions to the presentations, open forum, and this SP volume. Special thanks are extended to the peer reviewers of the manuscripts for their constructive comments and recommendations. The editors are also indebted to the ACI staff for their assistance in organizing the sessions, organizing the open forum, and in preparing this volume. The editors earnestly hope that this symposium and SP volume will serve as a valuable resource to those searching for data, guidance, and better clarity on allowable admixed chloride limits in concrete.

Note: The individual papers are also available. Please click on the following link to view the papers available, or call 248.848.3800 to order. SP-308

DOI:

10.14359/51716899


Document: 

SP308

Date: 

July 25, 2016

Publication:

Symposium Papers

Volume:

308

Abstract:

The detrimental influence of chlorides on the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete has been widely documented. The literature clearly shows that chloride concentration at the steel level must exceed a critical chloride threshold to initiate active corrosion of reinforcement embedded in concrete. It is now well accepted that this critical chloride threshold is not a unique value, but rather a range that depends on several factors. Regardless, placing concrete with chloride concentrations above the critical chloride threshold for a particular situation would result in active corrosion of the reinforcement and is therefore undesirable. Unnecessarily restrictive limits, however, can lead to preclusion of some otherwise acceptable materials or require use of supplemental materials or alternative mixture designs that may increase costs or impact sustainability. Thus, there is a need from a practical standpoint to establish conservative, yet reasonable, limits so that the effects of corrosion can be managed without undue restrictions. ACI documents place limits on the amount of chlorides that can be incorporated into new concrete – these limits are referred to as the allowable admixed chloride limits.

Documents published by ACI Committees 201 and 222 currently recommend limiting admixed chlorides based on a mass percentage of the portland cement in the concrete mixture. Other documents, such as ACI 318, limit the admixed chlorides based on weight percentage of cement. With the movement of the industry towards greener systems, the inclusion of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) as part of the cement could be beneficial. SCMs, however, when used in large quantities, have been reported to decrease the pH of the pore solution, which may lower the critical chloride threshold values. If the critical chloride threshold values for concrete systems containing only portland cement are different than the critical chloride threshold values for systems containing portland cement and SCMs, the published allowable admixed chloride limits may not be applicable. A further complication in establishing values exists due to performance-based cements in which the specific amounts of SCMs might not be known to the specifier.

This special publication (SP), based on two technical sessions held during the Fall 2015 Concrete Convention and Exposition in Denver, CO, November 8-11, 2015, addresses challenges associated with allowable admixed chloride limits, critical chloride thresholds, testing for the critical chloride threshold, binding of chlorides in different systems, and how admixed chlorides influence service life. Authors and presenters from North America and Europe provided a variety of perspectives, experiences, and opinions. Based on the presentations, the open discussion that followed the presentations, and the papers in this SP, evidence indicates that allowable chloride limits should be based on cementitious materials content including both portland cement and SCMs. However, because research on the amount of chlorides required to initiate corrosion in systems containing high SCM replacement levels suggests that there may be upper limits at which the inclusion is appropriate, it was suggested that it may be appropriate to place limits on the replacement percentages of SCMs used for calculations of cement content when determining allowable admixed chloride limits. Although the Denver sessions and the papers in this SP provide a significant move forward on better defining allowable chloride limits and likely allow for refinement of current recommendations in ACI documents, more research is needed.

On behalf of ACI Committees 201 and 222, the editors sincerely thank all authors and presenters for their efforts and contributions to the presentations, open forum, and this SP volume. Special thanks are extended to the peer reviewers of the manuscripts for their constructive comments and recommendations. The editors are also indebted to the ACI staff for their assistance in organizing the sessions, organizing the open forum, and in preparing this volume. The editors earnestly hope that this symposium and SP volume will serve as a valuable resource to those searching for data, guidance, and better clarity on allowable admixed chloride limits in concrete.

DOI:

10.14359/51689229


Document: 

SP-308-03

Date: 

June 1, 2016

Author(s):

Jianqiang Wei, Bernard Tao and W. Jason Weiss

Publication:

Symposium Papers

Volume:

308

DOI:

10.14359/51689178


Document: 

SP-308-07

Date: 

June 1, 2016

Author(s):

David Trejo and Cody Tibbits

Publication:

Symposium Papers

Volume:

308

Abstract:

Chloride–induced corrosion of embedded metals in reinforced concrete structures is dependent on the quantity of chlorides in the concrete material. Because of this, most ACI documents limit the amount of chlorides in the concrete for new reinforced concrete structures. Most documents in the United States limit the chlorides as a function of cement content, generally accepted to be the portland cement content. Significant changes have occurred in the cement and concrete industries, such as performance based specifications for cement (e.g. ASTM C1157) and the ubiquitous use of SCMs. The allowable chloride limits published by ACI Committee 222 specifically states that the allowable limits are based on portland cement content. ACI 318 specifies limits based on weight of cement but is not clear on what determines cement (portland cement only or all cementitious materials?). At issue is whether the allowable chloride limits reported by ACI and other organizations are applicable for mixtures containing SCMs and whether these limits should be based on portland cement content or total cementitious materials (cement + SCM) content. Significant research has been performed to assess the influence of SCMs on transport properties but limited research has been performed on assessing the influence of SCMs on the critical chloride corrosion threshold of steel in concrete. This paper reports on research investigating the influence of SCMs replacement types and quantities on the diffusivity and critical chloride corrosion threshold. Mortar mixtures containing fly ash had three levels of fly ash (0, 20, and 40%) and mortar mixtures containing slag had three levels of slag (0, 30, and 60%). The reinforcing steel for all specimens was conventional steel reinforcement meeting ASTM A615 specifications. Results indicate that the diffusivity of the mixtures containing SCMs was significantly lower than the mixture with portland cement as the only binder. The results also indicate that the critical chloride threshold levels for mixtures containing SCMs is significantly lower than the critical chloride threshold of mixtures containing only portland cement as the binder. An analysis of time to corrosion indicates that although the mean time to corrosion can be lower for systems containing SCMs, t-tests indicate that the null hypothesis (that the means of the time to corrosion of the systems are equal) cannot be rejected. This indicates that although there is a significant reduction (positive influence) in diffusivity when using SCMs, there is also a significant reduction (negative influence) in critical chloride threshold. The benefits of the reduction in the rate of diffusivity seems to be offset by the detrimental effects of SCMs on critical chloride threshold. Limits on allowable chlorides in concrete for new construction published by ACI 222 were based on concretes containing only portland cement as the binder. This research indicates that the ACI published limits may not be applicable to systems containing SCMs and that the limits are less conservative when basing the limits on total cementitious materials content.

DOI:

10.14359/51689182


Document: 

SP-308-09

Date: 

June 1, 2016

Author(s):

Francisco J. Presuel-Moreno, Eric I. Moreno

Publication:

Symposium Papers

Volume:

308

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to determine the chloride threshold concentration of carbon steel rebar embedded in high performance concrete under exposure conditions relevant to the substructure of coastal bridge in Florida. The experiments were based upon a series of reinforced and non-reinforced concrete specimens that contained 1) 20, 35 and 50 percent cement replacement by fly ash, 2) 6, 15 and 27 percent cement replacement by silica fume, and 3) control specimens (no pozzolanic admixture). All specimens had a target w/cm ratio of 0.37. The specimens have been exposed to one week wet - one week dry ponding cycle with natural seawater since January, 1995. Rebar potential values were monitored with time in order to determine when corrosion initiated. The rebar of several specimens activated after 15.6 to 17 years of exposure, and selected specimens were terminated for forensic examination and extent of corrosion. Cores were obtained to determine the extent of chloride ingress, the apparent diffusion coefficient (Dapp) and concrete resistivity. The chloride concentration above the rebar trace was also measured on most of the terminated specimens. The value for Dapp was correlated against the corresponding measured resistivity. Specimens with 50 percent FA had the lowest Dapp but also the lowest chloride threshold.

DOI:

10.14359/51689184


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