An Overview of Concrete Erosion

Concrete degradation is a serious concern in new and existing structures. With the majority of Australia’s population living near the cost marine infrastructure and residences close to the sea are prone to damage due to chloride induced corrosion. All concrete construction is at risk from other common forms of damage which develop in early age concrete due to design or construction concerns. Finally some degradation is unique to the concrete environment like hydrogen sulfide linked softening/erosion of concrete in sewers or carbonation related steel corrosion in road tunnels or very old structures

Delamination or "Concrete Cancer"- Corrosion of reinforcing steel within concrete is common, with concrete damage and spalling the visible result of the corrosion product expanding and pushing apart the concrete. This is linked to chloride ingress to the level of the reinforcing steel in marine environments. Australian structure do not experience the same risk from de-icing salts as in other areas of the world.

• Acid attack – Hydrogen sulfide evolved from sewerage during normal operation will react with moisture to acidify and damage the concrete, acid attack may also occur in industrial processes.

• Plastic cracking –Apparent soon after casting if concrete has dried unevenly plastic cracking may occur. Plastic cracking is usually long and shallow

• Drying shrinkage cracking - Internal support of concrete or outside restraint will often cause cracking of concrete in larger pours as it shrinks while drying, hard to eliminate saw cutting of control joints to promote cracks is common.

• Honeycombing – Insufficient consolidation of concrete can leave internal voids in a concrete element. This may be visible externally or hidden by a skin of solid concrete. Proper vibration and reinforcing design can eliminate this concern, with special self-consolidating mixes also useful.

• Crazing – Crazing is another flaw of very shallow cracks evenly distributed over a wide area of the concrete. It is best eliminated with proper curing.

  About the Company:

Pcte supplies a range of equipment from around the world to offer you a one stop shop with all of the latest equipment. Concrete Non Destructive Testing (NDT) comprises testing a property of concrete, largely without damaging the concrete to assess some parameter that either directly or indirectly provides a required characteristic of the concrete or its embedment. For more details, you can contact us at the website.

a href=http://www.pcte.com.auPCTE is one of the leading sellers of large range of proven technical products that have been used and demonstrated to be effective in their respective applications. For more details, visit their website.