RCC STRUCTURES IN COASTAL AREAS

The entire coastal belt of the Indian peninsula is considered as an extremely corrosive belt as per the corrosion map prepared by the Corrosion Advisory Bureau, Metal Research Committee, Jamshedpur. teel and other ferrous metal alon! the coastline are susceptible to corrosion, "hich is mainly initiated by chloride ions present in the sea salts. It is further sustained by the oxy!en present in the atmosphere, "hich diffuses throu!h the moisture film to the surface of the metal. Corrosion of reinforcin! steel is one of the most important causes of deterioration of concrete structures in coastal environment. #i!h permeability concrete, poor desi!n detailin! and construction defects such as inade$uate depth of cover allo" the in!ress of salt and moisture into the concrete. #i!h concentration of salt and moisture result in accelerated corrosion of reinforcin! steel thereby si!nificantly deterioratin! the concrete structure.

Concrete structures in coastal areas can be divided into t"o cate!ories based on their exposure% direct and indirect. &irect exposure includes structures that are fully or partially submer!ed and indirect exposure includes structures that do not come into direct contact "ith sea"ater. Buildin!s alon! the coastline are examples of indirect cate!ory of exposure.

Concrete structures in coastal areas can be distin!uished vis'('vis corrosion% The submer!ed )one *under sea"ater+, the splash and tide )one *intermittently "et and dry+ and the atmospheric )one *"ell above the hi!h tide level+. ,ach of the above )ones has very different corrosion characteristics. Corrosion belo" the "ater level is limited by lo" oxy!en availability and conversely lo"ers chloride and moisture content limit the corrosion rate above hi!h tide level. Corrosion is most severe "ithin the splash and tidal )ones "here alternate "ettin! and dryin! result in hi!h chloride and oxy!en content. Atmospherically exposed structures *buildin!s+ are sub-ected to corrosion from airborne salts and moisture from atmosphere. The $uality of the concrete and the depth of cover play a ma-or role in the in!ress of chloride Corrosion is commonly associated "ith deposition of sea salt in presence of moisture on steel and li!ht metals. Chloride is the most si!nificant corrosive species in the salt particles. Corrosion is influenced by the amount of salt on the metal surface and related to speed and direction of "ind, distance of structure from the shore, elevation of the structures, de!ree of shelterin! and fre$uency and amount of rain "ashin!. .ther factors that influence corrosion include time of "etness, relative humidity, metal surface temperature etc. /ormal steel has poor resistance in coastal atmosphere and hence re$uires protection for durability. To prevent the penetration of chloride ions a dense, impermeable concrete needs to be produced. This can be achieved by usin! 0round 0ranulated Blastfurnace la! *00B +. 1hen 00B cement hydrates, dicalcium silicate and tricalcium silicate are formed. #o"ever, the reaction also produces other secondary hydrates, "hich effectively fill the cement paste pores. This is because there is an excess of reactive alumina and silica in the material. Both these compounds are free to react "ith the excess calcium hydroxide, "hich is present in the pores of cement paste to form further calcium silicate and calcium aluminate hydrates. These bloc2 the pores and reduce the permeability of the cement paste. In addition, 00B cements are able to bind the penetratin! chlorides into chloro'aluminates far better than cement pastes containin! pure .rdinary 3ortland Cement or ulphate Resistant 3ortland Cement. This reduces the dan!er of chloride attac2 still further. ulphate Resistant 3ortland Cement has a reduced bindin! ability because of the lo" tricalcium aluminate content. 00B cement has a slo"er rate of hydration than .rdinary 3ortland Cement helps in reducin! the permeability of concrete as crac2in! due to temperature rise is minimised. I. . 456%7888 recommends use of sla! cement and puts a note as follo"s% 9"here chloride is encountered alon! "ith sulphates in soil or !round"ater, .rdinary 3ortland Cement "ith C:A content from 5 to ; per cent shall be desirable to be used in concrete, instead of sulphate resistin! cement. Alternatively, 3ortland sla! cement conformin! to I 455 havin! more than 58 per cent sla! or a blend of .rdinary 3ortland Cement and sla! cement may be used provided sufficient information is available on performance of such blended cements in these conditions.< To achieve lo" permeability, concrete must be dense "ith a !ood bond bet"een a!!re!ate and cement paste. This can be achieved by usin! !ood standard $uality materials re$uired to ma2e $uality concrete "ith ade$uate cement content, a lo" "ater cement ratio and small si)ed "ell' !raded a!!re!ates. Admixtures containin! chlorides should not be used as they promote corrosion of reinforcement.

&ependin! upon the environmental exposure conditions, the re$uirements of I. . 456%7888 for Minimum Cement Content, Maximum 1ater'Cement Ratio and Minimum 0rade of Concrete "ith nominal "ei!ht a!!re!ates of 78mm nominal maximum si)e and minimum concrete cover for durability and fire resistance should be complied "ith. 3roper compaction of concrete is of vial importance in minimisin! permeability. 3roblems may arise "hen placin! and vibratin! techni$ues are incorrect, slump is too lo", reinforcement is con!ested or form shapes are not conducive to the necessary flo" of concrete durin! placement. 3roper and sufficient curin! of concrete is essential to achieve lo" permeability as the continued hydration of cement increases the volume of the !el and hence decreases pore spaces and bloc2s capillaries. Apart from carryin! out the RCC construction as per the recommended standard practices usin! .rdinary 3ortland Cement, one must be sure of ta2in! care of the follo"in! re$uirements before usin! 3o))olona Cement *00B +.

&esi!n the mix for tar!et stren!th after testin! the cement. Control the "ater'cement ratio as lo" as possible by ma2in! use of plastici)ers. Assure profuse curin! for lon!er time, say, =4 days. 1ait for centerin! removal till the concrete attains t"ice the stren!th re$uired to resist the stresses that "ill be produced in the concrete "hile removin! the centerin!. This is normally =.5 times the usual centerin! removal period for .3C. #o"ever, the same can be determined from cube test results.

To achieve lon!evity of the structure, the reinforcement also needs to be protected a!ainst corrosion. Apart from loo2in! at the $uality of the concrete for producin! lon! lastin! RCC structures in coastal areas, it is also necessary to study the corrosion potential of soils "hich can be -ud!ed from the follo"in!% soil chemistry, p# value of soil, soil mineral composition, effect of !round "ater, subsoil temperature, microbial activity in soil oxidi)in! or reducin! capacity of soil, Ry)ner Index and results of marble tests. The effect of corrosion potential of the soil is to either attac2 concrete or ma2e it "ea2 or to corrode the reinforcement in the structural members. It is e$ually important to protect the steel reinforcement a!ainst corrosion, as it inevitably "ea2ens concrete members, reduces load carryin! capacity and safety factors. In extreme cases failure of reinforced concrete members can occur partly because of loss of stren!th due to reinforcement itself and partly because of the brea2in! up of the concrete surroundin! the reinforcement. 1hen steel reinforcement corrodes, the corrosion product occupies more than three times the volume of the ori!inal steel, exertin! !reat disruptive tensile stress on the surroundin! concrete, leadin! to further crac2in!, more "eather access and further corrosion. In mild cases, rust

stainin! occurs "hereas in more serious cases severe spallin! of concrete may occur and ultimately the concrete members may fail completely. (By Neelkanth D. Joshi who is with Joshi Consultants, consulting structural engineers.)