• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.99-110
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• 2017

Service life assessments which do not include the synergy between mechanical and environmental loading are neglecting a factor that can have a significant impact on structural safety and durability assessment. The degradation of concrete structure is a result of the combined effect of environmental and mechanical factors. In order to make service life design realistic it is necessary to consider both of these factors acting simultaneously. This paper deals with the advanced modelling of concrete carbonation and chloride ingress into concrete using stochastic 1D and 2D models. Widely accepted models incorporated into the new fib Model Code 2010 are extended to include factors that reflect the coupled effects of mechanical and environmental loads on the durability and reliability of reinforced concrete structures. An example of cooling tower degradation by carbonation and an example of a bended reinforced concrete beam kept for several years in salt fog are numerically studied to show the capability of the stochastic approach. The modelled degradation measures are compared with experimental results, leading to good agreement.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.694-699
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• 2000

Recently, the degradation of reinforced concrete structures due to physical and chemical attack has been a major issue in construction engineering. One of the main causes of degradation of concrete structures can be ascribed to chloride-induced corrosion, i.e., the rapid penetration of chloride ions into concrete. To estimate durability of reinforced concrete structures exposed to marine environment, many different kinds of accelerated tests to evaluate the concrete diffusivity were proposed. In this study, present test methods are reviewed and a proper test method for concrete is selected. The diffusion coefficients of concrete with corrosion inhibitor are measured using the proposed method, and then, measured values are compared to those of concrete without corrosion inhibitor. It is found from experimental results that diffusion coefficient re decreased with curing ages.

• Journal of Applied Reliability
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.71-80
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• 2009

This paper discusses the service life prediction methods for CFRP bar for concrete reinforcement using accelerated degradation tests. The relationship between performance degradation and the rate of a failure-causing chemical reaction is assumed for the temperature accelerated degradation tests. Methods of obtaining acceleration factors and predicting service life of the CFRP bar using the degradation model are presented.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.211-220
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• 2005

The concrete structure is being considered for the main engineered barrier of low and intermediate level radwaste disposal facility. Concrete of low permeability can minimize infiltration of water and effectively prevent release of nuclide to ecosystem. But if concrete degrades, structural stability of disposal structure will decrease while permeability increase, resulting in increased possibility of nuclide release due to water infiltration. Therefore disposal concrete structure degradation shall be minimized to maintain capacity of nuclide isolation. The typical causes of concrete structure degradation are sulfide attack, reinforcement corrosion due to chloride attack, leaching of calcium hydroxide, alkali-aggregate reaction and repeated freezing-thawing. The common cause of these degradation processes is infiltration of water or adverse chemicals into concrete. Based on the study of these degradation characteristics and mechanisms of concrete structure, the methodology of design and service life evaluation of concrete structure as an engineered barrier are reviewed to ensure its long-term durability.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.701-721
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• 2014

In the assessment of existing RC buildings, the reliable appraisal of the compressive strength of in-situ concrete is a fundamental step. Unfortunately, the data that can be obtained by the available testing methods are typically affected by a high level of uncertainty. Moreover, in order to derive indications about the degradation and ageing of the materials by on site tests, it is necessary to have the proper terms of comparison, that is to say, to know the reference data measured during the construction phases, that are often unavailable when the building is old. In the cases when such a comparison can be done, the in situ strength values typically turn out to be lower than the reference strength values (tests performed on taken samples during the construction). At this point, it is crucial to discern and quantify the specific effect induced by different factors: ageing of the materials; poor quality of the placement, consolidation or cure of the concrete during the construction phases; damage due to drilling. This paper presents a procedure for correlating the destructive compressive tests and non-destructive tests (ultrasonic pulse velocity tests) with the data documenting the compressive strength tested during the construction phases. The research work is aimed at identifying the factors that induce the difference between the in-situ strength and cubes taken from the concrete casting, and providing, so, useful information for the assessment procedure of the building.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.681-686
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• 2003

One of the major degradation processes of reinforced concrete (RC) structure is corrosion of reinforced steel due to chloride attack. Severe environments, such as marine environment and exposure to de-icing salts, could accelerate the steel corrosion of RC structures through the chloride ion intrusion into concrete. In order to delay this degradation process, several kinds of admixtures have been used in concrete mix. In this study, effective diffusion coefficient of chloride ion ($D_{eff}$) and total passed charge of concrete with and without fly ash were measured using electrical method. It is found that fly ash concrete has much less chloride ion coefficient than ordinary concrete at later age. By analyzing the test results, $D_{eff}$ at 28 and 90 days was obtained as a function of water-binder ratio (W/B) and an equation for predicting $D_{eff}$ with age was proposed considering the decreasing rate of $D_{eff}$.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.69-91
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• 2010

Current seismic design codes do not contemplate explicitly some variables that are relevant for the design of structures subjected to ground motions exhibiting large energy content. Particularly, the lack of explicit consideration of the cumulative plastic demands and of the degradation of the hysteretic cycle may result in a significant underestimation of the lateral strength of reinforced concrete structures built on soft soils. This paper introduces and illustrates the use of a numerical performance-based methodology for the predesign of standard-occupation reinforced concrete ductile structures. The methodology takes into account two limit states, the performance of the non-structural system, and in the case of the life safety limit state, the effect of cumulative plastic demands and of the degradation of the hysteretic cycle on the assessment of structural performance.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.511-514
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• 2005

In this study, LCC(Life Cycle Cost) evaluation technique is used for the purpose of accumulation of basic data required for such integrative system construction. We predicted the degradation time of concrete and repair material by neutralization through FEM analysis, and utilized the result for LCC evaluation It turned out that the repair method of construction in the most economical initial measure against degradation and a durable period can be chosen through the LCC evaluation in consideration of the degradation prediction using FEM analysis and the initial construction expense in a durable period and repair expense, and the number of repair times.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.99-105
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• 2006

This paper is to investigate feasibility on quantitative aging state of epoxy coating on concrete wall in containment structure under operation of nuclear power plants. For evaluating the physical characteristics of the epoxy coating, adhesion strengths of two kinds of degraded epoxy coating systems on both steel surfaces and concrete surfaces were measured via accelerated aging. Comparatively impedance data taken by ultrasonic test were also taken to relate with adhesion data. After aging, in case of concrete, from half of specimens, aging of epoxy coating was developed. As for steel, on $4^{th}$ inspection day, adhesion force was failed. To improve reliability on quality degradation of epoxy, relationship between adhesion and impedance was analyzed. By tracing to co-respond to these data, it was possible to Fig. out physical state of as-built epoxy coating. The possibility to develop new methodology of time - dependent aging state on epoxy coating was found and discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.499-509
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• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the degradation law of stiffness of steel-concrete composite beams after certain fatigue loads. First, six test beams with stud connectors were designed and fabricated for static and fatigue tests. The resultant failure modes under different fatigue loading cycles were compared. And an analysis was performed for the variations in the load-deflection curves, residual deflections and relative slips of the composite beams during fatigue loading. Then, the correlations among the stiffness degradation of each test beam, the residual deflection and relative slip growth during the fatigue test were investigated, in order to clarify the primary reasons for the stiffness degradation of the composite beams. Finally, based on the stiffness degradation function under fatigue loading, a calculation model for the residual stiffness of composite beams in response to fatigue loading cycles was established by parameter fitting. The results show that the stiffness of composite beams undergoes irreversible degradation under fatigue loading. And stiffness degradation is associated with the macrobehavior of material fatigue damage and shear connection degradation. In addition, the stiffness degradation of the composite beams exhibit S-shaped monotonic decreasing trends with fatigue cycles. The general agreement between the calculation model and experiment shows good applicability of the proposed model for specific beam size and fatigue load parameters. Moreover, the research results provide a method for establishing a stiffness degradation model for composite beams after fatigue loading.