Title: Real-time monitoring of covercrete response to environmental action

Authors: W. John McCarter, Thomas M. Chrisp, Gerry Starrs, Muhammed Basheer

Addresses: School of the Built Environment, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. ' School of the Built Environment, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. ' School of the Built Environment, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. ' School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Abstract: Currently, the most predominant process associated with the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures is corrosion. Since it is the cover-zone concrete which protects the steel from the environment, the ability to study the protective qualities of the covercrete could assist in assessing the current and future performance of the structure. To this end, a multi-electrode array was used to study the surface 50 mm of concrete specimens, thereby, allowing a detailed picture of the response of the covercrete to the changing environment, both in the short- and long-term. In the current work, CEM I, CEM II/B-V and CEM III/A cements were used and comprised field studies on both |mini slabs| and monoliths.

Keywords: concrete structures; reinforced concrete; cover zone; durability; monitoring; conductivity; covercrete; corrosion protection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIC.2009.027077

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 2009 Vol.7 No.2, pp.219 - 223

Published online: 14 Jul 2009 *

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