Assessment of the marine durability of self-compacting concrete using experimental testing and probabilistic modelling

Abstract

Chloride induced corrosion is recognised as the main cause of reinforced concrete deterioration for structures located in marine environments. The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the marine durability of a number of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) options in the initiation phase of chloride induced corrosion, through laboratory testing, and subsequent probabilistic modelling. It is recognised in the literature that very limited information is available concerning chloride penetration in these increasingly popular SCCs. To date, only a small number of short term laboratory investigations have been published which explore the marine durability of different SCC options. Furthermore, due to the relatively recent development of the SCC technology, no long term information on the marine durability of SCC exists at present. Based these gaps in the existing literature, and shortcomings relating to popular laboratory testing methods used to assess marine durability, the following three core PhD research questions were developed in this thesis; Research Question 1: How do different SCC's perform in the initiation phase of chloride induced corrosion when examaning chloride transport properties under natural chloride migration conditions? -- Research question 2: Does the extent of wetting and drying in a chloride exposure condition effect the relative performance of different SCCs? -- Research question 3: How do different concretes, particularly SCCs for which no long term marine durability data exists to date, perform when examined over service life durations using probabilistic modelling techniques?