CONCRETE DURABILITY DESIGN FOR DESALINATION PLANTS

This is a modified version of a paper presented at the Membrane & Desalination Speciality Conference, Sydney, February 2009. It includes some additional details included in the papers presentation and some information arising from the Concrete Institute of Australias Workshops on Durability Design.

Frank Papworth Email : F.Papworth@BCRC.com.au Tel : +61 8 9407 5363 The concrete durability design of desalination plants needs to take account of the high consequence of premature failure, the novel exposure situations, the rapid design and construction and the inadequacy of national standards in regards desalination plants. The combination of inadequate standards and higher risk means a high emphasis must be placed on durability design. Design must use: detailed review of exposure, construction methods and operational procedures as inputs to corrosion assessment durability modelling to assess different design options mix trials to provide information for placing, corrosion assessment and crack control design rigorous inspection and testing to check the specification is enforced maintenance management plans to convey long term monitoring requirements The exposure of concrete to seawater is covered by many standards but none of them adeqautly cater for the special underwater, splash and spray zones of desalination plant tanks, channels, pipes and pits. Splash and Spray Zone Exposure The requirement in AS 3600 for atmospheric seawater exposure zones is 50MPa concrete and 45mm (min) cover. This is a very limited choice and is unlikely to give the quoted 40-60 year design life in many severe exposure areas. DR 05252 the proposed revision to AS 3600 goes some way to recognising the inadequacy and introduces a new exposure class, i.e. C2 for splash zones (Table 1), with a higher cover requirement. AS 5100.5 mirrors the as yet unrevised AS 3600 and presumably will need to be revised to reflect the new C2 exposure class. AS 4997 for marine structures already includes exposure classes C1 (spray zone) and C2. It notes the marine provisions in AS 3600 are only likely to give a design life of 25 years but does not specify requirements for a longer life. AS 3735 gives exposure class C for seawater retaining and would apply to all areas of seawater tanks and channels. AS 3735 may also need revision to reflect the C2 exposure class. The differences in AS 3735 and the draft AS 3600 requirements are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Durability Requirements for Seawater Exposed Concrete Strength Cover (no (MPa) ve tol.) (mm) AS3735 General Immersion Quiescent (B1) 40 35 Agitated/Flowing (B2) 40 45 Retaining (C) 50 50 AS 3600 Draft Underwater (B2) 40 30 Spray (C1) 50 40 Splash (C2) 50 55 Figure 1 - Selected Atmospheric Exposure Conditions in Desalination Plants
Wet Blanket Turbulent Flow

Quiescent, Variable Level

Quiescent, Constant High Level

AS 3600, AS 5100.5, AS 3735 and AS 4997 do not have any chloride ingress performance
Frank Papworth is a chartered civil engineer and Managing Consultant with BCRC, a specialist durability consultancy. He is Chairman of the Concrete Institute of Australias committee reviewing their recommended practice on concrete durability. The committee will report on what the industry want from durability codes at the CIAs September conference. These finding are based on workshops held around Australia in June 2009

criteria, cement system or water : binder (w/b) ratio requirements and hence any 50MPa concrete, even those using GP cement, comply with splash zone requirements. GP cement alone is likely to be inadequate in severe seawater exposures (Table 2) and use of a cement system with fly ash, slag or silica fume might be considered essential in splash zones. When using these supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) it would also be necessary to select a suitable w/b ratio. A w/c ratio of 0.380.40 will often be adequate using the covers in DR 05252 for C1 and C2 exposures. Four of the many atmospheric exposures found at desalination plants are shown in Figure 1. Where possible wet blanket and turbulent flow should be designed out as they create high surface chloride level. The quiescent variable level condition needs specific consideration as exposure could become exposure class D3 or D4 as discussed later. In the quiescent constant level case capillary rise may be a consideration. Hence, AS 3600 C2 and AS 3735 C exposure requirements may not be adequate even when SCMs are used in some cases. Modelling is likely to be the only way of assessing concrete requirements. Figure 2 Chloride Ingress in the Splash Zone
Chlorides (wt % conc)
Sorption Layer Ultimate Surface Chloride Level Diffusion Layer Diffusion At Initiation Diffusion 5 years Diffusion 1 year

furnace slag (slag) assuming the cover requirements in DR 05252 and typical surface chloride levels (Sc) that can be expected in the various marine exposure classes. Table 1 : Expected Time (Years) to Corrosion Initiation for 50 MPa Concrete Exp. Class B2 (Coastal) C1 (Spray) C mm 40 60 GP Sc 1.0 3.5 T0 9 8 CSF Sc 1 3.5 T0 105 90 Slag Sc 2.0 4.5 T0 205 172

C2 80 6.0 12 6.0 140 7.0 250 (Splash) Assumptions: C (Cover) mm Sc (Surface Chloride Level) wt % cement Dc (Initial Characteristic Cl- Diffusion Coefficient) GP, CSF, Slag = 5; 0.8; 2.1; x10-12 m/sec2 ; m (DC Reduction Factor with time) GP, CSF, Slag = 0.22 ;0.22 ;0.44 ; Cc (Activation Level) = 0.4 wt% cement Bc (Base Chloride Level) = 0.1 wt % cement The high life expectancy from high slag cements is determined by the dominant effect of the high reduction in chloride diffusion with time (the m value in diffusion calculation). But the m value cannot be checked on a project basis, there is no long term proof that it will continue to reduce for 100 years and the performance of slag can be variable. Some limit on the period of reducing m and a high factor of safety is required. Conversely the high life expectancy from CSF is more influenced by the low initial Dc which can be checked during trial mixes, and silica fume is a more consistent material. GP cement alone has a low Dc and m and hence a low life. Fly ash gives significant improvement to GP cement but a small addition (3-5%) of CSF may be required to achieve an adequately low Dc to provide a 100 year design life with a practical (75 mm) cover. Horizontal concrete surfaces in the splash zone represent a very severe exposure case. Instead of draining off, seawater hangs or ponds on the surface, and is drawn in by capillary action, a relatively fast process. The sorption depth is high. The reverse osmosis (RO) building slab is a case in point (Figure 3). Underwater Exposure The Concrete Institute of Australia committee working on a revised recommended practice for concrete durability have noted the AS 3735 special requirements for water retaining structures (Table 1) and the different deterioration mechanisms that might occur

Splash Zone
Second Splash First Splash

Critical Chloride Level

Penetration Depth
Cover

In the splash zone chlorides build up to a high level at the concrete surface quite quickly as seawater is sucked in and then dries out with each splash (Figure 2). The surface chloride concentration and depth of chloride ingress during this early period are dependent on the concrete sorptivity. Chlorides then diffuse through the diffusion layer slowly. Eventually the critical chloride level at the rebar is reached and the bar starts to corrode. Sorption and diffusion are combined in the chloride ingress model in FIB Bulletin 34 and this could be included as a standard method of design for atmospheric chloride exposures in a future Australian durability code. Table 1 gives the calculated time to corrosion activation (T0) of the reinforcement for vertical concrete elements with GP cement, 8% silica fume (CSF) or 65% ground granulated blast

Figure 3 Exposure of RO Slab. Ponding and drainage of leaking seawater and brine across the slab gives random localised severe exposure.

underwater depending on a concrete elements configuration. These were listed as D class exposures applicable relevant to all immersed seawater exposures when presented to durability workshops around Australia in June this year: D1 - Immersed Quiescent. This applies to all concrete permanently immersed on all faces. AS 3600 underwater requirements of 40MPa concrete and 30mm cover are likely to be adequate for a 100 year life as corrosion rate is severely restricted by oxygen availability. D2 Immersed Agitated /Flowing. This exposure is also intended for concrete permanently immersed on all faces but in this case oxygen concentrations in the seawater would be higher. AS 3735 requires significantly higher protection (Table 1). 40MPa concrete and 45mm cover are also likely to be adequate for a 100 year life. D3 Air One Side, Immersed the Other. Where seawater penetrates a concrete wall under a pressure head and evaporates off the opposite air exposed face salts are deposited in the concrete at the point of evaporation. This can lead to salt build up in the concrete. The risk can be assessed by calculating the seawater water flow rate and back diffusion of chlorides but simple design guides could be developed based on wall thickness, pressure head and concrete grade. D4 Cyclic Long Wet, Long Dry. Where concrete dries out and is then immersed it can suck seawater into considerable depth. After only a few cycles chlorides at reinforcement depth could be very high. The corrosion rate would then be oxygen controlled when immersed and resistance controlled when air exposed. This failure mechanism is common in dry docks and could affect seawater tanks and channels depending on the maintenance cycle. A possible control mechanism is to limit the cumulative dry periods (T4) exceeding 2 weeks to: Saturated Resistivity T4 years (k.ohm cm) 5-10 3 10-20 6 20-30 12 30-40 18 40-50 24 >50 30

Design life may be extended if the maintenance manual requires saturating with fresh water before refilling tanks with seawater. This will prevent the rapid absorption of seawater on filling. Linear polarisation monitoring of corrosion rates is recommended in this case to establish the actual ongoing extent of corrosion. Special Designs for Severe Exposures Where alternative protection measures are taken it may be possible to use lower covers, lower quality concrete or eliminate the use of SCMs. Deterioration often occurs where water ponds around the base of plinths. Water repellents admixtures reduce the sorptivity of concrete and could provide the protection required. Although expensive per cubic meter water repellent concrete can be economical for small volume plinths. On larger elements it may be more economic to have a membrane around the plinth base to 0.5m height. Silanes are considered to eliminate the sorption zone and reduce Dc due to the reduced concrete moisture content. However, some means of assessing the ongoing concrete performance should be specified in the maintenance plan to determine when to reapply the silane. Corrosion inhibitors typically increase the corrosion activation level leading to longer design lives if used at a high enough dosage. The minimum dosage of Calcium Nitrate inhibitors is likely to be 20 l/m3 making them expensive and may lead to rapid stiffening and high heat of hydration. A shorter T1 period may also result. Inhibitors are being used in many marine structures and hence premix companies have gained greater understanding of how to use them practically. If used trials should be undertaken to conform the critical chloride level and an appropriate safety factor should be applied to it.
0.8

E ffec tive w ate r:b in d er

GP
0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 14 d water curing

FA

Slag

CSF

3 d water curing

1 d water curing

Sealed to 100% Maturity

Air curing

Curing compound

AS 3600 provides no guidance on the effect of different curing methods on durability. Figure 4 : Effective w/b ratio for concrete with an actual w/b ratio of 0.39 when cured by different methods and with different cement systems Phaedonos F.A., (2000) records a major increase in volume of permeable voids relative to water curing for different curing methods, i.e.: cured under polythene +21% cured using compounds +37% There is considerable published data on the effect of curing on strength and this can be used in modelling by converting the effect on strength to an effective increase in w/b ratio (Figure ). The effective w/b ratio only applies to a limited thickness which can be estimated based on the concretes sorptivity at the effective w/b ratio. The FIB 34 model can then be used to calculate the cover required to achieve the specified design life using the proposed curing method. Typically the Contractor might be offered a 10 mm cover penalty if he decides to cure using a curing compound rather than water cure. All desalination plants seem to be fast tracked. Contractors will be under pressure to quickly strip and reuse formwork. As the concrete will have a high cementitious content and walls will be of reasonable thickness (300-400mm), significant insitu temperatures can develop. This higher temperature leads to rapid strength gain and early closure of concrete pores. By using maturity to monitor the rate of strength gain insitu the contractor can justify early stripping. If curing time is also linked to maturity he may be able to strip with no further curing. The stripping time will depend on the cement system and the contractor should consider this before finalising a mix design. Design of Specific Elements The exposure of the RO building slab can be very severe. Seawater, brine and deminaeralised water leaks over the non saturated horizontal surface are quickly absorbed. The ingress is much faster than by diffusion. The location of leaks is never known and deterioration that might compromise the operating plant is unacceptable. Hence, slabs are typically coated. Appropriate coatings will require maintenance and are expensive to apply. As the slabs rest on ground and can be made with a single reinforcement layer an inground remote anode cathodic protection system could be applied. No coating would be required, crack widths would not be critical to corrosion, and the concrete quality requirements would be limited. This is likely to provide the lowest economic cost solution but one has yet to be constructed.

RO buildings facades are commonly made from precast concrete. They may get sprayed with seawater and permeate on the internal face and are generally in a B2 exposure externally. They can be constructed using GP cement if a silane is applied over any areas that will receive direct spray internally. Alternatively they can be constructed with CSF, fly ash or slag cements but only CSF is likely to give the rapid turnaround generally required. Brine discharge is very aggressive particularly in pipes not flowing full. Conventional concrete pipe will not provide adequate reinforcement corrosion resistance. Use of in ground anodes to protect the reinforcement in conventional pipe can provide a low cost and rapid construction option. On one project where space did not permit conventional in ground anodes, ribbon anodes were run beside the pipe in the pipe trench (Figure 5). Figure 5 : Cathodic Protection of Pipeline
To Transformer/Rectifier Anode cable in PVC conduit Junction Box Fill Fill Layers Ground connection to Distribution bar Ribbon anodes Concrete pipe Pipe reinforcement Ground Level

Specific consideration must also be given to various forms of sulphate attack in the outfall. If sulphates are not too high then a sulphate resisting cement and low w/c ratio may provide adequate protection. In higher sulphate concentrations coatings may be required. Seawater intake and outfall tunnels run full and can be considered as fully immersed on both faces. Hence, conventional reinforcement corrosion is not a major concern. The use of steel fibre precast segments may provide an economical construction method but even a small amount of corrosion of fibres may be significant. A dense layer of paste around the fibre has been found to give very high corrosion activation levels making the fibre concrete very durable. Steel fibres of adequate aspect ratio, dosage and toughness provide excellent crack

control in themselves and there is unlikely to be an issue in maintaining crack width to the required maximum width of 0.1mm. Allowance for corrosion of fibres in the surface layer is required structurally but the small fibre diameter means that damage to the concrete will not occur even if corrosion does take place. Diaphragm walls are frequently used to give an economic deep tank or riser for seawater. Although the concrete used may be high performance when compacted in cylinders, insitu it is uncompacted and may be highly affected by bleed. Rigorous mix trials, insitu testing and use of self compacting concrete can overcome the need for alternatives such as: designing the diaphragm wall to be redundant with construction of a high performance formed wall inside it application of cathodic prevention with in ground and/or in water anodes. Cracking CIRIA C660 is the latest guide for early age crack width design. It is based on Eurocodes with specific guidance on UK materials and methods of assessment. It provides a comprehensive methodology for handling autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage and thermal contraction. The methods are appropriate for use in Australia but the following issues need to be considered. CIRIA C660 drying shrinkage predictions are significantly lower than those given in AS3600 (Figure 6a) and the latter should be used for Australian structures. The maximum differential shrinkage between the element being considered and its restraint (Figure 6b) should be used to assess shrinkage affect There is no guide for autogenous shrinkage in Australian Standards at present but values given in DR05252 should be used in preference to CIRIA C660 values. Thermal strains are very dependant on local

cements and aggregates and should be specifically assessed for each project. Guidance given in C660 may not be relevant to Australia. Freshwater tanks should be constructed using GP cement if possible to maximise autogenous healing. SCMs reduce the speed and extent of autogenous healing. EN1992-1-1 recommends a coefficient for bond of 0.8 but provides a factor of 0.7 where good bond cannot be guaranteed. It is recommended that the 0.7 factor is always incorporated otherwise the crack widths calculated will be smaller than experience suggests. Hence the coefficient becomes 0.8/0.7=1.14. CIRIA C660 provides allowable crack widths based on ensuring crack will self healing and corrosion will be stifled. It does not give the time taken for self healing to occur. In selecting an allowable crack width for seawater tanks the following should be considered: Many cracks designed to C660 widths, particularly when using SCMs, are likely to leak even after filling with fresh water for a 2 week water retaining test Suppliers of concrete additives to assist crack sealing do not recommend allowing higher crack widths (less reinforcement) to pay for the additives and hence they add to the cost of construction. Mohammed (2004), reporting on cracks in a marine environment after 15 years exposure notes Healed cracks show no corrosion or little trace of corrosion. But severe corrosion was found at unhealed cracks. .. Soon after the marine exposure a remarkably high amount of macro cell current was developed at the cracked region but it gradually drops to a negligible level due to the progress of healing.. Hence, the most economic approach maybe to design seawater tanks using SCMs to CIRIA C660, and to let cracks heal over 3 months of seawater filling. Any cracks leaking at that time should be sealed and the air

Figure 6 : a) AS 3600 and CIRIA C660 Shrinkage Values, b) Differential Shrinkage Assessment of Wall on Restrained Base
Shrinkage Since Casting Wall (uS)
500 400
C660 Wall C40/50 N Cem 400mm thick, cure 3 days C660 Slab C40/50 N Cem 400mm thick, cure 3 days AS 3600 Wall AS3600 Floor

300 250 200 150 100 50 0 10

C660 Wall C40/50 N Cem 400mm thick, cure 3 days C660 Slab C40/50 N Cem 400mm thick, cure 3 days Difference if 20days between pours

Shrinkage (uS)

300 200 100 0 10 100 1000 Time (days) 10000

100 1000 Time (days)

10000

exposed face washed down. If not practical, or acceptable to all parties, it may be necessary to design for cracks widths narrower than those given in CIRIA C660 to ensure the

Settlement (mm)

12.0

Pour Height (m)=10 Bleed Period (hrs)=2 Free Water (lt/m3)=180

Bleed=0.8%

10.0

8.0

Bleed=0.6%

6.0

Bleed=0.4%

4.0

Bleed=0.2%
2.0

materials. Materials factors applied to these properties will allow for inferior performance of local materials to some extent but to eliminate the risk of design rework or construction delay early mix trials are essential. Testing might include: Rate of slump loss may be used to give extended delivery and placing times. Bleed tests to indicate issues with plastic settlement and plastic shrinkage. Figure 8 shows how bleed relates to plastic settlement and Figure 9 how it relates to plastic shrinkage cracking.
Limiting Crack Width (mm)

Settlement Limit
0 2 4 6 8 10

0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 0 5 10 15 20 25 Pressure Gradient (hp/h) 30 35 40 Autogenous healing period All cement systems <3 months GP cement <2 weeks Slag/FA/CSF <2 weeks

0.0

Rise Rate (m/hr)

cracks seal during the water retaining tank test. Figure 7 provide a possible extension to the CIRIA C660 guide. Figure 7 : Possible Guide to Allowable Crack Widths For Different Cement Systems and Allowable Leakage Period. The design of reinforcement for crack control is founded on the following factors controlled by the Contractor: delivered concrete temperature type of aggregate cementitious content & type the ambient conditions at casting formwork type formwork stripping time curing method construction sequence While many of these aspects can be incorporated into the specification it is better to liaise with the contractor and obtain firm construction information at the time of design. Rigorous enforcement of the agreed limits set for each factor is required or crack width will exceed the allowable. If delivered concrete temperatures exceed those assumed by 10C, as occurred on one project, the thermal strain taken in cracks may increase by as much as 100%. Mix Trial Preliminary design is generally based on predicted concrete properties, supported where possible by previous experience of local

Figure 8 : Relationship Between Bleed, Placing Rate and Settlement Chloride diffusion and sorptivity to give the mixes mean performance. Characteristic values can be assessed based on typical variance values for each test. A factor to allow for insitu performance being lower than the laboratory cylinders. Semi adiabatic temperature rise tests in order to calculate insitu temperature rise. Rapid chloride permeability tests to establish the mixes mean RCP. RCP is a resistivity measure. It is an excellent QA test as it is sensitive to changes in SCM, w/b and admixtures. Construction Methods Defined at Design The construction method has a significant influence on durability design and the following should be defined at the design stage: curing method must be known in order to calculate the properties and depth of the curing affected zone if seawater and brine tanks are designed to have a limited free board and are buried then cathodic Figure 9 : Evaporation of Australian capitals relative to the bleed of a slab with a low bleed rate and a column with a high bleed rate. Demonstrates that the conventional criteria of an evaporation rate of 1 lt/m2/hr is not appropriate to predict when plastic cracking will occur.
9am 3pm Summer 9am Winter 3pm
Hobart Darwin

Evap./Bleed (lt/m2/hr)

1.8 1.4 1.0 0.6 0.2

2m column, 3% bleed, placing 1m/hr. Settlement 7.2mm

CCAA 2004 Precautions to be taken

300mm Slab, 1% bleed, placing one pass. Settlement 0.5mm

Sydney Melbourne

Perth

Brisbane Canberra

protection can be used as the primary corrosion control method. This reduces the concrete and reinforcement materials costs and limits inspection and monitoring requirements to the CP system itself. Costs must be balanced against the additional cost of burying the tank the contractors preferred jointing method. All tanks with a water pressure gradient across the concrete section should have three levels of waterproofing at construction joints but there are various forms that these might take infill pours are subject to end restrain and cracks that develop are likely to be wide. It is important to design the construction sequence to minimise infill pours. Infill pours need to be specifically designed to cater for the end restraint. The level of end restraint can be calculated using balanced deflections of the restraining and restrained walls many desalination plant tanks have tall walls. These are better placed in one lift to minimise construction joints. The mixes need to be designed to be cohesive and are likely to be more efficiently compacted if they have high slumps. Equally important is a well thought out placing and compaction method. Self compacting concrete may be economical but needs to be considered at the time of tendering so form prices allow for the pressure head. If walls are placed in multiple lifts joint design and crack control need to be considered. allowable concrete delivered temperature. AS 1379 limits the concrete delivered temperature to 35C but there may be a choice between additional rebar to control cracking and lower concrete delivered temperatures. the method of controlling insitu temperature rise, e.g. use of appropriate cement system, use of cooling pipes or control of delivered concrete temperature. The maximum temperature during curing, particularly for structures exposed to water, is 70C for GP cements and 80C otherwise. These limits are appropriate to minimise low strength and Delayed Ettringite Formation. the aggregate to be used. Temperature differentials between the centre of a pour and the surface are commonly limited to 20C. This seems to be derived from ensuring no internal restraint cracks when using a gravel aggregate. The limit for no cracking should be based on the aggregate used, eg Granite 27C. However, it is generally accepted that concrete cracks and much higher temperature differentials can be permitted when designing by CIRIA C660 to an allowable crack width. This has a significant affect on construction as limited temperature differentials may require a lot of attention to insulation or cooling.

Compliance Testing Compliance requirements must be developed at the design stage based on the design and proposed construction methods. Assessment could include: checking the contractors method statements and Inspection and Test Plans (ITPs) to ensure they are sufficiently rigorous to provide the necessary assurance of compliance. chloride diffusion and sorptivity testing at trial mix stage to establish a concretes performance. It may be appropriate to only include desired values on green field sites as suppliers cannot be expected to take the risk where no data is available. Such tests are not appropriate to show compliance during the project. The former takes too long to be of practical use and the latter does not give sufficient indication to changes in SCM and admixtures. Rapid Chloride Permeability tests. These may not be suitable as a mix performance requirement as the result can be affected by admixtures that are not deleterious to chloride ingress. However, they are a quick test and indicate whether a mix has changed substantially from a durability perspective and can be used as part of the QA testing if a value for the mix is established during mix trials. Post pour cover testing. The most expensive problem with cover arises when the contractors method introduces a systematic cover deficiency. To avoid this the initial pours of each element type should be rigorously checked using a covermeter. Subsequent pours can be checked intermittently at random to show the correct cover continues to be achieved. Testing for compaction. It is generally assumed that the contractor will place and compact the concrete adequately and there is generally no insitu testing of quality. If defects do become apparent then the assumption of proper compaction is no longer valid and wide spread testing of concrete performance is required. Advanced non-destructive testing methods such as Impact Echo, Ultrasonic Pulse Echo and Impulse Response should be specified where compaction is suspect. The assumption of proper placing and compaction does not apply to diaphragm walls, and bored piles. Systematic evaluation by NDT, such as cross hole sonic logging, is required. Apart from the above strength, slump and temperature testing are the primary means of assessing concrete supply. Maintenance Management

To ensure that maintenance is in accordance with design assumptions a maintenance manual should be prepared by the design team.
Rack probe in concrete

an extended life expectancy. Rack probes should be used selectively around a structure based on risk assessment (Figure 11). Typically 20-30 probes might be used on a desalination plant. They would be supported by 10-20 linear polarisation probes to indicate corrosion rates. The LP probes might be installed in areas where corrosion risks are higher and the element is inaccessible. Concrete that is designed to be immersed but may be dry for long periods during maintenance or shut down needs to have the length and number of dry periods monitored. Conclusion Desalination Plants present a severe exposure condition not generally recognised in Australian Standards. A close understanding of construction and operations is required in order to undertake the durability design. References
AS 1012.6 1999 Methods Of Testing Concrete - Method For The Determination Of Bleeding Of Concrete Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia AS 1379 1997 Specification and Supply of Concrete Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia AS 3600 2001 Concrete Structures Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia AS 3735 2004 Concrete Structures Retaiing Liquids Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia AS 4997 2005 Marine Structures Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia AS 5100.5 2004 Bridge Design Part 5 Concrete Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia CIRIA C660 2007 Early Age Thermal Crack Control In Concrete CIRIA, London, England Evardsen C. 1999 Water Permeability and Autogenous Healing of Cracks in Concrete ACI Materials Journal. July 1999 Vol 96 No 4 pp 448-454. DR 05252 2005 Concrete Structures - Draft for Public Comment. Standards Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia Mohammed T.U., Hamada H., and Yokota H. 2004 Autogenous Healing Ingress Of Chloride And Sulphate Through Cricks In Concrete Under Marie Environments ACI SP-222-10 Seventh CANMET/ACI International Conference on Recent Advances in Concrete Technology. May 2004, Las Vegas, U.S.A. Papworth F., Vile G. 2007 In Ground Concrete Durability The Australian Geomechanics Society. Pit to Port Symposium. September 2008 NSW, Australia Phaedonos F.A., 2000 Curing of Concrete Vic Roads Technical Bulletin 42 June 2000, Victoria, Australia.

Rack probe positioned to enable plot of progress of activation front Progress of activation front Reinforcement Concrete

Figure 10 : 20-30 rack probes are typically installed around a major desalination plant to allow monitoring of progress of actual corrosion activation front. The progress of this front can only be poorly defined by chloride profiling. For concrete a major item is the inspection requirements. The plant can be broken down into sections and a visual inspection undertaken annually of selected parts so that the whole plant is inspected over a 10 year period. Inspection might start at 5 years. The visual inspections and sensor monitoring should be supported by hand held electrical potential and linear polarisation testing after the first visual inspection cycle. Modelling to predict the rate of ingress of a chloride activation front makes assumptions about the concretes sorptivity, surface chloride level, chloride activation level and insitu diffusion coefficient (initial and reduction with time). These factors can be highly variable and a predicted design life of 100 years using appropriate safety factors might give a life of 1000 years. Conversely if there were unforseen issues the life could be shorter. Inspection procedures of major structures in the past have included chloride profiling of samples taken at 20 years but this still relies on many of the assumptions for assessment. Embedment of rack probes to give direct information about the ingress of a chloride activation front (Figure 10) removes most of the uncertainties and will clearly show if additional protection is required. More likely they will show
Likelihood of failure
Rare Unlikely Possible Likely Almost certain

Negligible Negligible Negligible Low Very Low Moderate

Figure 11 : Risk Assessment can be used to rationalise decisions in subjective areas. Risk may be reduced by additioanl inspection or monitoring to allow early Consequence of Failure interventions and or by Low Moderate Very High Extreme designing for future CP.
Low Very Low Moderate High Extreme Very Low Moderate High Extreme Extreme Moderate High Extreme Extreme Extreme Low

Negligible

Very Low Moderate High