Designers need better information regarding reinforcement corrosion
Designers need better information regarding reinforcement corrosion
Keywords Concrete,Corrosion
Millions of pounds are spent on remedial works every year but, with the possible exception of those employed on major civil engineering contracts, many designers have neither the time nor the resources to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of all the available options for enhancing durability.
The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is supporting an initiative through the Partners in Technology programme which is aimed at giving designers the information they need to design structures with a defined service life in a more accessible form. As its name suggests, Guidance on the Selection of Measures for Enhancing the Durability of Reinforced Concrete will focus on the specific problem of reinforcement corrosion, one of the main causes of premature deterioration in concrete structures. The project is being led by Taylor Woodrow Construction, and is being partially funded by the DETR's Construction Innovation and Research Management Division.
The dilemma facing busy designers is not so much a lack of information, but a bewildering amount of it to absorb. In addition to outputs from extensive research into the mechanisms leading to corrosion of reinforcement, there are numerous methods and materials to choose from which can enhance durability. Faced with an impossible task and tight deadlines, designers continue to place reliance almost solely on current BS codes and standards. In some cases, these no longer offer guidance which is sufficiently robust to achieve long life structures within current construction practice.
As Dr Phil Bamforth of Taylor Woodrow explained: "Information must be packaged in a much more accessible and usable form to enable specifiers and designers to assess all of the available options and consequently offer clients the solution which is most compatible with their financing arrangements." He continued, "This may not necessarily be the lowest capital cost or the lowest whole-life cost, but will meet the client's requirements for capital expenditure and maintenance budget."
Guidance on the Selection of Measures for Enhancing the Durability of Reinforced Concretewill include a description of the wide range of options for enhancing durability. For each option it will identify and discuss issues relating to design, construction and operation. The guide will also assist the designer in selecting measures for different conditions of application, exposure and operation, and provide guidance on cost benefit analysis and life cycle costing,with worked examples.
To ensure that the guide is effective and accurate, Taylor Woodrow has enlisted the input of 11 companies and organisations representing the suppliers of cementing materials, fibres,chemical admixtures, reinforcement, CPF, and surface treatments and coatings. The Concrete Society is also casting an additional impartial eye over the project.
By making more information available to specifiers and designers in an accessible form, the guide should make a significant impact in reducing whole-life costs and maintenance expenditure in the future.
