Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter introduces the reader to concrete durability and tries to convey the need for all those involved in the design or construction of reinforced concrete structures to have a basic understanding of all the degradation processes. Potential problems can be eliminated, or at least minimized, by due consideration to durability criteria in the design and specification of new structures. Ignorance of, or lack of attention to, such criteria in the past has led to high maintenance costs for owners of infrastructure. Examples include the Queens Street car park in Colchester, repairs to the Runcorn Bridge, replacement of the Marsh Mills Viaducts, the collapse of the Ynys-y-Gwas bridge, thaumasite found on bridges on the M5 in Gloucestershire, the flat-slab collapse of Pipers Row car park, freeze-thaw damage to the Fornello Viaduct of the Orte-Ravenna (E45) highway, the demolition of the Churchill Way flyovers in Liverpool and the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa in 2018. It is to be hoped that today's practitioners will learn from these lessons and reduce the need for such remediation in the future.