published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Civil Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Civil Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Damage to reinforced concrete bridges due to carbonation and chloride induced corrosion is widespread in South Africa and prone in environments where carbon dioxide is at high levels as well as in marine environments where chlorides are present. Performance specifications are therefore essential in order that structural concrete can be designed and constructed to the required standards ensuring that the long term durability can be maintained. This dissertation includes a review of SANRAL‘s current durability specifications. The specifications are critiqued in terms of the testing methodology followed as well as strength and environmental exposure considerations, and recommendations are made for improving the specifications. The literature review, outlines the background to both carbonation and chloride induced corrosion to reinforced concrete bridges , considering the fundamental causes of deterioration of concrete caused by carbonation and chloride ingress and repair costs during their service life. The South African Durability Index tests are presented and reviewed, in particular the laboratory testing apparatus and procedures. In addition, the index tests are compared with durability test methods currently being used internationally. The background and previous durability specifications used in South Africa on road bridges as well as details of research into specifications to ensure durable concrete with specific emphasis on curing of concrete is summarised. The indications are that performance based specifications for concrete on bridge structures internationally follow similar criteria to the specifications currently being adopted by SANRAL. Both performance and prescriptive specifications used usually depend on the risk that a constructor needs to carry. Importantly both cement extenders to ensure long term durability and penalties are applied in performance based durability. SANRAL‘s current durability specifications are reviewed and both the negatives and positives are presented for the various sections. Amendments to the Committee of Land Transport Officials (COLTO) standard specifications are recommended address shortcomings. The latest project specifications used on SANRAL contracts incorporating target requirements for cover and oxygen permeability are evaluated. These impose penalties if targets are not achieved, while limits are placed on chloride conductivity values for various blended binders. Data is also included for the sorptivity index values on the five projects which may analysed and target values can be set and implemented in future. Descriptions of the five projects with regard to durability specifications, their environmental exposure condition and concrete mix designs are presented. Five projects in KwaZulu-Natal, are used as case studies for durability tests and specifications. The only distinct difference in the specifications is that the three projects commencing in 2006 and early in 2007 had the target values for water sorptivity whereas for the project, sorptivity values are only reported on. Durability index testing results at each of the sites from the trial panels, additional test cubes (cast for coring and testing of durability indexes) as well as coring and testing from the bridge structures are presented. A major change is coring and testing of samples from trial panels and additional test cubes on the site instead of coring of the structure. The information is drawn together and relationships are determined between the various durability indexes as well as to strength. It is evident that the quality of concrete as constructed in the structure which is reflected by the durability index results is different to that produced in the test cubes and trial panels. It is deduced that while more care is being taken to produce quality concrete on the sites, certain aspects of the specifications need revision in order to remove confusion as well as to ensure that the concrete in the structure meets the target requirements. Finally it is noted that climate change is having an impact on design of bridge infrastructure, and while the surveys undertaken at Ethekwini and Msunduzi Municipalities shows that carbon dioxide levels being recorded are still average levels, worldwide there has been an increase in CO2 levels and further modifications to specifications in future may be required. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

The high cost of repairing reinforced or prestressed concrete structures due to steel corrosion has driven engineers to look for solutions. Much research has been conducted over the last two decades to evaluate the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) in concrete structures. Structural engineering researchers have been testing FRP to determine their usability instead of steel for strengthening existing reinforced concrete structures, reinforcing new concrete members, and for prestressed concrete applications. The high strength-to-weight ratio of FRP materials, especially Carbon FRP (CFRP), and their non-corrosive nature are probably the most attractive features of FRPs. In this study, an experimental program was conducted to investigate the flexural behavior of prestressed concrete beams pre-tensioned with CFRP strands. The bond characteristics were examined by means of experimentally measuring transfer length, flexural bond length, and bond stress profiles. A total of four rectangular beams pre-tensioned with one 0.5-in. diameter CFRP strand were fabricated and tested under cyclic loading for five cycles, followed by a monotonically increasing load until failure. In investigating bond properties, the experimental results were compared to the equations available in the literature. The results from the four flexural tests showed that the main problem of CFRP strands, in addition to their liner-elastic tensile behavior, was lack of adequate bonding between FRP and concrete. Poor bonding resulted in early failure due to slippage between FRPs and concrete. As a result, a new technique was developed in order to solve the bonding issues and improve the flexural response of CFRP prestressed concrete beams. The new technique involved anchoring the CFRP strands at the ends of the concrete beams using a new "steel tube" anchorage system. It was concluded that the new technique solved the bond problem and improved the flexural capacity by about 46%. A computer model was created to predict the behavior of prestressed beams pre-tensioned with CFRP. The predicted behavior was compared to the experimental results. Finally, the experimental results were compared to the behavior of prestressed concrete beams pre-tensioned with steel strands as generated by the computer model. The CFRP beams showed higher strength but lower ductility.

Thesis. (M.Tech. (Dept. of Civil Engineering and Building, Faculty of Engineering and Technology)) -- Vaal University of Technology, 2011. / This research focused on the structural performance of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) re-bars in structural foundation compared to steel reinforcement re-bars. The corrosion of steel re-bars is the main reason of deterioration of reinforced concrete. However, use of FRP re-bars as alternative reinforcement will address the deterioration of reinforced concrete. Carbon and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer re-bars were used as reinforcing bars and traditional steel reinforced concrete was used as the reference. Thirty six specimens of reinforced concrete bases were tested for flexural capacity at different ages. The simulation of Soil Bearing Pressure of this study was derived from the model of beam finite length on elastic foundation. The foundation base was treated as a beam while the soil was modelled as series of timber elements acting as springs. The mathematical model to reflect the model was as documented by Timoshenko (1976:18) and Den Hartog (1952:160). Results showed that stress in the steel re-bars of reinforced concrete was higher than that of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) re-bars by 227 MPa (5.99 percent) and 284 MPa (7.61 percent), respectively. The stress in CFRP re-bars was 57 MPa or 1.53 percent higher compared to GFRP re-bars of FRP reinforced concrete. Furthermore, the experimental ultimate moments of CFRP and GFRP reinforced concrete foundation – bases on the 28th day were 23.917 kNm (79.0 percent) and 23.529 kNm (77.7 percent) higher than the theoretical ultimate moments, respectively. However, steel reinforced concrete foundation – bases had the higher calculated deflection than FRP reinforced concrete. With high resistance to corrosion as a property, FRP re-bars appeared to be a better alternative reinforcement to steel in corrosion in an aggressive environment. / Vaal University of Technology

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Johannesburg, 2017 / Many reinforced concrete (RC) structures in inland environment deteriorate early due to carbonation-induced corrosion of their reinforcement. In some cases, the deterioration is visible within a few years of construction in the form of cover concrete cracking. This is widely accepted as one of the limit state indicators in defining the end of functional service life for existing RC structures undergoing corrosion. Many of the currently available service life prediction models are incapable of providing realistic service life estimates of RC structures beyond the corrosion initiation stage. Therefore, the need to incorporate the corrosion initiation and propagation stages in a comprehensive durability prediction approach has been receiving much research attention. In this research, empirical models were developed for predicting carbonation rate and the amount of steel radius loss required to initiate a first visible crack in concretes exposed to Johannesburg environment. The experimental data for the models were obtained from investigations of carbonation-induced reinforcement corrosion, which were explored in three phases; (i) concrete early-age durability and strength characteristics (ii) carbonation rate of different concrete mixes exposed to the natural inland environment (iii) amount of steel radius loss required to initiate the first visible crack on the pre-carbonated cover concretes exposed to an unsheltered environment. The experimental variables for the earlyage durability and strength tests were; water/binder ratio (w/b) and binder type; w/b, binder type, initial moist curing duration and exposure conditions are the experimental variables for the carbonation rate test. Cover depth, reinforcement diameter, binder type and w/b variables were considered for the corrosion cracking test. The results showed that an improvement in concrete quality (binder type, w/b ratio and extending the initial moist curing duration) and increment in cover thickness improved the durability of the RC structures exposed to the natural inland environment. Based on the trends in the observed experimental results, models to predict carbonation rate and the amount of steel radius loss required to initiate cover cracking in concrete were developed. The proposed models’ predictions are more closer to the measured values and compared well with the predictions of some previous models which indicate their respective predictive applications. They provide a general basis for durability analysis of RC structures in inland environment and can serve as basis for condition assessment of existing structures in the inland environment. Engineers can appreciate the consequences of design options on the service life of RC structures, while owners of RC structures can have information about how long their RC structures may last before any repair is envisaged / XL2018

This study is to compare the performance of recycled aggregate concrete and the impact of up to 50% cement replacement with fly ash on durability. Water content, sieve analysis, standard and modified compaction tests were performed to assess the physical properties of the recycled aggregate concrete. Accelerated aging tests were performed to predict the long term durability of the recycled aggregate concrete. Following Arrhenius modeling and TTS and SIM accelerated aging protocols, a time versus stiffness master curve was created. This allowed the prediction of equivalent age using experimental data and theoretical analysis. To account for environmental exposure, the specimens underwent 24 and 48 hours of wet-dry cycling and subjected. Overall there was an increase in stiffness and strength from the specimens containing fly ash. All tests performed predicted equivalent age beyond the testing period of 144 hrs. and up to 7 years. Specimens containing fly maintained a constant and higher density to environmental exposure. / by Lillian Gonzalez. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.