DURABILITY OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES IN THE PERSIAN GULF
By A. A. Ramezanianpour and A. Miyamoto
Concrete Journal, Vol.38, No.3, Mar. 2000
- Synopsis
- Many concrete structures in the Arab countries and Iran located near the Persian Gulf are suffering from early deterioration. This is caused by aggressive environment in the region, poor quality concrete made with contaminated materials and lack of good workmanship and curing. A comprehensive survey of the concrete structures in the south coasts of Iran has been conducted in the last 15 years. Results of visual inspections and tests show that the dominant deterioration problem is the corrosion of reinforcement in the concrete structures. Sulfate attack, salt weathering, alkali aggregate reaction and environmental cracking were also responsible for some damages to the concrete structures. This paper reviews the durability problem in the region. The main reasons for the early deterioration of the concrete structures are discussed. Necessary precaution actions, which have to be considered at the time of construction, are briefly described.
- Keywords:
- concrete durability, reinforcement corrosion, Gulf environment, specifications, maintenance
