• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.713-732
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• 2008

Serviceability and durability of the concrete members can be seriously affected by the corrosion of steel rebar. Carbonation front and or chloride ingress can destroy the passive film on rebar and may set the corrosion (oxidation process). Depending on the level of oxidation (expansive corrosion products/rust) damage to the cover concrete takes place in the form of expansion, cracking and spalling or delamination. This makes the concrete unable to develop forces through bond and also become unprotected against further degradation from corrosion; and thus marks the end of service life for corrosion-affected structures. This paper presents an analytical model that predicts the weight loss of steel rebar and the corresponding time from onset of corrosion for the known corrosion rate and thus can be used for the determination of time to cover cracking in corrosion affected RC member. This model uses fully the thick-walled cylinder approach. The gradual crack propagation in radial directions (from inside) is considered when the circumferential tensile stresses at the inner surface of intact concrete have reached the tensile strength of concrete. The analysis is done separately with and without considering the stiffness of reinforcing steel and rust combine along with the assumption of zero residual strength of cracked concrete. The model accounts for the time required for corrosion products to fill a porous zone before they start inducing expansive pressure on the concrete surrounding the steel rebar. The capability of the model to produce the experimental trends is demonstrated by comparing the model's predictions with the results of experimental data published in the literature. The effect of considering the corroded reinforcing steel bar stiffness is demonstrated. A sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to show the influence of the various parameters. It has been found that material properties and their inter-relations significantly influence weight loss of rebar. Time to cover cracking from onset of corrosion for the same weight loss is influenced by corrosion rate and state of oxidation of corrosion product formed. Time to cover cracking from onset of corrosion is useful in making certain decisions pertaining to inspection, repair, rehabilitation, replacement and demolition of RC member/structure in corrosive environment.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2007

The concrete pavement of the Seohae Highway in Korea has suffered from serious distress, only four to seven years after construction. Deterioration due to Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) has seldom been reported per se in Korea, because the aggregate used for the cement concrete has been considered safe against alkali-silica reaction so far. The purpose of this study is to examine the deterioration caused by an alkali-silica reaction of concrete pavement in Korea. The investigation methods included visual inspection and Automatic Road Analyzer (ARAN) analysis of surface cracks, coring for internal cracks, stereo microscopic analysis, scanning electronic microscope (SEM) analysis, and electron dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) analysis. The results are presented as follows: the crack pattern of the concrete pavement in Korea was longitudinal cracking, map cracking or D-cracking. Local areas of damage were noticed four to five years after construction. The cracks started from edges or joints and spread out to slabs. The most intensive cracking was observed at the intersection of the transverse and longitudinal joints. Where cracking was the most intense, pieces of concrete and aggregate had spalled away from top surface and joint interface area. The progress of deterioration was very fast. The reaction product of alkali-silica gel was clearly identified by its generally colorless, white, or very pale yellow hue seen through a stereo optical microscopy. The typical locations of the reaction product were at the interface between aggregate and cement paste in a shape of a rim, within aggregate particles in the cracks, and in the large void in the cement paste. Most of the white products were found at interface or internal aggregates. SEM and EDX analysis confirmed that the white gel was a typical reaction product of ASR. The ASR gel in Korea mainly consisted of Silicate (Si) and Potassium (K) from the cement. The crack in the concrete pavement was caused by ASR. It seems that Korea is no longer safe from alkali-silica reaction.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 1999

Zinc-based sorbents for $H_2S$ removal were prepared. The reactivity of sorbents was investigated by the successive cycles of sulfidation-regeneration at $650^{\circ}C$ in a fixed bed reactor. The desulfurization sorbents were prepared with granulation method to produce a spherical pellet with good attrition resistance. The fresh and reacted sorbents were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and the characteristics of sorbents on calcination conditons were analysed by Mercury Porosimetery and BET. The reactivity of sorbents decreased as the number of sulfidation-regeneration cycle increased. It is due to the zinc loss and the increase of the diffusion resistance by sintering, cracking and spalling of sorbents at the high temperature.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.100-107
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• 2005

Reinforcing steel bars in reinforced concrete structures are protected from corrosion by passive film on the steel surface inside concrete with high alkalinity. However, when the passive film breaks down due to chloride ion ingressed into the RC structures, a corrosion initiates at the surface of steel bars. Then, internal pressure by volume expansion of corrosion products in reinforcing bars induces cracking and spalling of cover concrete, which reduces not only durability performance but also structural performance in RC structures. In this paper, a service life prediction of RC structures is carried out by using a micro-mechanics based corrosion model. The corrosion model is composed of a chloride penetration model to evaluate the initiation of corrosion and an electric corrosion cell model and an oxygen diffusion model to evaluate the rate and the accumulated amounts of corrosion. Then, a corrosion cracking model is combined to the models to evaluate critical amount of corrosion product for initiation cracking in cover concrete. By implementing the models into a finite element analysis program, a time and space dependent corrosion analysis and a service life prediction of RC structures due to chloride attack are simulated and the results of the analysis are compared with test results. The effect of crack width on the corrosion and the service life of the RC structures are analyzed and discussed.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.131-140
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• 2001

In general, the deterioration induced by the freezing and thawing cyclic in concrete structures often leads to the reduction in concrete durability by the cracking or surface spalling. If it can prediction of concrete deterioration subjected to cyclic freezing and thawing, we can rationally do the design of mix proportion in view of concrete durability and the maintenance management of concrete structures. Therefore in this study a prediction method of deterioration for concrete structures subjected to the irregular freezing and thawing is proposed from the results of accelerated laboratory freezing and thawing test using the constant temperature condition and the in-situ weathering data. Furthermore, to accurately predict the concrete deterioration, a method of modification for the effect of hydration increasing during rapid freezing and thawing test is investigated.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 1991

Some sections of concrete highway pavements have been viewed with great concern by highway officials and engineers due to the severe cracking and failure problems. This is mainly due to the traffic loads in addition to temperature variations between top and bottom of concrete slab, which cause the concrete slab to curl up and down depending on the thermal gradient, respectively. Subsequently, a major consideration was given to the derivation of stiffness matrix and equivalent nodal loads due to the uniform gravity load, temperature and shrinkage of concrete. And the structural behavior of concrete highway pavement due to the temperature variations throughout the nations has been emphasized.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.91-107
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• 2013

Corrosion of RC bridge decks eventually leads to delamination, severe cracking and spalling of the concrete cover. This is a prevalent deterioration mechanism and demands for the most costly repair interventions during the service life of bridges worldwide. On the other hand, decisions for repairs are usually made whenever the extent of a limit crack width, reported in routine visual inspections, exceeds an acceptable threshold level. In this paper, while random fields are applied to account for spatial variation of governing parameters of the corrosion process, an analytical model is used to simulate the corrosion induced crack width. However when dealing with random fields, the Monte Carlo simulation is apparently an inefficient and time consuming method, hence the utility of neural networks as a surrogate in simulation is investigated and found very promising. The proposed method can be regarded as an invaluable tool in decision making concerning maintenance of bridges.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.70-76
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• 2002

지하철, 고속철도, 신공항, 공동구, 지하보도, 지하차도, 하수도, 도로 및 철도 등 의 지하구조에는 일반적으로 박스형태의 콘크리트 구조물이 건설되고 있다. 1990년 대 중반 이후 시공 및 사용중인 지하 박스 콘크리트 구조물의 균열 및 누수 등의 문제점이 사회적인 문제로 부각되기 시작하였다. 이러한 지하 박스 콘크리트 구조물에 발생할 수 있는 문제점은 크게 결함(defect), 손상(damage), 열화(deterioration)의 3가지로 구분될 수 있으며, 이들 원인은 구조물에 균열(cracking), 누수(leakage), 처짐(deflection), 부동침하(settlement) 재료분리(segregation) , 박리(delamination), 부식(corrosion), 박락(spalling)등의 현상으로 나타난다.(중략)

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.21-29
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• 2016

PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to suggest a specific investigation guideline to decide priority of repairing old concrete pavements that pile up substantially. METHODS : In this study, a principle of division of homogeneous sections was proposed to reflect the characteristics of the pavement reasonably in the specific investigation results. In addition, a checklist and guideline of field investigation were suggested for the old concrete pavement sections, which require inspection toward their durability and structural performance. Furthermore, the items of laboratory test necessary to the old concrete pavement were suggested based on the existing laboratory test considering characteristics of the old concrete pavement. The present condition of the old concrete pavement could be analyzed by the test results. RESULTS : A method of division of homogeneous sections suitable for the specific investigation of the old concrete pavement was suggested. The proportions of distress severity of pavement sections were compared by distress type to figure out the present state of the old concrete pavement. Scaling, durability cracking (or alkali-silica reaction), and longitudinal spalling were selected as the most severe distress types. The detailed positions of the sections were also suggested. The checklist of the specific investigation was categorized by field survey and laboratory test, and its evaluation criteria were proposed. The three types of the sections of durability cracking (or alkali-silica reaction), bridge connection, and asphalt overlay were selected as the sections of the field survey. The compressive strength, void structure, and chloride penetration depth were suggested as the items of the laboratory test. CONCLUSIONS : A fundamental level of the guideline was suggested in this study to resolve the problem of old concrete pavement. Appropriate guidelines related to the repair of the old concrete pavement should be provided by performing additional research efforts.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2016

Fire is one of the most destructive powers to which a building structure can be subjected, often exposing concrete elements to elevated temperatures. The relative properties of concrete after such an exposure are of significant importance in terms of the serviceability of buildings. Unraveling the heating history of concrete and different cooling regimes is important for forensic research or to determine whether a fire-exposed concrete structure and its components are still structurally sound or not. Assessment of fire-damaged concrete structures usually starts with visual observation of colour change, cracking and spalling. Thus, it is important to know the effect of elevated temperatures on strength retention properties of concrete. This study reports the effect of elevated temperature on the mechanical properties of the concrete specimen with polypropylene fibres and cooled differently under various regimes. In the heating cycle, the specimen were subjected to elevated temperatures ranging from $200^{\circ}C$ to $800^{\circ}C$, in steps of $200^{\circ}C$ with a retention period of 1 hour. Then they were cooled to room temperature differently. The cooling regimes studied include, furnace cooling, air cooling and sudden cooling. After exposure to elevated temperatures and cooled differently, the weight loss, residual compressive and split tensile strengths retention characteristics were studied. Test results indicated that weight and both compressive and tensile strengths significantly reduce, with an increase in temperature and are strongly dependent on cooling regimes adopted.