STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF CONCRETE AND

STEEL STRUCTURES

CONCRETE DURABILITY AND CONCRETE COVER

Ing. Jaime Gonzàlez

University of Padua
October 2020
 DURABILITY
A durable structure shall meet the
requirements of serviceability,
strength and stability throughout its
EUROCODE design working life, without significant
loss of utility with ordinary
maintenance

“DURABILITY can be defined as the conservation of the physical and

mechanical characteristics of the structure and the materials with
which the structures are constructed; this conservation must have a
duration equal to the design life of the building.”

Ability to last long without deterioration

• It is essential that every concrete structure should continue to perform its
intended functions, that is maintain its required strength and
serviceability, during the specified or traditionally expected service life.
• The concrete must be able to withstand the processes of deterioration to
which it can expected to be exposed. Such concrete is said to be durable

• It is worth adding that durability does not mean an indefinite life, nor does
it mean withstanding any action on concrete. Moreover, it is nowadays
realized, that routine maintenance of the concrete is required.

• Until recently, developments in cement and concrete technology have

concentrated on achieving higher and higher strengths as it was assumed
that a stronger concrete is a more durable concrete. However, it is now
known that both strength and durability must be considered explicitly at
the design stage.
• Inadequate durability manifests by deterioration which can be due either
to external or internal factors. The actions can be physical, chemical, or
mechanical.
• Mechanical damage is caused by impact, abrasion, erosion or cavitation.
The chemical causes of deterioration include the alkali-silica reactions.
External chemical attack occurs mainly through the action of aggressive
ions, such as chlorides, sulfates or carbon dioxide.
• Physical causes of deterioration include the effect of high temperature, or
of the differences in thermal expansion of aggregate and the hardened
cement paste.
• Deterioration of concrete is rarely due to one isolated cause: concrete can
be often satisfactory despite some undesirable features but with an
additional adverse factor, damage will occur.
 DURABILITY

• Deterioration of the structures

Why is it
can lead to unsafe conditions
important?
• Repair of these structures is both
difficult and extremely costly.

Mechanisms of concrete deterioration

Cracking
Corrosion Freeze and Thaw Physical and
(carbonation/ cycles chemical attack
Chlorides)
CRACKING
CORROSION OF THE REINFORCEMENT
 PROBLEMS RELATED WITH CORROSION
EFFECT ON THE
BOND BETWEEN THE It is not possible to guarantee
the development of stresses in
REBARS AND THE
the reinforcement
CONCRETE

SWELLING STRESSES Additional cracking in the

concrete

It is not possible to guarantee

REDUCTION OF the reinforcement area required
STEEL SECTION by design
 PROBLEMS RELATED WITH CORROSION

Photos by Prof. P. Pedeferri – Politecnico di Milano

 PROBLEMS RELATED WITH CORROSION

Photos by Prof. P. Pedeferri – Politecnico di Milano

 PROBLEMS RELATED WITH CORROSION

Photos by Prof. P. Pedeferri – Politecnico di Milano

 CORROSION
Concrete and passivating layer

• Steel’s natural tendency is to corrode but the alkaline environment of

concrete (pH of 12 to 13) provides steel with corrosion protection.
• At the high pH, a thin oxide layer forms on the steel and prevents metal
atoms from dissolving. This passive film reduces the corrosion rate to an
insignificant level.
• For steel in concrete, the passive corrosion rate is typically 0.1 μm per year.
Without the passive film, the steel would corrode at rates at least 1,000
times higher (ACI 222 2001).
• Corrosion can occur as the passivating layer is destroyed when the
alkalinity of the concrete is reduced or when the chloride concentration in
concrete is increased to a certain level.
 PROBLEMS RELATED WITH CORROSION
Two phases can be individuated in the life of a reinforced
concrete structures :

A phase of beginning of A phase of propagation of

corrosion, in which the corrosion starting from the
protective film of the bars is destruction of the protective
destroyed. film followed by the increase
of steel volume and cracking
 CORROSION DUE TO CARBONATION

• Carbonation occurs when

How does carbon dioxide penetrates in
it occur? the concrete and reacts with
hydroxides
• This process reduces pH from
13 (concrete) to 8.5 – 9.0
• Passive (protective) film is
not stable and gets destroyed
 CORROSION DUE TO CARBONATION

• Carbonation is a slow process (around 1.0 mm per year).

Low concrete strength (<w/c)

Low cement content
CARBONATION Short curing period
increases with? High permeability or porosity of
the paste

50%<RH<75%
 CORROSION DUE TO CARBONATION
Fenoftalein test
• Fenoftalein is used to
investigate if the concrete
was carbonated or not.
• If the concrete becomes
violet it was not carbonated.
 CORROSION DUE TO CHLORIDES
• Exposure of reinforced concrete to chloride ions is the primary cause of
premature corrosion of steel reinforcement
• The intrusion of chloride ions, present in deicing salts and seawater, into
reinforced concrete can cause steel corrosion if oxygen and moisture are
also available to sustain the reaction
• Chloride-containing admixtures can also cause corrosion.
• The mechanism by which chlorides promote corrosion is not entirely
understood, but the most popular theory is that chloride ions penetrate the
protective oxide film easier than do other ions, leaving the steel vulnerable
to corrosion.
 CORROSION DUE TO CHLORIDES
• For structures exposed to the atmosphere, when the localized attack
begins, the corrosion velocity can vary from some tenths of m/year to one
1 mm/year, when the humidity increases from 70 to 95% and the quantity of
chlorides from 1 to 3% (in weight with respect to the cement).

• Passing to temperate to tropical climate the corrosion velocity increases.

• Compacting grade of concrete can influence the corrosion due to

chlorides.
• Practically, corrosion due to chlorides, once started, can rapidly cause
unacceptable reductions of the bar cross-section.
 CORROSION DUE TO CHLORIDES
The time of beginning depends on:

• The quantity of chorides on the external surface of the

reinforced concrete,

• The characteristics of the cementitious matrix,

• The thickness of the concrete cover

Carbonation of concrete also lowers the amount of chloride ions

needed to promote corrosion. In new concrete with a pH of 12 to 13,
about 7,000 to 8,000 ppm of chlorides are required to start
corrosion of embedded steel. If the pH is lowered to a range of 10 to
11, the chloride threshold for corrosion is significantly lower—at or
below 100 ppm
 CORROSION DUE TO CHLORIDES

atmospheric zone Air

zone with sprinkles

Maximum tide
Medium level of tides
zone of the tides
Minimum tide

submerged zone Sea water

CORROSION DUE TO CHLORIDES
CORROSION DUE TO ELECTRICAL CURRENTS

Electrical
station

Cathode reaction Anode reaction

Concrete
Anode reaction
Cathode reaction
Steel bar
 DURABILITY

• Definition of environmental
The capability of conditions
concrete
• Design provisions for materials
structures to and structures
satisfy
durability • Provisions for the execution
requirements and controls
depends on: • The instructions for use and
maintenance
 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (EUROCODE 2)
Exposure conditions are chemical and physical conditions to
which the structure is exposed in addition to the mechanical
actions.
Environmental conditions are classified according to following
Table, based on EN 206-1.
In addition to the conditions in the following Table, particular forms
of aggressive or indirect action should be considered including:
chemical attack, arising from e.g.
• The use of the building or the structure (storage of liquids, etc)
• Solutions of acids or sulfate salts (EN 206-1, ISO 9690)
• Chlorides contained in the concrete (EN 206-1)
• Alkali-aggregate reactions (EN 206-1, National Standards)
• Physical attack, arising from e.g.
• Temperature change
• Abrasion
• Water penetration (EN 206-1).
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (EUROCODE 2)
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (EUROCODE 2)
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (EUROCODE 2)
 DURABILITY

• Minimum cement content

• The maximum water/cement
ratio
• The cement type or
Design provisions combination
for materials and • The minimum COVER
structures? REINFORCEMENT
• The minimum CONCRETE CLASS
STRENGTH
• The maximum allowable surface
CRACK width
 CONCRETE COVER
The concrete cover is the distance between the surface of the
reinforcement to the concrete surface. It should be sufficient to
guarantee:

• The protection of steel against corrosion

• The safe transmission of bond forces
• An adequate fire resistance
REQUIREMENTS FOR DURABILITY
 CONCRETE COVER
The concrete cover is the distance between the surface of the
reinforcement closest to the nearest concrete surface
(including links and stirrups and surface reinforcement where
relevant) and the nearest concrete surface.

The nominal cover shall be specified on the drawings.

It is defined as a minimum cover, cmin, plus an allowance in design

for deviation, Δcdev:

cnom = cmin + Δcdev

 CONCRETE COVER
Minimum cover, cmin
Minimum concrete cover, cmin, shall be provided in order to ensure:
- the safe transmission of bond forces
- the protection of the steel against corrosion (durability)
- an adequate fire resistance
The greater value for cmin satisfying the requirements for both bond
and environmental conditions shall be used.

cmin = max {cmin,b; cmin,dur + Δcdur,γ - Δcdur,st - Δcdur,add; 10 mm}

where:
cmin,b minimum cover due to bond requirement
cmin,dur minimum cover due to environmental conditions
Δcdur,γ additional safety concrete cover
Δcdur,st reduction of minimum cover for use of stainless steel
Δcdur,add reduction of minimum cover for use of additional protection
 CONCRETE COVER
Minimum cover, cmin
cmin,b

In order to transmit bond forces safely and to ensure adequate

compaction of the concrete, the minimum cover should not be less
than cmin,b given in the following table
Minimum cover, cmin,b, requirements with regard to bond
Arrangement of bars Minimum cover cmin,b
Separated Diameter of bar
Bundled Equivalent diameter
If the nominal maximum aggregate size is greater than
32 mm, cmin,b should be increased by 5 mm.
The recommended values for pre-tensioned tendon:
1,5 x diameter of strand or plain wire
 CONCRETE COVER
Minimum cover, cmin,dur

S4
S6
 CONCRETE COVER
The recommended Structural Class (design working life of 50 years) is
S4 and the recommended modifications to the structural class is given
in Table 4.3N.
The recommended minimum Structural Class is S1.
 CONCRETE COVER
The concrete cover should be increased by the additional safety
concrete cover Δcdur,γ .
The recommended value of Δcdur,γ is 0 mm.

Where stainless steel is used or where other special measures have

been taken, the minimum cover may be reduced by Δcdur,st. For such
situations the effects on all relevant material properties should be
considered, including bond.
The recommended value of Δcdur,st, without further specification, is 0
mm.

For concrete with additional protection (e.g. coating) the minimum

cover may be reduced by Δcdur,add.
The recommended value of Δcdur,add, without further specification, is 0
mm.
 CONCRETE COVER

Where in-situ concrete is placed against other concrete elements

(precast or in-situ) the minimum concrete cover of the reinforcement to
the interface may be reduced to a value corresponding to the
requirement for bond provided that:
- the strength class of concrete is at least C25/30,
- the exposure time of the concrete surface to an outdoor environment
is short (< 28 days),
- the interface has been roughened.

For uneven surfaces (e.g. exposed aggregate) the minimum cover

should be increased by at least 5 mm.
 CONCRETE COVER
Where freeze/thaw or chemical attack on concrete (Classes XF and
XA) is expected special attention should be given to the concrete
composition (see EN 206-1).
Cover in accordance with above will normally be sufficient for such
situations.
For concrete abrasion special attention should be given on the
aggregate according to EN 206-1. Optionally concrete abrasion may be
allowed for by increasing the concrete cover (sacrificial layer).
In that case the minimum cover cmin should be increased by:
k1 = 5mm for Abrasion Class XM1,
k2 = 10mm for XM2
k3 = 15mm for XM3.
Abrasion Class XM1 means a moderate abrasion like for members of industrial sites frequented by
vehicles with air tyres.
Abrasion Class XM2 means a heavy abrasion like for members of industrial sites frequented by fork
lifts with air or solid rubber tyres.
Abrasion Class XM3 means an extreme abrasion like for members industrial sites frequented by fork
lifts with elastomer or steel tires or track vehicles.
 CONCRETE COVER
Tolerance in design for deviation

To calculate the nominal cover, cnom, an addition to the minimum cover

shall be made in design to allow for the deviation (Δcdev).

The required minimum cover shall be increased by the absolute value

of the accepted deviation.

The recommended value of Δcdev is 10 mm.

In certain situations, the accepted deviation and hence allowance, Δcdev, may be reduced.
The recommended values are:

- where fabrication is subjected to a quality assurance system, in which the monitoring includes
measurements of the concrete cover, the allowance in design for deviation Δcdev may be reduced:
10 mm ≥ Δcdev ≥ 5 mm

- where it can be assured that a very accurate measurement device is used for monitoring and non
conforming members are rejected (e.g. precast elements), the allowance in design for deviation Δcdev
may be reduced: 10 mm ≥ Δcdev ≥ 0 mm
 CONCRETE COVER
Allowance in design for deviation

For concrete cast against uneven surfaces, the minimum cover should
generally be increased by allowing larger deviations in design.

The increase should comply with the difference caused by the

unevenness, but the nominal cover should be at least 40 mm for
concrete cast against prepared ground and 75 mm for concrete cast
directly against soil.

The cover to the reinforcement for any surface feature, such as ribbed
finishes or exposed aggregate, should also be increased to take
account of the uneven surface.
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