Concrete Durability And Protection By Surface Treatments

Overview :

The concept of durability is not well defined. The term durability is often used to imply the possession of qualities associated with long life. In some standards for concrete structures, it is non quantitative and implies that design requirements are likely to be exceeded for the design service life. In the Arabian Gulf, the combination of high temperatures and the predominance of Sulphate and Chloride in the natural environment regularly causes premature failure of reinforced concrete structures well before their design lifetimes. Since the subsequent repair of the Sulphate attack or Corrosion damaged concrete structures is both a costly and disruptive process, surface treatments are used as part of either maintenance programme or repair work. In both cases, they provide protection to the concrete by either arresting or reducing the penetration of aggressive substances from the environment. Numerous materials are available for this purpose and their inherent generic properties differ considerably. Quite often this poses difficulties to practising engineers when selecting a surface treatment for specific situation. In this seminar an attempt will be made to define durability; outline the main stages of durability planning, and to explain the protective aspects of various surface treatments so that their selection can be made easier.

Who will benefit :

The objective of the seminar is to enable Engineers, Architects, Building Managers and Consultants to specify and use surface treatments on new and existing concrete for protective purposes.