Durability of concrete structures: prevention, evaluation, inspection, repair and prediction

Concrete is the primary construction and repair material of many structural systems in Canada, such as highway bridges, high-rise buildings, parking structures, and dams. Today, many of the concrete structures, which have been exposed to aggressive environments, suffer from durability problems and fail to fulfill their design service life requirements. The problem is particularly serious in reinforced concrete structures where corrosion of reinforcing steel can impair their safety. Carbonation and chloride-induced corrosion are two major causes of deterioration of concrete structures in Canada and several other countries. The cost of the repair and rehabilitation of corrosion-damaged structures in the United States, Canada, and most European countries constitutes a large portion of their infrastructure expenditures. The limited knowledge of the field performance of corrosion-damaged structures and the lack of systematic approaches for their inspection, maintenance and repair contribute to the increase of their life-cycle costs, and result in the loss of functionality and safety.Le b\ue9ton est le principal mat\ue9riau utilis\ue9 pour la construction et la r\ue9paration de nombreuses structures au Canada, comme les ponts autoroutiers, les gratte-ciel, les stationnements multi-\ue9tag\ue9s et les barrages. De nos jours, nombre de structures en b\ue9ton ayant \ue9t\ue9 expos\ue9es \ue0 des environnements agressifs \ue9prouvent des probl\ue8mes de durabilit\ue9 et risquent de ne pas atteindre leur dur\ue9e de vie utile anticip\ue9e. Le probl\ue8me est particuli\ue8rement grave dans le domaine des structures en b\ue9ton arm\ue9, o\uf9 la corrosion de l'acier d'armature peut affecter leur s\ue9curit\ue9. La corrosion due aux chlorures et/ou la carbonatation est la principale cause de d\ue9t\ue9rioration des structures en b\ue9ton. Leurs co\ufbts de r\ue9paration et de restauration, aux USA, au Canada et dans la plupart des pays europ\ue9ens, constituent un fort pourcentage des d\ue9penses de ces pays en mati\ue8re d'infrastructure. Les connaissances limit\ue9es en mati\ue8re de performance des structures endommag\ue9es par la corrosion ainsi que l'absence de d\ue9marche syst\ue9matique en mati\ue8re d'inspection, d'entretien pr\ue9ventif et de r\ue9paration contribuent \ue0 l'augmentation des co\ufbts du cycle de vie des structures et provoquent une perte de fonctionnalit\ue9 et de s\ue9curit\ue9.Aussi disponible en fran\ue7ais: Durabilit\ue9 des structures en b\ue9ton: pr\ue9vention, \ue9valuation, inspection, r\ue9paration et pr\ue9dictionPeer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye