Predicting the Behavior of Cracked Concrete Exposed to Contamination

Concrete durability and its impact on life-cycle infrastructure costs and military readiness is a major societal issue. This SBIR Phase I project focuses on the feasibility of a concrete durability software model that considers the effects of cracks on contamination in concrete. Concrete contamination may affect durability and serviceability. Cracked concrete will contaminate faster leading to potential early degradation and repairs. Most concrete structures have cracked concrete somewhere or scattered everywhere. Models are needed to assess the rate of degradation for critical military facilities so operational readiness can be maintained. Today, no model exists to consider the effect of micro or macro cracks in concrete. This SBIR Phase I program will include feasibility assessments of contamination modeling from various ionic, immiscible liquids, and biological agents. The software program will be crucial to modeling contamination levels from these agents, effectiveness of remedial treatments, and the efficiency of potential preventative treatment measures. The key deliverable under this work in Phase I would be an investigation of cracking phenomenon, preliminary elaboration of the contamination model, and initial model validation.