Predictive Durability Model for Life Extension of Naval Waterfront Concrete

"The ultimate goal of the proposed project is to develop predictive durability models applicable to design, maintenance/repair and life-cycle cost analysis of concrete structures exposed to marine environments. Watefront concrete facilities are subject toa multitude of interacting damaging phenomena, including corrosion of steel reinforcement and deterioration of concrete under a host of chemical and physical effects (sulfate attack, aklai-silica reaction, salt crystallization, delayed ettringiteformation, freeze-thaw, erosion, cation-exchange, etc.). The proposed Phase I research will: (1) develop theoretical principles and mechanistic models, in the context of a time-step approach, for deterioration of reinforced concrete in marineenvironments, and identify pertinent system and environmental parameters and quantifiable manifestations of damage; (2) collect field data to substatiate the limit states, and to assess the means and statistical distributions of the random variables builtinto the mechanistic models defining damage in terms of system and environmental parameters and time; (3) Employ the models to conduct reliability analysis of waterfront concrete structures in order to validate and refine the approach using historic data,and develop environmental models reflecting on the severity of marine exposures; and (4) transfer the predictive models and field data to industry modeling committees. Technova Corporation has formed a