Influence of marine micro-climates on carbonation of reinforced concrete buildings

Although chloride is the main source for corrosion of reinforcing steel in coastal buildings, concrete carbonation leads to a uniform corrosion of the steel that would accelerate the crack formation and decrease the structures service life. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of carbonation on public buildings located up to 800 m from the seashore. The results, based on the analysis of carbonation depth, resistivity, compressive strength and porosity data suggested that risk of concrete deterioration due to carbonation increases with the distance from the seashore as well as with the elevation. Generally, higher carbonation coefficients corresponded to the top sections of the evaluated buildings where the measured relative humidity was lower. However, concrete cracks due to corrosion were found in the lower sections where humidity was higher. Data from laboratory specimens exposed to the same tropical marine environment for 5 years were used to correlate the findings from the public buildings. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.