A Comprehensive Review on Effects of Seawater on Engineering Properties of Concrete

The concrete and natural seawater have a complex relationship between them, which requires special attention. Therefore, various studies have been conducted to consider the effects of natural seawater on the properties of concrete. However, this study aimed to summarize and analyze the previous findings and recommendations. It was noticed that the natural seawater has both positive and negative implications on concrete. Thus, resistance of concrete against the seawater can be improved by adding supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) like copper slag, coal bottom ash, fly ash and others with appropriate proportions. Moreover, the problem of corrosion of reinforcement due to seawater influence, can be avoided using corrosion inhibitor and/or corrosion resistant reinforcement. It was also noticed that the addition of SCM could increase the performances of concrete like strength and durability of concrete exposed to the marine environment. This paper provides a deep insight about experimental information and future direction for the concrete exposed to the marine environment.