Effect of Acidic Water on Strength, Durability and Corrosion of Concrete

Abstract

Use of poor quality of water in concrete leads to corrosion and ultimately causes failure in concrete, while use of saline water in concrete affects the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. An attempt is made in this study to investigate the effects of various percentage of NaCl present in water used for concreting for different grades of concrete. In this study, specimens of 108 cubes (150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm), 36 cylinders (300 mm x 150 mm), and 72 cylinders (102 mm x 51 mm) were cast and cured in percentages of NaCl added water to find the workability, strength, durability and corrosion resistance characteristics concrete. The effect of corrosion of steel in the concrete was examined by accelerated electrolytic corrosion method. It was found that, addition of NaCl up to 30% resulted decrease in compressive strength, split tensile strength, higher corrosion rate and chloride ion penetration. However for 20% addition of NaCl these values were found to be moderate.

Keywords: Acidic water, compressive strength, durability, corrosion, concrete, RCPT