The identification and application of a method to test chloride ingress into concrete, sulphur-concrete and sulphur-cement coated concrete

Abstract

Concrete is the main material used for the construction of civil structures in industry. Concrete is also used in the construction of nuclear power plant civil structures (e.g. the containment building). Concrete ages but also degrades over time due to exposure to environmental conditions and therefore requires maintenance to ensure the safety of workers, the public and the environment. The durability of concrete can be improved by the addition of admixtures such as fly ash, and the application of polymers as surface coats. The ability of a sulphur cement as a sealer for concrete was investigated with the view to providing increased durability under saltwater exposure conditions where chloride ingress in concrete and cement will cause increased deterioration of civil nuclear structures. For this project, different concrete specimens were prepared, a surface coating was applied to some specimens for comparison purposes, and the chloride conductivity test was performed on the specimens. The literature review indicates that with the application of a surface coat, the durability of the specimen increases, but in this project it was not found to be the case. This may be attributed to the shortcomings of the testing equipment that was used, as well as the testing procedure.