Service-Life Performance Case Studies of Underground Reinforced Concrete Utility Vaults
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 35, Issue 2
Abstract
Underground reinforced concrete utility vaults play a vital role for the functioning of urban centers, providing space for all kinds of utility equipment. Underground structures are subjected to harsh environmental conditions that can impact their life and eventually trigger structural damage—potentially becoming hazardous to equipment and personnel carrying out routine inspections. A study was conducted to determine the main causes for deterioration in underground reinforced concrete structures observed during routine inspections in the southwest United States. Petrographic examinations of concrete samples cored from seven unique structures with significant damage showed that concrete carbonation has reached the reinforcing steel in some structures and there was evidence of minor sulfate attacks. Chloride ions were found at high concentrations, which had indications of being introduced through the concrete admixture. This is consistent with the practice of the precast industry around the 1960s–1980s to use calcium chloride admixtures to increase fabrication throughput. The presence of chlorides in the concrete matrix, coupled with gradual concrete carbonation, moisture, and oxygen, are the main causes of deterioration and damage observed in these structures.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
References
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1941. Building regulations for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1947. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1951. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1956. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1963. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1971. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 1983. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2001. Guide to protection of metals in concrete against corrosion. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2014. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2016. Guide to durable concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2019a. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2019b. Guide to protection of metals in concrete against corrosion. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
Andrade, C., and C. L. Page. 1986. “Pore solution chemistry and corrosion in hydrated cement systems containing chloride salts: A study of cation specific effects.” Br. Corros. J. 21 (1): 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1179/000705986798272415.
ASTM. 2001. Standard test method for density, relative density (specific gravity), and absorption of coarse aggregate. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2015. Standard test method for water-soluble sulfate in soil. ASTM. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2017. Standard test method for water-soluble chloride in mortar and concrete. ASTM. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2018. Standard practice for petrographic examination of hardened concrete. ASTM. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2019. Standard specification for portland cement. ASTM C150/C150M-19a. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Brown, J. H. 1991. “Carbonation. The effect of exposure and concrete quality: Field survey results from some 400 structures.” In Proc. 5th Int. Conf. Durability of Building Materials and Components, 262–271. London: Span Press.
Caltrans. 2018. Corrosion guidelines version 3.0. Sacramento, CA: Caltrans.
Collepardi, M., and S. Monosi. 1992. “Effect of the carbonation process on the concrete deterioration by aggression.” In Proc., 9th Int. Congress on the Chemistry of Cement, 389–395. New Delhi, India: National Council for Cement and Building Materials.
Gouda, V. K. 1970. “Corrosion and corrosion inhibition of reinforcing steel: I. Immersed in alkaline solutions.” Br. Corros. J. 5 (5): 198–203. https://doi.org/10.1179/000705970798324450.
Hansson, C. M. 1984. “Comments on electrochemical measurements of the rate of corrosion of steel in concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 14 (4): 574–584. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(84)90135-2.
Harrison, W. H. 1990. “Effect of chloride in mix ingredients on sulphate resistance of concrete.” Mag. Concr. Res. 42 (152): 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.1990.42.152.113.
Hewlett, P., and M. Liska. 2019. Lea’s chemistry of cement and concrete. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Lambert, P., C. L. Page, and P. R. W. Vassie. 1991. “Investigations of reinforcement corrosion. 2. Electrochemical monitoring of steel in chloride-contaminated concrete.” Mater. Struct. 24 (5): 351–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02472068.
Leek, D. S., and A. B. Poole. 1990. “Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete.” In The breakdown of the passive film on high yield mild steel by chloride ions, 65–73. London: Elsevier.
Mehta, P. K. 1977. Effect of cement composition on corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete. Chloride corrosion of steel in concrete. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Mehta, P. K., and P. J. M. Monteiro. 2006. Concrete. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Neville, A. M. 1995. Properties of concrete. London: Longman.
PCA (Portland Cement Association). 2002. Types and causes of concrete deterioration. Skokie, IL: PCA.
Poole, A. B., and I. Sims. 2016. Concrete petrography: A handbook of investigative techniques. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Powers, T. C. 1958. “Structure and physical properties of hardened portland cement paste.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 41 (1): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1958.tb13494.x.
Powers, T. C., L. E. Copeland, and H. M. Mann. 1959. “Capillary continuity or discontinuity in cement pastes.” Portland Cement Assoc. J. 1 (2): 38–48.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 10, 2020
Accepted: Nov 9, 2020
Published online: Feb 16, 2021
Published in print: Apr 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jul 16, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.