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Life-365
Computer Program for Predicting the Service Life and
Life-Cycle Costs of Reinforced Concrete
Exposed to Chlorides
The corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement in concrete due
to the penetration of chlorides from deicing salts, groundwater or
seawater is the most prevalent form of premature concrete deterioration
worldwide and costs billions of dollars a year in terms of infrastructure
repair and replacement. There are currently numerous strategies available
for increasing the service life of reinforced structures exposed to
chloride salts; these include the use of:
• low-permeability (high-performance) concrete
• chemical corrosion inhibitors
• protective coatings on steel reinforcement (e.g. epoxy-coated
or galvanized steel)
• corrosion-resistant steel (e.g. stainless steel)
• non-ferrous reinforcement (e.g. fibre-reinforced plastics)
• waterproofing membranes or sealants applied to the exposed
surface of the concrete
• cathodic protection (applied at the time of construction)
• combinations of the above
Each of these strategies has different technical merits and costs
associated with their use. Selecting the optimum strategy requires
the means to weigh the increased costs against the potential extension
to the life of the structure. Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is being
used more and more frequently for this purpose. LCCA provides the
means to compute the costs over the entire (design) life of the structure.
Both initial construction costs and future (predicted) repair costs
are included in the economic analysis. Thus, even though the implementation
of a protection strategy may increase initial costs, it may still
reduce life cycle costs by reducing the extent and frequency of future
repairs.
| LIFE-365
software predicts the service life and life-cycle costs of reinforced
concrete exposed to chlorides.
It is not available on this
site.
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Company Description.
Cortec©
Corporation, a pioneer in Migratory Corrosion Inhibitor™
(MCI®)
technology, is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Cortec manufacturers
a variety of proprietary products for protection of existing concrete
structures, repairs and rehabilitation, as well as new construction
(corrosion inhibiting admixtures and superplasticizers).
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