SIMCO Presented Concrete Service-Life Extension at the NACE International 2015 Conference

This conference focused on proactive ways to prevent deterioration in concrete structures and on the most recent research and technologies for the repair and service-life extension of concrete structures

Dr. Eric Samson, Eng., Ph.D. and Director of Research and Development from SIMCO presented “Optimizing the service life of existing concrete structures exposed to chloride-laden environments using advanced modeling and field data”.

The presentation focused on a complete methodology that allows for the selection of optimized solutions for the extension of the service life of concrete structures exposed to chloride-laden environments. The methodology combines the use of field data and advanced modeling in a comprehensive approach. The first step of the method consists in collecting data on the structures using a combination of techniques and measurements on cores. Information collected using selected non-destructive techniques can complement data from cores. In the second step, the data are used as input parameters in an advanced model called STADIUM to evaluate realistic exposure scenarios and assess the current chloride contamination level in concrete elements. Finally, the model is used to predict future performances. In this third step, different remediation scenarios can be modeled such as concrete repairs, sealer applications, and cathodic protection, and compared to a no-action scenario. The cost of each remediation scenario can be compared to its benefit, which allows selecting optimized solutions. The presentation also provided a detailed description of each step and different case studies were then presented to illustrate the use of the methodology for different concrete structural elements.

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