An analysis of the predominant causes of deterioration of concrete structures in South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: Concrete deteriorates due to, but not limited to the ingress of deleterious substances which react with the cement matrix, reinforcing bars corrosion, mechanical effects, physical effects, structural damages, poor construction practices. All these factors individually or combined, ultimately reduce the expected service lives of the concrete structures. The trends vary with different exposure conditions and geographical locations, and a reference guide is required in South African context. A total of twenty-four concrete structures were visually assessed by different University of Cape Town (UCT) scholars and findings were captured in project reports. The reports of these assessments were analysed in this research to identify the main causes of concrete deterioration and severity of damages in the three provinces considered in South Africa, whilst linking these to environmental exposure conditions and geographical location. It is important to elucidate that deterioration mechanisms and trends were drawn from the limited number of visual assessment reports, and the mechanisms assumed might not have been necessarily correct. The rating of the defects was done using the DER-U rating system, a method available for bridges and retaining walls. DER-U rating system was developed for buildings, exploiting the available rating system for bridges as there is no available established rating system for buildings, and the author considered it an important tool for the preliminary evaluation taking note of all limitations. However, reinforcing bars corrosion has been found to be the most prominent deterioration mechanism on structures assessed and severity was high on the structures located in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces, and was exacerbated by the inadequate cover provided on most structures. Furthermore, it was also noted that the severity of the damage increased with age of a structure. Although petrographic analysis as an additional investigation was required to asc…
abstract: Concrete deteriorates due to, but not limited to the ingress of deleterious substances which react with the cement matrix, reinforcing bars corrosion, mechanical effects, physical effects, structural damages, poor construction practices. All these factors individually or combined, ultimately reduce the expected service lives of the concrete structures. The trends vary with different exposure conditions and geographical locations, and a reference guide is required in South African context. A total of twenty-four concrete structures were visually assessed by different University of Cape Town (UCT) scholars and findings were captured in project reports. The reports of these assessments were analysed in this research to identify the main causes of concrete deterioration and severity of damages in the three provinces considered in South Africa, whilst linking these to environmental exposure conditions and geographical location. It is important to elucidate that deterioration mechanisms and trends were drawn from the limited number of visual assessment reports, and the mechanisms assumed might not have been necessarily correct. The rating of the defects was done using the DER-U rating system, a method available for bridges and retaining walls. DER-U rating system was developed for buildings, exploiting the available rating system for bridges as there is no available established rating system for buildings, and the author considered it an important tool for the preliminary evaluation taking note of all limitations. However, reinforcing bars corrosion has been found to be the most prominent deterioration mechanism on structures assessed and severity was high on the structures located in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces, and was exacerbated by the inadequate cover provided on most structures. Furthermore, it was also noted that the severity of the damage increased with age of a structure. Although petrographic analysis as an additional investigation was required to asc…
author: Mashanda, Darison
language: eng
date published: 2018
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:50Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Civil Engineering

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29262