Durable buildings

Most of this chapter has discussed bridges, with peripheral comments about other civil engineering structures. This is partly because most of the emphasis in the field of durability has been problems with bridges caused by chloride attack. Many of the discussions are relevant to all reinforced concrete structures. However, buildings are constructed to withstand less severe environments and conditions than bridges. There are also lower life expectations on buildings which may become obsolete before serious deterioration occurs. 

The trend towards covering up concrete with coatings and cladding increases the durability of the concrete by retarding chloride and carbon dioxide ingress. Buildings rarely use FBECR, micro silica, sealers or inhibitors, but they rarely suffer from severe chloride exposure. 

Adequate maintenance and maintainability are also important. If leaks develop on the flat roof of a building exposed to the sea then chlorides can concentrate and cause damage. If drainage is well designed and maintain then problems will be minimized. 

Increase cover over reinforcement Decrease water/ cementitious ratio 

Ground granulated blast furnace slag, microsilica.fly ash 

---

Natural stone, such as granite, sandstone, limestone, and slate, is a very limited resource but provides a very durable building material. Reconstituted stone products are made using stone dust from quarrying operations, bonded with cement or synthetic resins. Synthetic stone is made from minerals such as sand and ash bonded with synthetic resins. More energy is required to produce a reconstituted or synthetic product than to use stone in its natural state, and the production of the resins used can cause pollution. 

The improved performance of SC over PCC is of importance not only in the applications such as corrosive industrial situations, but also in certain regular construction applications. In some areas of the world, the mineral aggregates available locally do not produce a PCC capable of withstanding the climate conditions. However, those aggregates may be used in SC to give durable building materials. Examples of this aspect of the use of sulfur concretes are sulfur concrete block projects developed by Ortega... 

R.D. Browne, Design prediction of the hfe for reinforced concrete in marine and other chloride environments. Durability Build. Mater. 1 (1982) 113—125. 

BRE Digest 405 (1995). Carbonation of Concrete and its Effects on Durability. Building Research Establishment, Garston, UK, Publ CRC Ltd. London. 

Flinn, D. R., Cramer, S. D., Carter, J. P., and Spence, J. W. (1985). Field exposure study for determining the effects of acid deposition on the corrosion and deterioration of materials—E)escription of programme and preliminary results. Durability Build. Mater., 3(2), 147-175. 

B.C.E. Fired bricks Humans begin to fire bricks, creating more durable building materials that (because of their regular size and shape) are easier to lay than stones. 

Slagsitalls. Glass ceramics made in Eastern Europe from glasses from blastfurnace and other slags. They are used to make durable building products, such as tiles. 

F. Matsushita, S. Shibata and T. Kamada, Durability Build. Mater. Compon. 8, Proc. Int. Conf., 8th, 1999,1, 159. Ed. by M.A. Lacasse and D.J. Vanier, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ont. 

A Baldizar, TU Gevert, M Markinger. Durability Build Mater Compon 7th Proc Int Conf, 1996, 1, pp 683-692. 

L. Franke and E. Overback, Loss in Strength and Damage to Glass Fibers in Alkaline Solutions and Cement Extracts , Durability Build. Mater. 5,1987, 73-79. 

R. Becker and J. Late, Cracking Resistance of Asbestos Cement Panels Sulyected to Drying , Durability Build. Mater. 3,1985, 35-49. 

Concrete is a very versatile, long-lasting and durable building and construction material if it is applied according to the state of the art. In the past, and even today, unfortunately, repeated disregard of the fundamental principles of concrete and structural concrete apphcation has lead, and, in many cases, still leads to severe and serious damage in the building industry. The cost of the repair of concrete structures has dramatically increased over the last 30 years in ah industrial countries. In Ger-... 

---