UHPC overlay as sustainable solution to preserve old concrete structures

Abstract

Concrete structures exposed to harsh environments, especially including bridges, harbor structures are often suffered from durability problems. Typical external signs include surface deterioration, cracking caused by for example sulphate attack, frost action or reinforcement corrosion. All are strongly linked to the porous microstructure of the binder matrix and chemical decomposition of certain phases. Full replacement of deteriorated concrete structures is costly and can be troublesome for their users. The increasing demand to reduce the carbon footprint and to prolong the service life of concrete structures adds yet another argument to restore the existing structures. One alternative is to use very dense Ultra-High-Performance concrete (UHPC) as an external protective coating. The goal of this study was to determine the interfacial bonding characteristics between a damaged normal concrete (NC) and the applied thin layer of the UHPC. To curb the CO2 emission, UHPC is produced by substituting 50 wt% of Portland cement with a fine limestone powder. Fresh and hardened properties, shrinkage and frost durability have been evaluated. Mechanical properties were determined on a full-scale hybrid element using ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and bond test (pull-off test). The results showed a significant increase of mechanical properties. Despite the applied thin layer of UHPC and volumetric restrain from the substrate normal concrete (NC) only limited surface shrinkage cracks were observed. The bond test and UPV showed good excellent values.