Reinforced Concrete Structure Performance in Marine Structures: Analyzing Durability Indexes to Obtain More Accurate Corrosion Initiation Time Predictions.

This paper presents a comparison of six index properties collected during durability inspections of five Mexican seaports. Typical durability indicators such as compressive strength, saturated electrical resistivity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, percent total void content, capillary porosity, and chloride concentration profiles were analyzed to obtain empirical correlations with the non-steady-state chloride diffusion coefficient. These indices were compared to determine correlation coefficients that are the most important for obtaining better corrosion initiation forecasting.

Durability Performance Indices for Cement-Based Mortars.

Corrosion-induced damaged structures are generally repaired using locally available materials. Nevertheless, determining the durability of the repair materials to be used is necessary to forecast its service life after being placed on the damaged structure. In previous investigations, the most commonly used durability indices are saturated electrical resistivity (), ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), total void content (TVC), water capillary absorption (WCA), rapid chloride permeability (RCP), and compressive strength ().

Opuntia Ficus-Indica (OFI) Mucilage as Corrosion Inhibitor of Steel in CO-Contaminated Mortar.

The present investigation is directed to determine if a natural/botanical addition, from Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) cactus, increases durability for cement-based materials exposed to CO-laden environments (urban and industrial). The use of this botanical addition in cement-based material applications has shown good performance when these materials are exposed to chloride-laden environments, but no investigations to date have shown the performance of this addition in urban/industrial environments. Therefore, the aim of this investigation is to complement OFI mucilage performance in the most hazardous environments where most of these construction materials are naturally exposed: marine, urban, and industrial.