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Introduction
Global climate change (GCC) is a reality and has been
properly documented during recent years.1 Carbon dioxide and other contaminants accumulate in the atmosphere and trap the heat, thus causing an overall
increase in global temperatures. This gradual increase
in temperature has become evident and has caused
changes, such as negative effects on human health2,3 via
heat waves and diseases, changes in ecosystem function,
which have lead to species loss,4 increase in ocean temperatures,5 which have led to glacier melting, changes in
the timing of melting and an increase in ocean level,68
and changes in climate patterns characterised by an
overall increase in temperature,9 more frequent and
severe droughts, fires and storms. Nonetheless, very little
information exists with respect to GCC effects on steel
and concrete infrastructure,1012 potentially resulting in
a decrease in infrastructure durability. For example,
more frequent and intense hurricanes carry rains with
chlorides from the sea, which impact the infrastructure
of sites that were originally not designed or constructed
with such greater frequency or intensity of effects in
mind. As a result, infrastructure deterioration may occur
at an accelerated rate, and infrastructure service life
decreases substantially.
Preventing or minimising infrastructure effects due to
hurricanes may be feasible and realistic. However, midand long term effects of GCC on concrete infrastructure
are still unknown, and it is not clear how they can be
tested for. One relevant aspect which deserves attention
Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Unidad Merida,
A.P. 73 Cordemex, CP 97310, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
*Corresponding author, email pcastro@mda.cinvestav.mx
Experimental
Concrete specimens of different quality and curing time
ct were exposed to a coastal environment since 1993 and
were located at different distances from the coastline in
Progreso, Yucatan (21u169330 N and 89u399140 W). For
this study, the authors used data recorded from specimens located at a station, which was 100 m inland from
the coast and with compression strength f9c of 150, 250
and 350 kg cm22, water/cement ratios w/c of 0?46, 0?53
and 0?76 and a ct of seven days.
Climatic data
The authors obtained climatic data from the Centro
Meteorologico de la Comision Nacional del Agua to
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Materials
Cylindrical concrete specimens of 7?5615 cm were
fabricated. Thirty of these probes were made only of
concrete to monitor chlorides and carbonation, while
another 30 were made with a steel bar and a reference
electrode (RE) embedded in the concrete in order to
monitor corrosion patterns. A total of 60 probes were
present at this sampling station. Both types of probes
were simultaneously exposed to environmental conditions since 1993, which means that both groups were
subjected to aggressive effects such as salt in the air,
carbonation, high temperatures, rainfall and high relative humidity.
Tap water was used for mixing, and during the curing
stage, 2% of limestone was added to the water in order
to increase the pH and, in this way, avoid the loss of
alkalinity during the fabrication process.
In order to have an idea of the corrosion potential of
the materials before their use, the authors recorded their
chloride content before they were exposed (results are
presented in Table 3). These measurements showed that
the materials used were below what is considered
aggressive based on standards ACI-201 and ACI-318.13
Aggregates
Reinforcement steel
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
CaO
K2O
SO3
Ca
MgO
C3S
C2S
C3A
C4AF
Ign
Ins
3.50% (max.)
5.00% (max.)
3.00% (max.)
0.75% (max.)
Concrete
Experimental cell
Specimen design
US 200
97.85
US 325
88.63
Initial
133 0.45 h
Final
165 8.00 h
Per cent penetration
69 50%
Per cent expansion
0 0.80%
24 h
83
Three days
203 130 kg cm22
Seven days
255 200 kg cm22
0.76
157.00
0.70
172.50
0.53
221.50
0.50
290.33
Table 3 Estimation of total chloride ion content for material used to fabricate concrete cylinders*
Ingredient
Cement
Sand
Coarse aggregate
Water
8,78 ppm
0,0227 pwa
0,0207 pwa
213 ppm
50100 ppm
0.0010.04 pwa
0.0010.04 pwa
No more than 250 ppm
*ppm, parts per million, pwa, per cent per weight of aggregate.
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concrete
0.46
269.67
occurred only in a radial direction. A slice of each specimen was cut before exposure and when the corrosion
parameters started showing apparent values of
0?2 A cm22 in the steel for any of the specimens, which
had an embedded reinforcement. This value is considered as the standard critical value for the apparent
corrosion current density Icorr, which indicates damage
to structures that are influenced by Cl2 and CO2.16 On
the dry part of the recently obtained slice, a dissolution
of ethyl alcohol with 1% of phenolftalein was applied to
assess carbonation depth.17 The powders which are
necessary for the extraction of Cl2 were obtained by
means of a drill and were sifted with a no. 50 sieve.18
Previous studies have reported that free chlorides may
depassivate steel and that under these conditions water
extraction is recommended.19 Nonetheless, it is clear
that carbonation has an influence, and thus, it may
contain more free chlorides. Because a potential risk
may exist because of this situation, it should be
evaluated, and this is why the authors conducted an
acid extraction of total chlorides.17 Based on previous
tests conducted by the authors, as well as from other
studies,19,20 an extraction technique was developed,
which produced results that coincided with those
obtained from techniques specified in standards ASTM
C144 and UNE-217. This method consists of drying a
powder sample at 105uC for an hour. Once this drying
period has concluded, samples are placed in a desiccator
for 15 min. A 2?5 g subsample is then obtained and
diluted in 100 mL of a 0?06M HNO3 solution, which is
subsequently agitated for 10 min. The resulting solution
is appraised to 125 with the 0?06M HNO3 solution and
is allowed to sediment for an hour, after which the
sample is filtered with Whatman paper no. 2. Fifty
millilitre subsamples are then taken from the filtered
solution to which 1 mL of a 5M sodium nitrate solution
is added. These subsamples are then agitated at a constant velocity, and the concentrations are read following
instructions from a selective ion electrode (Orion 941700, 9002-00).
Results
Climatic data
Figure 2 shows data for maximum temperature, average
temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and evaporation.
In all cases, a gradual increase was observed from 1961
to 2008, which is confirmed by the tendency line which
also predicts that this behaviour will continue during
the following years. This linear tendency was more
pronounced in the case of maximum temperature.
Interestingly, multi-year cycles were observed for all
variables.
Figure 3 shows accumulated values and tendency lines
for each value for each of the recorded variables, and
although it is recognised that this result is of no real
physical value, useful information may be obtained as
for example variation in climatic parameters remained
constant and showed a systematic pattern throughout
the period of study.
Chlorides
Chemical analyses
Chlorides and carbonation
Figure 4 shows chloride profiles recorded for the specimens at 0, 24, 45, 78 and 126 months after exposure. The
greatest chloride concentrations recorded at 0 and 24
months occurred for specimens with the lowest f9c, while
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Discussion
To the authors knowledge, there have been no studies
which have looked at the combined effect of GCC and
microclimate on infrastructure durability in the Yucatan
peninsula. Although there is available information on
the penetration mechanism21 and interpretation of
chloride profiles for concrete structures exposed to
tropical coastal environments of the region,22 long term
data had not been recorded yet, and it has not been
linked to atmospheric records. Thus, findings from this
3 Accumulated values for a maximum temperature, b mean temperature, c rainfall, d relative humidity and e evaporation:
values showed constant variation through time
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predictions remain uncertain. The tendency line indicates that by 2010, average temperature will increase by
0?3uC compared to 2008 and that, by years 2020 and
2030, temperature will increase by 1 and 2uC respectively
compared to 2010. In other words, the rate of temperature increase would be consistent with what has
been observed at the study site during the last 30 years.
Although this 1uC increase per decade may not be
constant in the future, at present, it represents useful
information, which should be considered in decision
making processes.
Based on this, the authors conclude that the observed
increase in maximum temperature during the last four
decades, based on maximum values of each multiyear
cycle, is evident and appears to follow, at least at the
moment, a well defined linear tendency. This finding is
relevant for future climate change predictions and
provides relevant information for studies and strategies
designed to understand and limit the impact of GCC on
human infrastructure and natural ecosystems.
NO
f9c5
9 Total amount
specimens
of
chlorides
recorded
for
concrete
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Conclusions
Based on results for atmospheric data and chloride
concentration, the authors present the following conclusions, which apply to the microclimatic conditions at
the study site, as well as materials and fabrication
method used.
1. Temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and evaporation recorded for the studied microclimate all
showed a well defined tendency to increase throughout
the 40-year sampling period.
2. Maximum and mean temperature increased gradually throughout the sampling period, at a rate of 1
and 0?22uC per decade respectively. This contrasts the
rate of increase reported in the IPCC (0?13uC per
decade) as well as in other international reports.
3. A pattern of multiyear cycles was described for
maximum temperature values and may be controlled by
factors other than local atmospheric conditions. For
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge to CONACYT (Projects
Ciencia Basica 57420 and CIAM 54826) for the partially
support of this work and to Centro Metereologico de la
Comision Nacional del Agua (Meteorological Center of
the National Water Commission) for provide the
climatic data. The authors also acknowledge Ing.
Mercedes Balancan for her support in the chemical
and electrochemical test.
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