Long-term field exposure of structural concretes in marine environment: state-of-the-art review by RILEM TC 289-DCM

This paper reviews the technical aspects related to the long-term field exposure practice in marine environments, based on the return of experiences of major marine exposure sites in world-wide scope. The long-term exposure practice helps both the research on durability mechanisms of structural concretes under real environments and the calibration of durability models to support the life-cycle management of concrete structures. The presentation of the field exposure data can be categorized into the information relevant to exposure sites, the data related to the exposed materials and specimens, the information of environmental actions, and the data related to the performance of materials. A standardized presentation of these data can help the efficiency of data sharing and exploitation. The exploitation of exposure data employs various models to represent the chloride ingress and the induced corrosion risk of the embedded steel bars. There are needs for models addressing the strong environment-material interactions, and simple yet reliable durability indicators for engineering use. The design and operation of exposure stations need the careful choice of exposure sites and specimens, the appropriate scheme for monitoring and inspection of exposed specimens, the systematic recording and management of exposure data, and the regular maintenance of exposure facilities. The support of exposure data for life-cycle management is demonstrated through the durability planning of a real project case. The good practice of long-term field exposure is summarized in the end.