• Corpus ID: 45498741

Predicting the Long Term Behavior and Service Life of Concrete Dams LTBD

@inproceedings{Charlwood2009PredictingTL,
  title={Predicting the Long Term Behavior and Service Life of Concrete Dams LTBD},
  author={Robin Gurney Charlwood},
  year={2009}
}

• R. Charlwood
• Published 2009
• Materials Science

There are a large number of very important and valuable large concrete dams around the world that are entering “middle age”. This article addresses the question of predicting their long term behavior and service life. The article firstly reviews the basic nature and physical properties of concrete in dams. Then the types and causes of ageing phenomena and deterioration mechanisms are identified and the key processes of sulphate attack, alkali-aggregate reactions and freeze-thaw damage reviewed. To assist predicting future behavior it is suggested that a knowledge of the development of the state of the art of concrete technology is essential. A review of the evolution of concrete for large American dams is presented as an illustration. This characterizes the development in four distinct eras through the 20 Century. Then a framework for the analysis of ageing processes and their consequences is presented with reviews of rehabilitation work, prevention measures and the increasingly important issue of chemical expansion of existing concrete dams. This leads to conclusions regarding the remaining service life of concrete dams.