Concrete Durability: Deterioration Mechanisms and Prevention

This book will explain how to produce durable concrete, prevent premature concrete deterioration, and assess why concrete may suffer from degradation. It will examine the main forms of deterioration, including reinforcing steel corrosion, carbonation of concrete, freeze-thaw attack, sulfate attack, and alkali-aggregate reaction. It will also cover weathering, biogenic corrosion, abrasion, fire, acid attack, and scour. Several case studies will be presented to provide real-world examples of deterioration. The book will focus on the material science aspects of the deterioration mechanisms so that a strong fundamental understanding will be realized by professionals and graduate students alike.

Jason H. Ideker is an Associate Professor at Oregon State University and the Co-Director of the Green Building Materials Laboratory - An Oregon BEST Signature Facility. He has been working in the area of concrete materials since 2001. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.S.E and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. He has also spent time as a graduate student and most recently as a Visiting Professor at École Polytechnic Fédérale de Lausanne in Lausanne Switzerland. Dr. Ideker’s main research areas are in durability of concrete with a focus on alkali-silica reaction, durability of alternative cementitious materials including calcium aluminate cements and early age behavior of high performance cementitious materials. He has authored over 75 technical articles and reports on these subjects and is currently a co-author on the Calcium Aluminate Cements Chapter in the upcoming revision to Lea’s Cement Chemistry. Dr. Ideker is a member of ACI Committees 201, 231 and 236, ASTM C01, and serves on the Executive Board of C09. He chairs ASTM Subcommittee C09.50 -Risk Management for Alkali-Aggregate Reactions. He is also a member of the RILEM AAA Committee on the Development of a Performance-Based Standard for Alkali-Aggregate Reactivity. He is a recipient of the ACI Young Member Award for Professional Achievement.

Michael Thomas is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of New Brunswick and a registered Professional Engineer in the province of New Brunswick. He has been working in the field of cement and concrete research since 1983. Prior to joining UNB in 2002 he had been on faculty at the University of Toronto since 1994. Dr. Thomas’s main research interests are concrete durability and the use of industrial by-products including pozzolans and slag. He has authored more than 200 technical papers and reports, including the book Supplementary Cementing Materials in Concrete; he is also a coauthor of the service-life model, Life-365. Dr. Thomas is active on technical committees within the American Concrete Institute (ACI), ASTM, RILEM, and the Canadian Standards Association (Awarded Order of Merit in 2010). He was a recipient of the ACI’s Wason Medal for Materials Research in 1997, 2009 and 2014, the ACI Construction Practice Award in 2001 and was elected to a Fellow of the Institute in 2006. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Concrete Technology in the U.K. Dr. Thomas is also the President of C&CS Atlantic Inc. and provides consulting services in the area of concrete materials, durability and rehabilitation, and expert testimony for litigation.