Condition Assessment of Aging Concrete Structures—Part 1

This two-part article is a review of the corrosion risk assessment, structural considerations, and engineering solutions for the steel reinforced structural elements within an aging concrete building that exhibited accelerated corrosion in corrosive environments, along with factors that could potentially result in the progressive failure and eventual collapse of an aging building. Part 1 addresses the fundamentals of structural analysis, rebar corrosion, carbonation, and the role of chlorides. Part 2 will address inspection and condition assessment procedures and recommendations; engineering solutions by coatings and cathodic protection; case histories; and cathodic protection design of concrete rebar with finite element simulations.