Put to the Test

Tourney, Paul; Berke, Neal; ,

Put to the Test

by Paul Tourney, Product Mgr.; Grace Construction Products, Cambridge, MA,
Neal Berke, Research Mgr.; W. R. Grace, New York, NY,

Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1992, Vol. 62, Issue 12, Pg. 62-63

Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

In the construction industry, the concept of life-cycle cost applies not only to the infrastructure itself, but to the materials that go in to building that infrastructure. To improve concrete performance, for example, admixtures are routinely added to the mix at the batch plant. Corrosion inhibitors, just one type of admixture, have steadily gained in popularity over the past 15 years, prolonging the life of concrete used in parking garages, highway bridges and structures exposed to marine environments and deicing salts. To date, however, there are no guidelines published by ASCE, the American Concrete Institute, the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials or any other industry group that can help engineers evaluate and compare the various corrosion inhibitors on a head-to-head basis. Without standardized tests, engineers are sometimes forced to base their evaluations and recommendations on information provided by manufacturers�not always the best source of unbiased information. As a result, both engineers and owners may be assuming more risk and liability than they're aware of. To address this problem, the authors recommend seven tests for corrosion inhibitors and argue that industry groups should take the lead in promoting them.

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