abstract
- The procedures performed for durability quality control/quality assurance (DQC/QA) of concrete during the construction of a bridge exposed to a tropical marine environment is presented. The methodology includes the use of one durability index to estimate the transport properties of aggressive agents in concrete, called saturated electrical resistivity (¿S). A second index commonly used internationally to determine the concrete¿s typical QC/QA evaluating its compressive strength (fc) was also monitored. Both DQC/QA and QC/QA were made using standardized 10 × 20cm cylinders fabricated during the 2-year construction of the example bridge. The results obtained demonstrated that the DQC/QA for concrete should not be based solely on mechanical strength tests (fc), but also on physical tests that determine the ease (or difficulty) that the newly manufactured concrete could present to the transport of aggressive ions within. The statistical analysis performed showed that there was a greater variability in the results of some with ¿S, using standardized cylinders, as compared to low variability obtained from fc QC/QA data obtained with same cylinders.