Salt Resistant Concrete
Salt Resistant Concrete
(OP)
We are designing a small, salt storage facility for a city. This is a simple, wood framed shed that will house and protect piles of salt to be used during winter months for melting ice on roads.
There is to be a concrete floor in each stall. Would Type V concrete be appropriate here? I know it is used for high sulfate resistance but didn't know if it would be appropriate or effective for sodium chloride resistance?
There is to be a concrete floor in each stall. Would Type V concrete be appropriate here? I know it is used for high sulfate resistance but didn't know if it would be appropriate or effective for sodium chloride resistance?





RE: Salt Resistant Concrete
In my experience with a failure investigation of a similar application (brine processing plant)and designing concrete mixes for similar high chloride environments, the concrete quality will prevail.
If you have any embedded steel, you might consider a corrosion inhibitor in the mix (nitrite type). This along with dense mix, will help reduce the potential for corrosion. You can check the effectiveness of the finished product by doing chloride permeability testing on the concrete.
Good luck.
Ron
RE: Salt Resistant Concrete
We have no rebar - using fiber reinforcing instead along with 6% air.
RE: Salt Resistant Concrete
I want to second the vote for dense, well placed concrete. If you have easy access to Type I/II or II Cement, that would be a plus.
Special care has to be taken when troweling a hard, smooth finish with air entrainment. The surface may undergo significant delamination. This is described in an excellant article in ACI Concrete International, about 3 years ago.
RE: Salt Resistant Concrete
Note: The ACI guide states that there is conflicting opinion whether air contents lower than those given in its recommendation table (which the above example came from) should be permitted for high strength (5500 psi) concrete.
The ACI guide has another table that recommends for seawater exposure, concrete with Type II, IP(MS), or IS(MS) cement.
In the "Proposed revision of: Guide to Durable Concrete" (ACI 201.2R-92), section 2.3-Seawater exposure, states (in part) ...concrete should reach a maturity equivalent of not less than 5000 psi at 28 days when fully exposed to seawater."
The FEMA Coastal Construction Manual (FEMA 55, June 2000) recommends (for construction in area subject to saltwater flooding) using 5000 psi minimum compressive strength (for durability).
You should also check-out your local building code and your regional building code (e.g., IBC).
In my very limited experience with concrete, I have only seen concrete with Type V cement used in fishing-piers that are constantly exposed/submerged in saltwater.
RE: Salt Resistant Concrete
RE: Salt Resistant Concrete
Another item to watch for is the leaching of salt into the groundwater. Am aware of one instance where the 'saltdome' affected wells approx 1/2 mile down gradient.