New climate testing chamber for simulating ageing processes in steel reinforced concrete

We have long held to a false sense of security that steel reinforced concrete structures would require no maintenance at all during their entire service life. Cracks, as yet still small in the concrete, are initially almost unnoticeable but if they are not rectified straight away and the cause of the damage eliminated, they can turn into major damage relatively quickly. This then can only be treated with great effort and expense or require even total demolition. Media reporting has shown up dramatic situations when, almost at the same time, vital infra- structure and concrete buildings suddenly become cases for reconstruction. Two companies, Testing and Feutron, in cooperation with LafargeHolcim, a construction material producer, have now developed a testing procedure, with which the action of environmental influences on steel reinforced concrete can be simulated variably in a laboratory over a period of many decades. It permits reliable conclusions to be made about the state and longevity of steel reinforced concrete structures.

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