REINFORCED CEMENT CONCRETE PIPELINES FOR DESALINATED WATER TRANSMISSION - A CRITICAL REVIEW AND SOME FAILURE ANALYSIS1

Anees U Malik, P.C.Mayan Kutty, and Ismail Andijani ABSTRACT A considerable number of pipe failures have been reported in recent years in Middle East where the major quantity of desalinated water is transmitted/distributed through RCC pipelines. This paper reviews various factors affecting the performance of cement concrete pipes and preventive measures to reduce the failure incidences. The viability of using modified cements, slag cements, polymer linings and coatings, fusion bonded epoxy etc. as alternative materials in manufacturingpipelines has been examined. Nature and causes of some failures of pipelines carrying desalinated water in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the recommended preventive measures taken thereof have also been discussed. INTRODUCTION 1. Recent years had witnessed a phenomenal growth in desalination industry in the Middle East due to increased demands for drinking water and its non-availability from natural sources. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries account for about 57.5% of the total desalinated water produced in the world according to a recent survey [l]. Saudi Arabia tops in the list among GCC countries producing about 27% of the world total. The Kingdom uses both multistage flash distillation (MSF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes, the former accounting for more than 90% of the installed capacity. Often the desalination plants are located far away from the points of consumption. An enormous network of transmission lines were therefore constructed to transport the desalinated water to several cities and communities from the points of production and had been in operation for the last several years. Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is the largest producer of desalinated water in the Kingdom and accounts for approximately 83% of the total production in the Kingdom. SWCCs major water distribution systems [2] consist of pipes internally lined with cement or cement mortar, and in some cases, asbestos cement (AC) or of epoxy lined steel. Reinforced cement concrete pipes have also

2.

1 Presented to First Gulf Water Conference, Dubai, October, 1992.

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been extensively used in gravity lines. In all cases, some organic coatings, such as polyethylene, coal-tar epoxy or bituminous materials were usually applied externally to act as barrier between the pipe material and the aggressive environments. Cathodic protection was applied extensively as corrosion abatement technique. However, several incidences of failures were reported in recent years which were attributed to reasons such as soil corrosivity, damage to the cement. mortar lining by water hammering, shrinkage cracks, failure of CP system, delamination of polyethylene lining etc. Incidences of failures involving a 1600 mm prestressed cement concrete pipe (PCCP) during hydraulic pressure test was particularly disastrous. 3. Widely reported failures of concrete structures world-wide, and particularly in GCC countries, had generated a tremendous amount of interest on the subject in recent years. Various factors related to every stages starting from material selection, manufacture, transportation and installation, curing, protection methods etc. are being minutely examined and correlated to such factors as the environmental parameters, standards and specifications used, operation practices, inspection techniques and so on. This is of particular interest to the users of concrete structures in the GCC countries due to highly aggressive environment prevailing in this area which might have been overlooked while applying codes and standards developed for comparatively less hostile environments. 4. This paper discusses various factors for consideration to improve the integrity and service life of reinforced cement concrete pipes used for water transmission. A few failures reported in SWCCs water transmission systems were also described along with a discussion on the results and findings of the failure analyses carried out. Cement Mortar as Protection for Reinforcemeqt Steel: 5. A cover of concrete or mortar protects the embedded reinforcing steel basically by three mechanisms: 6. I. It acts as a physical barrier between the steel and the aggressive environment. Protection efficiency depends on several factors such as cover thickness, compactness, absence of voids hence low porosity, cracks etc. To achieve this extreme care should be taken right from the mixing and application of concrete until proper curing. One principal factor controlling the permeability of corrodants through mortar is its water content as defined by water to cement ratio. As water/cement ratio increases permeability of corrodants such as Cl-, oxygen etc. increases quite considerably [3]. A ratio of 0.28 - 0.30 is normally considered sufficient to permit full compaction of the mortar and ensure complete hydration of the cement. Several structures were reported to have failed since this ratio was unacceptably high. Recent failures reported from

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Sitra Power and Water Station, Bahrain [4] is a typical example. Sufficient compacting and curing also should be carried out to decrease porosity and increase compactness. Following factors need to be critically evaluated in relation to the specific environment to increase the service life of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) pipes and other structures: (a) Coverthickness: Adequate cover thickness, along with good compactness, will improve the effectiveness of the concrete as a protective barrier. However, care should be taken to control the brittleness, which may increase the probability of shrinkage cracks. (b) Concrete Additives: Several additives had been suggested to decrease the permeability of concrete. Polymer emulsion or latexes such as those containing styrene/butadiene, are quite successful due to excellent durability and strength properties imparted by them. High strength and low permeability were also achieved by modifying the concrete with some inorganic additives such as fly ash, microsilica etc.

Top Coat: It has become a common practice to apply a top coat on concrete structures such as foundation and concrete pipes, used in aggressive environments, using epoxy or coal-tar epoxy. Application of high-build coal tar epoxy on structures used in low-resistivity soils(less than 1500 ohm-cm) has been recommended by many standards [5]. But it has been found to be prone to thermal shrinkage if stored for extended durations in open yards. An over layer of white paint to reflect ultraviolet radiation has also been recommended to mitigate this problem.

6. II. Concrete creates a high pH environment (approx. pH = 13) around the embedded steel, due to the formation of Ca(OH)2 from a reaction between CaO in cement and water. The potential of steel embedded in uncontaminated steel at this pH range varies from -150 to -200 mV negative against saturated copper sulfate electrode [6]. Hence the steel is in a passive zone and does not corrode. A corrosion initiator (such Cl-) and a sustainer (oxygen) are required above threshold concentrations to break this passivity and cause corrosion of rebar. Threshold concentration depends on pH or OH-/Cl- ratio as suggested by some investigators [6]. In a slightly low pH environment, significantly lower concentrations of Cl- were found to initiate corrosion reactions in embedded steels.

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6. III. Several chemical reactions occurring within the concrete cover can either decrease or improve the quality of the structures. A few examples are cited below. (a) (i) (ii) Harmful effects of chemical reactions in concrete: CO2 from the environment reacting with Ca(OH)2 in the mortar lowers the pH and increases the chances of corrosion. Reaction between Ca(OH)2 and SO4-- also results in decreases in pH.

(iii) Tricalcium aluminate (C3A) present in the cement reacts with SO4-- from the environment producing voluminous reaction products causing swelling, cracks and spalling of concrete layer [7]. n of in

(i) C3A reacts with ingressed Cl- forming an insoluble chloride complex, reducing the Cl- concentration in the solution phase. Higher percentage of C3A (as in type I cement) is thus beneficial in reducing the harmful effect of Cl- [7]. (ii) Precipitation of Mg(OH)2 in the pores and capillaries present in the concrete immersed in seawater helps to plug them decreasing the permeability of Cland oxygen from the environment. This mechanism is mainly responsible for the longer durability of concrete structures immersed in seawater [3]. (iii) Addition of CaC12 helps quicker set in concrete and Ca (N02)2, phosphates etc. act as corrosion inhibitors. Corrosion of Reinforced Concrete Pipes Used in Water Services: 7. Pipes used for water transmission will be subjected to corrosive environment from both interior and exterior surfaces. 10. (a) InFailures resulting from damage to internal coating of mortar largely originates from the chemical nature of the fluid. In water, parameters such as pH, alkalinity, hardness, total dissolved salts, corrodants such as Cl- , SO4--, etc and temperature were found to be the controlling factors influencing rebar corrosion. Water transports the corroding elements upto the underlying steel through cracks or channels in the concrete cover. These cracks are produced either during manufacture, curing, transportation, handling, laying, storage or service time. The most effective way of preventing corrosion failures of water-carrying piping is to condition the water to reduce

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its corrosive nature. Several indices are used as indicators in controlling the water quality parameters, such Langelier Index, Ryzner Index, etc.[8]. Accepted values of these indices ensure not only high pH, but help to achieve a degree of supersaturation of calcium carbonate. The latter has a tendency to precipitate calcium carbonate on the mortar lining and metal parts and provide not only a passive coating on their surface as a whole but also blocks the cracks and voids in the mortar. This is generally termed as self healing and found to be very useful in preventing internal corrosion of concrete pipes. Some chemical inhibitors such as silicates and phosphates are also being used in certain cases to impart corrosion inhibition property to the water [8]. 11. (b) External Corrosion : Humidity, high temperature, high chloride, sulfate etc provide the most hostile environment to the pipes, either buried or above ground, leading to failures. While cover thickness, compactness, water/cement ratio and such other factors as described earlier influence rate of ingression of the corroding elements and corrosion of rebars in pipings as well, some types of pipes present specific problems and warrant special attention. Corrosion of rebars in prestressed concrete pipes provide a typical example. In conventional reinforced concrete, failures occur mostly due to the spalling of concrete cover by expansive forces of the corrosion products and not by reduction in mechanical strength of the embedded steel. But in prestressed concrete structures failures occur as a result of a decrease in mechanical strength of the rebar either by a reduction in load-bearing cross-section due to general corrosion or cracking by localized effects, such as stress corrosion cracking (SCC), hydrogen/alkali embrittlemcnts etc. In conventional RI concrete, low-to- medium carbon, low-strength, low-heat treated steels are used. But in prestressed or post-tensioned structures higher-strength steels are used which are highly susceptible to SCC in the presence of low concentrations of corrodants [3]. Role of Cl- in Concrete Deterioration 12. The single most important spccics responsible for initiating corrosion of rebars is Cl-. Soil samples collected from the locations of many pipe failures were found to contain high levels of chloride. Chloride may enter the concrete from various sources: seawater, carry over in moisture/humid air, ground water, soil, mix water, additives and impurities in cement etc. Precise mechanism of reaction of Cl- with the protective oxide film on the rebar leading to corrosion of the metal is not well understood. Cl- is believed to react with oxide film damaging it in the affected areas, causing the formation of electrolytic cells leading to corrosion [3]. Some researchers hypothesize that Cl- forms some transient ferrous complexes that migrate away from the anodic sites propagating corrosion reaction. In any case Cl- disrupts the passivation of the rebar, when it

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exceeds the threshold concentrations at the given pH, potential of the steel then changes from the passive range of 0.200V to the active (corroding) range of about 0.600V negative to CSE. According to some data, corrosion will be initiated at much lower negative voltages i.e. at-0.350V [6]. Of course, presence of oxygen is an essential prerequisite to propagate corrosion under all circumstances. Corrosion reactions are highly diffusion controlled. Diffusion of corrodants, O2 etc. through concrete cover depends on many factors such as cover thickness, water/cement ratio, compactness, presence of voids, cracks etc. as explained earlier. In the absence of diffusion, RC can have service life of several decades. One classic example is the durability of mortar/concrete structures immersed in sea water. Permeability of concrete is reduced immensely due to the precipitation of Mg(OH)2 in the pores, blocking all capillaries and cracks. Diffusion of O2 in water is also very slow. These two factors effectively block the permeation of the corrosive elements up to the steel bar. A typical example for the opposite effect also can be found in the sea water service. In splash zones, intermittent wetting and drying promote cracks, opening the channels for easy permeation of O2 from atmosphere as well as concentrated salt solution to the rebar, resulting in accelerated corrosion of the metal and hence in much shorter service life of the concrete structure. Preventive Measures: 13. Some widely used or recommended preventive methods to reduce the corrosion of embedded steels in reinforced concrete pipes are briefly discussed below. Basically the prevention philosophy can be grouped into three categories: 14. I Maintain the passive environment around the RI steel either by controlling the concentration of the corrodants in the materials or by using admixtures intended to raise their tolerance limits. Controlling the corrodant concentration can be done by carefully selecting the materials, such as sand, aggregate, water etc during mixing and application depending on the nature of service. As an example, American Concrete Institute has specified the following limits of Cl- depended on the nature of service 191: Prestressed concrete Conventional concrete exposed to moisture and Cl0.06% (wt/wt of cement) 0.10%

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Conventional concrete exposed to moisture and not exposed to ClAbove ground construction where concrete will stay dry.

0.15%

No limit for corrosion

It has also been suggested to avoid using CaC12 in cement used in prestressed concrete and in hostile environments. Controlling cover thickness, water/cement ratio, compactness, curing procedure etc also will help reduce permeability and corrodant ingression. Several admixtures such as polymers, wax, microsilica, flyash etc also were reported to be effective to reduce permeability. Controlling C3A content and addition of inhibitors (e.g., Ca(NO2)2 NaN02, K2rO4) etc are also some of the alternatives that need to be evaluated carefully depending on the service environment.
1.5. II

Recently, tremendous interest has been focussed on the benefits obtained by surface coating of the steel reinforcements. Application of metallic coatings, e.g., Ni, Zn etc were reported to impart good durability to concrete structures [3]. Lately, organic coatings, such as fusion bonded epoxy (FBE), have been gaining popularity due to their good adhesive strength and improved performance. FBE coated rebars have been in use since mid seventies in USA. In 19139 Saudi Aramco has published a specification mandating the use of coated rcbars in all new constructions [l0].

16. III Cathodic protection (CP) either by sacrificial anodes or by impressed current has been widely used to protect concrete structures. However, several limitations have been identified while using the CP system for rebar protection. Besides being expensive to instal and operate, anode failures, electrical shorts, inability to obtain an even distribution of the current to rebars deeply embedded in steels, high voltage requirements when the concrete is dry, failures due to hydrogen embrittlement if operated under high current density are a few to name among them. Extreme care should be taken therefore during the installation and operation of CP system for pipe line protection. Alternative Pipe Materials: 17. Pipe materials in which cement can be mixed with additives like slag, perfluoro alkayl (PFA), silica fumes or microsilica can be experimented as potential materials for next generation of pipe lines. Slags are important by-products from ferrous or non-ferrous metallurgical extractions and have frequently been used as building materials in industrial countries. Slag-admixed cement should perhaps be sensitive

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to pH variations and prone to deterioration under low pH. As cement additives, PFA, silica fumes or microsilica are new materials and their presence should improve the properties of cement. For the development of high pressure characteristic cements which could be used in sections of pipelines, subjected to water hammer or turbulence, addition of multiphase additives would be useful. Silicon or carbon-based fibrous materials, asbestos or glass, appear to be attractive materials for this purpose. Epoxy-based paints or coatings have been employed as internal linings as well as external coatings in considerable number of pipelines in the Kingdom. The epoxy paints are quite impervious to water/air and are resistant to salinity, large variations in pH and temperatures but surprisingly their performance record has not been consistently satisfactory. As internal linings, there are considerable number of cases where epoxy based coatings failed either due to pressure surge (or turbulence), blistering or bad application on the metal surface. The liquid applied epoxy coatings appear to be more prone to failure rather than thermally applied or fusion bonded coatings. As an external coating, coal-tar epoxy is reported to have lost its property ofimperviousness towards moisture and/or air and developed cracks during storage when exposed to sunlight, a condition which is difficult to avoid in countries like Saudi Arabia. Some silicon-based spray or coating on cement perhaps would be more effective. Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) pipes have been used on a limited scale in desalination plants internal pipelines including distillate and seawater transmission lines. However, FRP pipelines have never been used in large diameter-long distance water transmission system perhaps due to their fabrication limitation and strength factors. Fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) and fusion bonded polyurethane (FBU) pipe lines have been used in recent years for transmitting potable water. FBE coatings are claimed to be unaffected by variations in pH (3 to 13), high concentration of chloride and sulfates and changes in the operating pressures (0 to 3500 psi) CASE STUDIES 18. Following case histories related to the failure of cement-concrete pipe lines are described and phenomenology of failure has been discussed. Case - I 19. After about 8 years of service, failures were reported in 1 m diameter -250 km concrete cylinder pipe (CCP) trunk lines in which outer cement mortar coating is reinforced with carbon steels rods. Failures in the forms of cracking of the upper cement-mortar covering, bursting of the upper cement-mortar cover or leakage of

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the steel cylinder pipe were observed. The sections of the pipe lines passing through high salinity subkha soil showed quite frequently rupture of the concrete covers. The ingression of chloride through the cracks (already present on the upper surface of the pipe) resulted in the corrosion of iron bars, the voluminous corrosion products formed on iron exerted tremendous tensile and compressive stresses so as to crack/burst the cement-mortar cover. In high resistivity soil areas where the pipe failures are not normally occurred, it appears that Cl- containing moisture entered through the cracks on the upper cement mortar coating progressively enriching the inner cementitious layers. In fact inner cement layers show chloride concentrations as high as 0.96% Table l. Replacements of the leaked/bursted pipes, soil survey of the areas, marking of the hot spots and installation of C.P. system to the troubled segments were some of the measures suggested for the protection of the pipe lines. Case - II 20. In some sections of a 1600 mm diameter and 400 km prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) lines, the surrounding low resistance (< 1500 ohm-cm), high chloride (1600 ppm Cl-) soil (Table-l), appears to be the source of chloride which ingressed through the cracks or pores in the top most coal-tar epoxy coating. The ingressed chloride caused rapid corrosion of prestressed wires and then sudden loss of strength which ultimately resulted in the rupture of the several pipe sections. The steel cylinder plate remained unaffected during the failure. The failure occurred during a hydrostatic testing at 24 bars. A comprehensive soil survey of the region, ear marking of low resistivity - high chloride soil segments, installation of C.P. system, on-line monitoring of the pipe line and use of better paint were some of the remedies suggested for the protection of pipe lines. Case - III 21. Partial disintegration of cement mortar lining in concrete cylinder pipe lines was noted as evident from the continuous deposition of washaway debris at the intermediary stations. The twin pipe lines having a diameter of 1.5m and a length of about 465 km each show damages in the main pipe line itself, at intake and discharge ball valves, at tees in the discharge line pipe and at junctions where curve transition of smaller to the larger pipes occurred. The water quality parameters (pH, L.1, Cl-, TDS etc.) of the product water transmitting through the pipe lines appear to be within the approved limits. The examination of washaway debris does not show the presence of any corrosion product deposits in significant amounts. Although the main cause responsible for the disintegration of the pipe is yet to be ascertained, it was emphasized to review some of the existing operations relating to the control of water flow. For instance, small valve opening at the time of water filling allowed high velocity water to impinge on the hand applied mortar joint causing mortar damage. Similarly, damage to mortar lining at the tee sections was due to high velocity and turbulent water flow. Repairing of the pipe line by removing mortar

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from affected area and reapplying cement or epoxy mortar were the temporary remedial measures, however, no final solution is in offing till the real cause of the partial disintegration of cement-mortar lining is known. Case - IV 22. Bursting of a pipe of 2 m diameter feeder pipe line which had been in operation for about 8 years was reported. The concrete cylinder pipe is constructed of 1.8 mm thick steel plate and 1 inch of inner concrete coating. The outside of the pipe is coated with 4 inches thick cementitious material and wrapped with steel cable of 10,000 psi tension. 1 inch thick cement mortar is applied on the top of the cable and finally, a top coat of coal-tar epoxy is applied to seal against moisture. The twin feeder lines are buried about 3m deep in the ground and pass through a small valley which has been occasionally submerged by rain water from high land surrounding area. Analysis of the different layers of cement mortar/concrete reveals significant variations in Cl- contents (Table-l). Cl- levels are highest at steel wire-cement concrete interface (720 ppm), soil adhered to the pipe external surface (1750 ppm) and the corrosion products on the steel cable (6900 ppm). The steel wire thinned down to about 40 - 60% of the original thickness due to plastic deformation. Presence of high chloride in the soil surrounding the buried pipe line and inadequacy of the epoxy coating to prevent chloride ingression appear to be the main causes of failure. Identification of the source of chloride contamination and its subsequent elimination, and application of a thicker polymer top coat were some of the suggestions for preventing future damage to the pipe line.

CONCLUDING REMARKS 23. Premature failures of concrete structures have become a serious problem in the Middle East Countries. A few failures in the reinforced cement concrete pipes used in water transmission system had temporqrily affected the transportation of desalinated water in some areas in the Kingdom. Bad constructional practices and non-compatibility of many international codes and standards with the particularly aggressive environment in the arid areas are considered to be some of the major reasons for many failures rcportcd in this region. This paper has highlighted several factors that riced to be considered carefully to achieve better performance of concrete structures and pipe lines in this region. Role of chloride in perpetrating rebar corrosion, various preventive measures to avoid premature failures and the use of alternative materials for pipe construction have been particularly emphasized. A few incidence of typical pipe failures, results of the faiiurc analysis carried out and the recommended remedial measures have been discussed.

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REFERENCES 1. 1988 IDA Worldwide Desalting Plants Inventory, Wanghick Consulting -IDA, June 1988. 2. A Survey of Product Water Transmission Lines in the Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaPart I, Anees U Malik, SWCC Research Development Center, Technical Report No. SWCC(RDC)-11, July, 1991. 3. Corrosion of Metals in Association with Concrete, John E. Slater, ASTM Special Technical Publication, 818, 1983. 4. Rehabilitation of Deteriorating Concrete Structures, At Sitra Power & Water Station, Bahrain, Jeewan Chaplot, Paper presented to Technical Discussion on Concrete Corrosion and Deterioration, Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 16-19 Nov., 1991. 5. Recommendations for Prestrcssed Concrete cylinder pipe in Corrosive Environments, D.A. Hausman and S.C. Walker, Presented at the Western Region Conference & Symposium, NACE, San Diego, California, Oct.11, 1984. 6. Corrosion of Steel in Portland Cement Concrete: Fundamental Studies, Locke, C.E., Corrosion Effect of Stray Current and the Techniques for Evaluating Corrosion of Rebars in Concrete, ASTM STP.906, V. Chaker, Ed., ASTM, Philadelphia,
1986.

7. Effect of Cement Composition on Corrosion of Reinforcing Steel in Concrete, Mehta P.K., Chloride Corrosion of Steel in Concrete, ASTM STP, 629, D.E. Tonani and S.W. Dean, Jr., Eds., ASTM, 1977. 8. A Simple Expcrimcntal Method to Determine CaCO3 Precipitation Tendency in Desalinated Water, P.C. Mayan Kutty, Azhar A. Nomani and Saad Al Sulami. (This Conference). 9. Guide to Durable Concrete, Report by American Concrete Institute Committee 201, Detroit, MI. 10. FBE Coated Rcbar - Application and Experience in Saudi Aramco, Bakr S. Hammad, Proc. Corrosion and its Control Symp., King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 16-18, May, 1992, p 474.

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