BEST PRACTICE FOR

DESIGN OF MARITIME
STRUCTURES
ANDREW PATTERSON
PATTERSON BRITTON & PARTNERS,
CONSULTING ENGINEERS

INTRODUCTION
Consider concrete, steel, and timber, but
focus on concrete.
Concrete is where most of the trouble lies.
Steel is straightforward and we understand
the design and maintenance issues.
Timber, unfortunately is being legislated out
of fashion (incorrectly).
Concrete, we dont seem to understand; and
things are getting worse.

Background to concrete problems

CONCRETE MARITIME STRUCTURES
LASTING 15 TO 20 YEARS NOT 50.
COSTS TO REPAIR ARE SAME AS
REPLACEMENT COST OF MARINE
STRUCTURE
REPAIR COSTS ARE GREATER THAN NEW
CONSTRUCTION COSTS (In 2003 - Germany
B90 repairs, B50
B50 new works )

What have we done about it?

Not Much.
Written a new Maritime Structures
Guidelines - AS 4997.
Presented papers to spread the
message and raise level of debate.

RECENT HISTORY
Newer concrete structures have corrosion
problems
1. Jetty at Eden failed after SEVEN years.
2. RTA bridge piers lasting only about 20 years
3. Many R.C. maritime structures require major
repairs after 20years (Sydney Opera House,
Kernell Oil jetty, MSB Bulk Liquids Berth)
4. Prestressed beams failing after 15 years, incl
sudden collapse. (BLB, Rockdale Council,
Brighton Le Sands, Cambodia)

This wharf was only seven years old:

Sydney Opera House after 20 years

needed major repairs.

Demolished prestressed jetty was 20 years old.

(Galvanized reinforcing held up jetty)

CAMBODIA
Prestressed Concrete Wharf in Sihanoukville at 25 years
(Land span collapsed in less than 20 years)

Older Structures Fare Better

Older structures built before early 1960s often
last better than newer structures

Trestle seawalls around Sydney Harbour, with

minimal cover, still surviving.
Jones Bay Wharf (1919), Circular Quay pontoons,
Caltex Ballast Point
Monier by Sir John Monash structures built with
thin bars and half inch cover still existing, incl salt
affected areas after 100 years. Note had WC of 0.28
means no voids.

What has changed?

Tri-calcium Aluminate C3A

C3a prevented steel corrosion by bonding to ClClC3A slowed hydration and strength gain, less cracks
Trouble was - Too slow for building industry
Has been reduced from 1212-15% to 4%
No change to cements, as maritime structures too small
a market

Cement grind . Now have finer cements,

faster hydration , more heat and shrinkage, micromicrocracking.

Lesson 1.
CONCRETE IS A SPONGE !
Cement content of 420 kg, and W/C ratio of
0.45 - 0.19 cu m of water
Volume of water in hydration = 26% x 420kg
= 0.11 cu m of water
Therefore volume of voids (ie water in
capillaries) is 0.08 cu m - 8% by volume of
voids.
When designing maritime structures, think
of the structure as being a sponge with 8%
to 10 % voids. Has been measured at 20%

SOME DESIGN OPTIONS

1. Chemical admixtures for chloride
absorption or corrosion inhibitors
2. Pore blockers as admixtures or applied to
hardened concrete
3. Protection of steel surface (epoxy, galv)
4. Non corrosive reinforcing

1. CHEMICAL
ADMIXTURES
Chloride binders
Anodic inhibitors
Cathodic inhibitors
Electrolytic Inhibitors
DISADVANTAGES
Most of chemical is wasted in core;
Changes properties of wet concrete;

2. PORE BLOCKERS
Organic (Caltite, 3CC) - Additive
Inorganic (Xypex) - Additive
Silanes, Siloxanes, Aquron
DISADVANTAGES
Additives can modify concrete
Questions of long term stability
Silanes cannot be used on wet concrete

3. PROTECT STEEL FROM

CORROSION
Epoxy coated steel not used in Aust.
Galvanised steel - beneficial
Zinc Anodes new development
ICCP (Impressed Current Cathodic Protection). Port

Authorities only.

LICCP (Low Level Impressed Current Cathodic

Protection) developing
Penetrating corrosion inhibitors. New
development

Typical corrosion to reinforcing after repair ,

due to reverse polarity.

Zinc anodes and cold galvanizing to concrete

repair to prevent future reverse polarity

DESIGNS USING NON

CORROSIVE REINFORCING
Stainless steel reinforcing special deformed
Grade 316L and Duplex 2205
Expensive, but good long term answer
Plastic filament (HDPE)
Not suitable for spans (E too soft)
Carbon fibre
Very expensive used for repairs

RULES FOR CONCRETE DESIGN

1. Avoid reinforcement. Use mass concrete. Light
stainless steel bars to retain segments.
2. Avoid thin sections in splash/immersion zone.
If needed, then use SS reinforcing.
3. Avoid thin section generally. Use thick flat slabs
rather than thin slabs and beams.
4. Use low stresses. Max stress at serviceability loads of
150 MPA.
5. Use small number of large diameter bars.

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UnUn-reinforced seawall with no carbon steel in splash

zone - light network of S/S bars to keep cracked
elements together.

PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
1. AVOID in marine environment !!!
2. If cannot be avoided, use post-tension strand
inside thick, sealed PVC ducts.
3. If using pre-tensioned wires, also provide
large diameter non-prestressed bars as well in
corners as tell-tales 40% of strength.
4. Use silane, or paint, or admixtures.

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Prestressed Conc Bridge carries B$4 per annum;

No apparent damage;
Owner very concerned at actual condition.

STEEL DESIGN
1. Use tubular steel for all piles
Adavantages include:
Good compression member.
Can anchor if have to
Easy protection systems
Can install in all geotech conditions
(displacement piles hard to progress if
stopped)

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Steel Design
1.

2.
3.

4.

CLAMPS
Clamps have advantage of allowing
significant tolerance.
Do not damage pile or member coatings.
Can be used for pinned or fixed end
connections.
Can be made by tradesman with a spanner.

TIMBER
Timber is highly durable strong and looks
good.
Will last forever - if kept away from standing
fresh water, and free of termites or marine
borers.
Is being legislated out of reach.
Relegated to small craft and recreational
facilities.

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Design of Maritime Structures

Maritime Structures 2006

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BEST PRACTICE IN THE DESIGN OF MARITIME STRUCTURES

Andrew Patterson
Director, Patterson Britton & Partners, Consulting Engineers.
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper is to address the design of maritime structures in 2006. It looks at some of
the recent trends in materials, design standards and the fact that the repair industry in
maritime structures is starting to outflank the growth in the construction industry.
We will look at the three main materials used in the construction of maritime works, that
is, concrete, steel and timber. There are a number of other materials, which for various
reasons such as cost and their stage of development have not yet become major
contributors to the industry, but warrant some comment at the end of the discussion.
Of the main three materials, most of this paper will focus on concrete, because:
Concrete is the predominantly used material in maritime works, but importantly is
by far the most significant in terms of repair costs.
Steel is a major construction material, particularly in offshore oil and gas platforms
and now almost all piling is undertaken with tubular steel piles. But we all know
the behaviour of steel, the fact that it rusts, and we need to keep cleaning and
painting it. Little has changed.
Timber is a material which has had a considerable history in commercial wharves,
but is now relegated to recreational structures and small craft facilities. In
addition, the politicians have ill advisably, through sterilising forest resources,
made timber structures more difficult to build. (Timber, from managed renewable
forests is an excellent way to lock up carbon!)
However, we shall first address the problems of the most difficult material, concrete.
2. THE CONCRETE REPAIR INDUSTRY
In the last few decades, the poor performance of reinforced concrete structures in
saltwater and sea-spray environments has lead to the development of a major new
industry, the concrete repair industry. All around Australia, in coastal towns and cities
(the Gold Coast, Sydney beaches suburbs etc) one only has to look at the yellow pages
telephone directory under Concrete Repair to see how large this industry now is. I
regard the growth of this industry as a signal of failure of our engineering profession.
In a recent article in Engineers Australia, attributed to Albert Van Greiken, it was noted
that in Germany a couple of years ago the annual cost of Concrete repairs was 90 billion
Euros, which compared to a new construction cost of concrete of 50 billion Euros.
It is not unusual in Australia to hear of repair costs of salt affected structures being at
least as much as the replacement cost of the structure, after as little as 15 years.
Structural engineers, by and large, dont like failures and indeed we have very few, with
the exceptions of retaining walls after heavy rains (not a current problem), and maritime
structures when they start to prematurely spall due to salt attack on steel reinforcing.
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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It is our job as structural design engineers to reverse this trend of excessive growth in the
concrete repair industry, because it represents considerable loss (except of course to
concrete repair workers and the ubiquitous suppliers of repair products and systems) and
it reflects badly on our own profession. One day we may even be held accountable for
these premature losses. What then?
The high costs for repair should be causing some designers to consider much more
carefully the way we design such structures. At present, it appears to me that there is
more expenditure and research into ways of repairing and maintaining salt affected
structures such as coastal high-rise buildings and maritime concrete structures than
thought and consideration for ways of designing new structures that will last longer
without this need for repair.
3. GOOD CONCRETE - GOOD COVER !!!
This is because the structural engineering industry appears to be riddled with doubt and
confusion as to how to design maritime concrete structures that will last. There are
significant disparities between current design practice and the body of scientific
knowledge. Also, engineers do not agree on the best way to design to ensure long-term
durability. Many engineers will still repeat the motherhood statement that all you need
for durable structures are good concrete and good cover and that the reasons for poor
durability performance lie not with the designer/specifier but the contractor. This is of
course a nonsense, as has been demonstrated so many times by so many maritime
structures.
There is also wide disagreement on the benefits of galvanised steel reinforcement,
stainless steel reinforcing, all the various concrete additives and the use of concrete
coatings.
This paper reviews very briefly the historic changes to the chemistry and physics of
cement itself, as well as pertinent aspects of concrete technology and describes how
these changes have influenced the performance of concrete structures. It also
recommends ways of designing new maritime structures to improve their longevity.
4. RECENT HISTORY OF CONCRETE
It has been noted by some engineers that some older concrete maritime structures seem
to perform better in terms of durability than more recently built maritime structures.
The greatest cause of premature failure of reinforced concrete structures is corrosion of
the reinforcement. There are other potential causes of failure of structures which are not
significant, which include
(i) sulphate attack on the surface of concrete itself - not important in most concrete
structures, but significant in sewerage structures and structures subject to high abrasion
(eg., in the beach / surf zone);
(ii) carbonation of concrete (which mostly affects porous and badly made concrete) and is
an issue with downtown city high-rise but not often with salt affected structures;
(iii) alkali aggregate (or alkali silicate) reaction (A.S.R). This latter generally occurs with
dry-climate aggregates, eg in Western Australia, and with limestone type aggregates, eg
in the Central Queensland - Rockhampton area.
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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These three phenomena are not further discussed here, because such deterioration
mechanisms account for only a small proportion of concrete problems in maritime
structures in Australia. The greater majority of failures of maritime structures occur
through corrosion of steel reinforcement and pre-stressing wires in the presence of high
concentrations of chloride ions as well as moisture and high oxygen availability.
5.

CHANGES TO CEMENT

5.1 The Evidence

The construction industry is now able to supply much higher concrete strengths, better
compaction equipment, variety of placement and improved curing, automated and very
accurate batching plants and very good product quality control.
Despite these
improvements, performance is worse than the structures with poorly controlled concrete
built 40 to 80 years ago, which used rough volume batch mixing and buckets and spades.
Some anecdotal accounts that our firm has been involved in include:
A modern fishing jetty at Eden which started corrosion spalling only 7 years after
construction, and where repair costs equalled the replacement cost of the jetty.
Relatively new RTA road bridges over saltwater estuaries, which have had to
undergo repairs to chloride-affected piers in less than 20 years.
A modern pre-stressed concrete beam footbridge, which had a self-weight of 22
tonnes, less than 20 years old which failed suddenly as a workman walked across
the bridge.
A pre-stressed concrete public jetty which failed after less than 20 years of life,
and a similar structure, demolished due to corrosion of prestressing wires.
Several old reinforced concrete wharves in Sydney Harbour built by Mr Walsh
(trestle concrete seawalls-1920) and in the 1940s and 50s(eg., Jones Bay Wharf,
Circular Quay pontoons, Ballast Point fuel wharf, CSR Pyrmont), with minimal
evidence of corrosion.
Some historic reinforced concrete structures (Monier structures) built by Sir John
Monash have been demolished after 100 years in coastal environments which
were still reasonably sound, having 6mm and 10mm bars with only 15mm cover
with 20MPa concrete.
5.2 Changes In Cement Chemistry
Cement chemistry was changed about three decades ago, to improve efficiencies in the
post-war booming building construction industry, (to the detriment of maritime structures.)
A primary component of cement is tri-calcium aluminate (chemical formula 3CaO.Al2O3,
but written as C3A), which amongst its other important properties as a binder, has the
ability to combine with and neutralise free chloride ions. Thus, with a greater content of
C3A, there will be more absorption of chloride ions. Past studies have indicated that
cements containing 11 % to 15% of C3A will effectively prevent chloride attack on steel. A
paper by Kirkby, Hinczak and Sioulas of Blue Circle Southern Cement (ref.1), undertook a
literature research into the history of cement manufacture over the last 70 years. In their
paper, they observed that Ordinary Portland Cement (now Type GP) had a C3A content of
10% to 12% in earlier times but now has a C3A contents of less than 4%. The high
content of C3A leads to longer hydration and curing times, which didnt suit the high speed
turnaround required in the building boom of the 60s and 70s. The commercial pressures
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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driving this change means that high C3A will not be available in maritime cements, as the
cement for maritime structures forms only a small fraction of total cement sales.
5.3 Cement Fineness
Substantial increases in cement fineness as a result of improved grinding technology
have also had a deleterious effect on durability of marine structures. Improved cement
fineness allows greater chemical availability of the hydrating components, thus shorter
hydration reaction time, allowing faster strength gains but unfortunately producing higher
generated temperatures, greater thermal expansion and after hardening, greater drying
shrinkage.
The author believes the use of coarse-ground cements with slower hydration and low
temperature rise provided more durable structures. However, the world has moved on
and these times have passed.
5.4 Concrete Mix Design
Mix designs have changed to suit the needs of the building construction industry.
Developments in the industry and some of the problems these innovations have created
for maritime structures include:

use of transit-mixers, which result in long delays between batching and placing the
concrete. Also, these mixers have loss of control on the water cement ratio, as
operators can surreptitiously keep concrete "fresh" by adding more water during
transit;
concrete is now often pumped into place, requiring smaller size aggregate, with an
overall greater specific surface area and more workable, higher-slump, wetter mixes;

6.

CONCRETE POROSITY

There is a strong belief that the problems of corrosion of steel reinforcement can be
solved by the diligent application of the principles of good concrete and good cover.
That is, the failures we have seen of premature corrosion are due almost entirely to the
failures to provide these. Some engineers, wrongly believe that concrete can be made to
be totally impermeable, thereby saving the steel from the ravages of chloride ingress.
That is, all we need to do is to provide 65mm of cover and good dense strong 50 MPa
concrete, made with marine cement and voil, our corrosion problems are solved. The
author is here to argue the fallacy of these beliefs.
If we start with the premise that truly impermeable concrete is never possible to achieve,
and that concrete is a porous mass of continuous and interconnected capillaries (and
micro-cracks), waiting to soak up salt water, then our task of understanding the problems
of reinforced concrete corrosion, and solving them are half-way won.
Let us start with the chemistry and physics of the cement hydration process and consider
the volumes of water, weight of cement and the ultimate volume of voids left in the
concrete after the mixing water is used up in the cement hydration and drying process.
Take an example of a typical high grade marine concrete, with binder content of say 420
kg, and a water cement ratio of 0.45. The total volume of water in one cubic metre of this
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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concrete is thus 420 kg x 0.45 = 189kg or 0.189 cubic metres of water. The amount of
water required to hydrate cement binder is 26% (+/-) of the weight of binder; which
equates to 109kg (0.109 cubic metres of water). That is, after the hydration process is
complete, the concrete mass will contain about 0.189 minus 0.109 cubic metres = 0.080
cu metres of free water. If this water then dries out of the concrete, the resultant volume
of voids in the capillaries is 8%. Typical porosity in sound concrete averages about 12%
and can be as high as 20%, depending on W/C ratio.
Few engineers pause to consider that their dense concrete has 15% interconnected
voids; that is, voids in the form of capillaries soaking up salt water and sea-spray.
7.

OPTIONS TO PREVENT CONCRETE REINFOREMENT CORROSION

There are a number of ways we can prevent corrosion of the steel reinforcing in porous
concrete. These are grouped as follows:
(a) Chemicals in the concrete matrix which chemically bond (neutralising) the chloride
ions.
(b) Pore-blockers to prevent sea-water penetrating the concrete capillaries.
(c) Protecting the surface of the steel reinforcing from corrosion reactions.
(d) Providing non-corroding reinforcing.
(e) Impressed current cathodic protection. (ICCP)
7.1 Chemical Absorption Agents and Electrolysis Prevention
The first system is a corrosion inhibitor, where the presence of inhibitor results in the free
chlorine molecules being neutralised. The greater the proportion of chemical added, the
more chloride can be absorbed and the longer the structure will last.
The second system of corrosion inhibitor acts by forming chemical reactions at the steel
surface to prevent (a) anodic reactions; or (b) cathodic reactions; or (c) any electrolytic
activity.
Disadvantages of such additives are that (a) a large part of the chemical additive is
wasted by being located in heart concrete remote from the sub-surface steel reinforcing
under attack; (b) addition of some of these chemicals adversely interfere with the
behaviour of the wet concrete and can change the requirements for handling, placing, and
compaction of the concrete.
Another form of protection is the use of penetrating corrosion inhibitor which is applied to
the surfaces of hardened concrete and penetrates through the capillaries to some
distance into the concrete.
7.2 Pore Blockers
There are currently four pore blockers:
(i)
Organic admixtures to wet concrete (Caltite, 3CC), which have secondary
reactions after the concrete has hydrated, and which form fatty organic deposits
within the capillaries making the concrete watertight.
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Inorganic pore-blockers admixtures to wet concrete (Xypex), which have

secondary reactions to block the capillaries with inorganically grown dendritic
crystals.
Surface applied chemicals, sprayed onto the dry surface of hardened concrete,
and which penetrates into the capillaries to form linings in these capillaries which
are hydrophobic, (Silane, siloxanes).
Surface applied chemical which penetrates the capillaries and forms a gel with the
water, blocking the pores (Aquron).

The advantage of these systems is that they recognise the naturally high permeability of
concrete and address the problem by sealing off the surface capillaries.
Most of these materials have only recently been developed and thus their benefits over a
life span of 50 years have yet to be confirmed.
Another method of protecting reinforced concrete is painting the concrete surface. While
some concrete structures are now painted such as residential and commercial building
structures for aesthetic reasons, few wharf structures are painted. Such paint coatings
provide reinforced concrete with enormous added protection. The disadvantage is that
the coating itself then requires maintenance.
7.3 Protect Steel from Corrosion
Rather than treat concrete to prevent access of the three ingredients required for
corrosion such as chloride, oxygen and moisture, the engineer can opt to make the
reinforcing itself resistant to corrosion. Options include:
(i)
Coat the steel with epoxy.
(ii)
Galvanised steel.
(iii)
Stainless steel or stainless steel clad reinforcing.
(iv)
Cathodic protection in the form of passive zinc alloy anodes buried in the concrete.
(v)
Normal impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP).
(vi)
Low-level impressed current preventative cathodic protection.
(i) Epoxy Coating
Epoxy coating of steel reinforcing has been carried out in the USA for several decades,
but has not been used outside the USA. In theory the technique is perfectly satisfactory,
but recent evidence from the USA has found that pinholes which occur in the coating
(construction damage; film breakdown) has lead to anaerobic attack on the steel, causing
the reinforcing to turn into a soft black mass. There are emerging reports of major
infrastructure loss due to anaerobic attack on plastic coated steel.
(ii) Galvanised Steel
Galvanising of steel reinforcing has been carried out by some for many decades, but is
still the subject of controversy. Some experienced engineers still believe that galvanising
of steel is not worthwhile, because galvanising is not effective on steel exposed to
seawater.
Prof. Stephen Yeomans, UNSW, has recently published a book Galvanised Steel
Reinforcement in Concrete, in which he notes that for an additional capital expenditure of
between 0.5% and 1.0% of a project cost, the time to initiation of corrosion of galvanised
reinforcing can be increased by a factor of 4 to 5 above that of black steel.
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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There are many advocates, including the author, of the use of galvanised steel
reinforcing.
(iii) Stainless Steel Reinforcement
There is renewed interest in the use of stainless steel in the construction of maritime
structures. The use of Grade 316 or Duplex steel in the shape of deformed reinforcing
bars is gaining popularity.
While the cost of this material is quite high (supply costs is of the order of five times the
cost of black carbon steel), the option to use this should be carefully considered.
Stainless steel can be mixed with black steel to reduce overall costs, placing the stainless
steel only in the most aggressive environments. Another product available in the USA but
not yet in Australia is low carbon reinforcing steel with a surface veneer of stainless steel.
(iv) Embedded Zinc Anodes
A recent development in the concrete repair industry has been the invention of embedded
zinc anodes which are used in concrete repairs after reinforcement corrosion and spalling
has occasioned repairs.
Patch repair of a concrete structure invariably leads to new corrosion next to the already
patched concrete, usually within a short time after the repair is completed. After the
repair work is undertaken, the electrical polarity of the steel bar is reversed and the
formerly quiescent area becomes anodic and immediately begins to suffer corrosion. To
overcome this, when undertaking repair works, a new zinc anode biscuit is being
marketed to be installed on the perimeter of all such patch repairs. When the anode is
attached to the repaired steel reinforcing just inside the perimeter, the zinc anode is
attacked, rather than the steel outside the perimeter, so that the corrosion of steel
reinforcing is prevented. The life of this protection is a function of the size and distribution
of zinc anode biscuits embedded in the concrete.
Extending this principle, the use of sacrificial zinc anodes, in conjunction with galvanised
steel will extend the effective life of the galvanising in particularly aggressive zones of the
concrete by providing additional anodic mass of zinc.
(v) Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP)
This is an active electrolytic protection system, at present usually retrofitted to saltdamaged structures, wherein all the reinforcing in the structure has to be exposed and
bonded to conductors to become the cathodic system of electrodes inside the concrete.
A series of anodes of a noble metal are also embedded in the concrete matrix, and an
applied low voltage (about one volt or so) is applied across the system. All the steel
reinforcing thus has cathodic protection relative to the embedded anodes, and the
corrosion cells within a steel bar are overcome, so that corrosion is prevented.
Impressed current cathodic protection systems have been installed (retrofitted) to salt
damaged or potentially at-risk structures in a number of commercial ports in Australia.
Port corporations generally comprise engineering, management and maintenance
systems which are required for a suitably maintained ICCP installation.

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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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(v) Low level Impressed Current

A recent advance in protection of steel reinforcement is to provide an impressed current
cathodic protection system to new structures, but using a very low level of current than for
standard ICCP.
7.4 Non Corrosive Reinforcing
These solutions are for the provision of reinforcing which, in the presence of chlorine,
oxygen and moisture, does not deteriorate. Non corrosive reinforcing includes:
(i)
Plastic filament reinforcing.
(ii)
Carbon fibre.
(i) Plastic filament reinforcing
There are a number of purpose made high strength polymer fibre filaments (eg high
density polyethylene), which can be added to concrete mixes to provide tensile capacity to
concrete and which do not corrode. These materials including fibre composites being
trialled in Toowoomba at present certainly have a place in the armoury of the maritime
structure designer, but have not reached mainstream design for long-span structures
(suspended slabs etc).
(ii) Carbon Fibre Reinforcing
Carbon fibre reinforcing is now being used to repair concrete structures. It has extremely
high tensile strength, and when bonded to the outside of damaged reinforced concrete
elements can be a very effective repair system. It is currently too expensive to consider
as a primary system of reinforcement in concrete structures.
8. MODIFYING MODERN STRUCTURAL CONCRETE DESIGN
Some of the problems we see in modern structures are not just due to changes in cement
and concrete; they can also be attributed to changes in the structural design.
Thirty years ago, the standard design strength for concrete was 3000 psi or 20 MPa and
special concrete for prestressed structures was 4,500 psi or 32 MPa. All steel reinforcing
was 250 MPa yield, with 22,000psi (150 MPa) maximum stress under full dead and live
load.
With modern steel reinforcing, Fy = 500 MPa, and concrete of Fc = 50 MPa easily
achievable, and with designers concentrating on the ultimate strength behaviour of
structures rather than durability, we are observing slenderer structures with high stress
levels. The propensity for modern concrete structures to generally be stress-cracked
rather than be generally be uncracked has had an adverse impact on the durability of
saltwater structures. Cracking and micro-cracking due to shrinkage of concrete with high
cement content and other high performance binders such as silica fume, blast furnace
slag which add strength but not pH buffering can also be adding to the problems.
9. DESIGN OF CONCRETE FOR DURABILITY
Maritime structure designers should consider the following when designing new concrete
structures.
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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The following assumes that ICCP is not to be part of the protection system. Where ICCP
is being used eg with large new port corporation owned facilities, normal reinforced
concrete design can be applied, although caution needs to be used, in that in future such
ICCP may not be functioning properly, or at all.
Designer should:
(a) Avoid reinforcing altogether. If possible, use only mass concrete, particularly in the
splash zone.
Seawalls, stub columns or plinths, revetment armour units, revetment
slopes and so on can sometimes be designed as mass concrete, and in a harsh splash
environment, this is encouraged. If there is concern about cracking of an element which
could lead to breaking up of the mass concrete structure, then consideration could be
given to use of a lightweight grillage of thin stainless steel bars (3mm to 6mm diameter) at
say moderate 300mm to 500mm centres, to hold such cracked concrete elements in
place. (Refer to the drawing attached of the Cairns seawall for the Cairns Esplanade
project which has all main steel buried and the splash zone concrete is plain concrete with
light stainless steel (12mm bars @ 400mm centres)
(b) Avoid thin concrete sections in the most aggressive (wetting and drying) zones.
Reinforced concete piles are now seldom used in major structures because their
performance in the splash zone has been poor. Steel tube piles with factory applied
coatings or petrolatum tapes are almost universally used in the tidal and wave zone for
marine structures.
(c) Minimise the uses of thin sections generally. Experience has shown that thick
chunky concrete, with minimal proportions of steel will generally outlast high-efficiency
design with balanced steel reinforcement ratios. A wharf deck with conventional pile
headstocks, beams and a slab deck will have much greater corrosion potential than a flat
plate slab supported on pile capitals.
(d) Design for low stresses in steel reinforcing. At maximum working stress steel should
be at about 150 Mpa, similar to water retaining reservoirs and tanks At the same time,
use a small number of large bars at large spacing, rather lots of small bars at close
spacing. [While this is against the conventional theory of crack-width minimisation, it
does however reduce the total area of steel exposed to corrosion]. Because steel
stresses are kept generally low, flexural cracking should not be critical.
(e) Use galvanised steel reinforcing, throughout the structure, and weld all bars together,
preferably before hot dip galvanising. In especially harsh areas (the splash zone, add
embedded zinc anodes, bonded to the reinforcing cage. (Refer to Lee Wharf Seawall
which has all welded steel reinforcing cages, hot dip galvanised after fabrication, and
additional Galvashield passive zinc anodes attached to the steel cages.)
(f) Apply a surface coating to the concrete such as 100% silane or other chemical which
blocks pores. Alternatively, apply a conventional paint coating system which may need
re-coating every 10 years or so.
10. PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

Prestressed pretensioned concrete (ie using unprotected steel strand) is a special

problem in the marine environment.
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When normal reinforced structures are affected by seawater, the structure provides
ample external evidence of distress in the form of concrete spalling, rust staining and
subsequent exposure and encrustation of steel. Furthermore, such a reinforced concrete
structure can appear to be in a very dilapidated condition while it has not lost much of its
strength. This is because the principal reinforcing bars are usually large (eg 20 to 28 mm
diameter or so), and steel corrosion occupies seven to ten times the volume of the
original steel. For example if a 24 mm bar lost 0.2 mm depth in corrosion, (which is a
loss of capacity of only 3.3%), it will have grown in diameter to some 27 mm, causing
splitting, spalling and rust staining of the surrounding concrete. Furthermore, if the steel
reinforcement is not repaired, the eventual failure of the reinforced structure will be by
yielding of steel, which results in the formation of a plastic hinge with gross deflection well
before the structure actually breaks.
On the other hand, prestressed concrete has very small steel volumes and these can
deteriorate severely without exhibiting any visible distress in the structure. Steel strands
are usually small diameter (12.5 mm), with large surface area comprising a number of
smaller wires wound together. (Woven wires compounds the problem, since the voids
between the wires are conduits for seawater, and also are spaces into which corrosion
product fills before the corrosion product begins to disrupt the concrete).
Strands are stressed to 800 to 1000 MPa. The effect of 0.2 mm corrosion on the 3 mm
wires making up a 12.5mm prestressing strand will result in a reduction of capacity of
some 25%.
Apart from oxidation of the steel in a chloride environment, steel under very high tensile
stress and aggressive environment can suffer other forms of strength loss such as stress
corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. These can occur with little or no volumetric
change, and hence no warning on the surface of the concrete.
A pretensioned concrete beams in an aggressive, high oxygen, water and chloride
environment could well be near failure condition while exhibiting no external evidence of
this condition. A further difficulty for the forensic engineer is that there is very little he can
do to establish the condition of the steel tendons. Unlike reinforced concrete structures,
partial demolition of the stressed concrete to inspect the tendons results in irreparable
damage and weakening of the beams, damage which cannot be repaired by replacing the
steel and concrete.
However, the worst aspect of pretensioned concrete is that failure, when it does occur, is
in the form of tensile failure of the concrete due to loss of compressive pre-stress.
Tensile failure of concrete occurs suddenly and without any warning.
In designing pretensioned concrete in a maritime structure, it is advisable to also provide
some non-prestressed reinforcement in the form of large diameter bars, with the same (or
marginally less) cover as the prestressing wire. The purpose of this steel is to act as
tell-tale warning that chloride effects are causing problems inside the member.
The use of post tensioned structures, where stressing cables are fully enclosed in a
strong waterproof durable duct such as HDPE water pipe or similar, and with dead and
live stressing heads encased in epoxy should not have any problems of durability.

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Patterson Britton & Partners
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11. STEEL DESIGN

There is not a great deal to be said about steel design in the modern day and age. As
engineers, we are all familiar with the properties of steel, its strength, its tendency to
corrode and its need for constant maintenance. Some design pointers for steel include:
11.1 Piling
Maritime piling should, in almost every case, be designed with tubular steel piles.
reasons and advantages of steel tubes are:

The

Tube piles are efficient compression members, and when required to provide uplift
capacity, their large perimeter allows for good uplift friction.

They can be installed under almost any geotechnical condition. When concrete
displacement piles fail to penetrate sufficiently into hard strata, there are few
options, whereas with a tube pile, drilling inside the pile and driving is a solution.

Tube piles, (as opposed to H piles of square or the old BHP hot rolled HP piles),
are easily protected with sprayed-on, baked-on, wrapped-on, protective coatings.
Some of these factory applied coatings now have exceeding long design life, such
as triple coated polyethylene wraps, or baked on epoxy coatings.

A word of caution regarding steel piles is possible high rates of corrosion which
sometimes occur at or below the low water level. This phenomenon has lead to some
unexpected severe pile damage in recent years.
11.2 Clamps
A particular favourite design trick of mine is the use of clamps. Clamps on steel tube
piles can be designed to make very strong moment or pin connections onto driven steel
piles, without the need for welding or in any way adversely affecting the protective
coatings of the steel members. Clamps are more expensive to make, but are made
under controlled conditions in the fabricators shop; can be well protected; and the
connection is easily made with a diver armed with no more than a spanner, to produce a
100% satisfactory connection.
The advantages of clamps are that they permit tolerance in driving piles, tolerance in
location of the position of the clamp and often the length of the connected member.
Using painted steel clamps, with stainless steel bolts, clamps steel structures should have
a considerable maintenance free design life.
12. TIMBER DESIGN
Timber is a very strong durable material which will last for hundreds of years provided it is
not exposed to static fresh water or termites. Some of the timber wharves in Sydney built
by Mr Walsh 100 years ago are in very good condition where they are protected from
rainwater runoff and have not been subject to termites.
There are issues about timber piles in the sea with marine organisms eating or living in
the timber, and again the use of biological control (copper chrome arsenate and creosote
pressure impregnation) or piles wrapped or jacketed in plastic coatings will ensure
durable pile structures.
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Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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Successful timber structures is a maritime environment have the following attributes:

Timber members should be thick and chunky.
Deck bearers never less than 100mm thick, decking not less than 45mm thick.
Drill holes should be oversize to allow for shrinkage.
Waterproof membranes should be installed on tops of members to stop ponding of
water and dry rot.
Exposed tops of piles should be sealed with fibreglass to prevent ingress of
rainwater into the pile, causing internal rot.
Use stainless steel bolts and deck screws.
Allow for shrinkage of green timber and swelling of kiln-dried timber.
Timber structures particularly exposed timber decks cannot have a design life past 25
years and so can only be used on small craft and recreational facilities.
13. OTHER MATERIALS
Some materials currently gaining favour in the maritime structures field, but are not yet
commonly used, due to their high cost or the early stage of development, include:
13.1 Aluminium
A large number of smaller structures are built with aluminium, where light weight and
strength is important. The most familiar of these are marina gangways and marina fittings
such as cleats, as well as low level stairways down to below high water. Aluminium is
anodic with respect to ferric materials so needs proper insulation detailing.
13.2 Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is a useful material for small elements which are immersed in seawater,
such as safety egress ladders, submerged stairways and fixings.
Stainless steel should be used with care, as granular corrosion (resulting from heat
treatment not being followed by proper passivation) has caused very rapid and
unexpected failure of stainless steel. Also, anaerobic conditions have been known to
give unexpected corrosion results.
13.3 Concrete Composites
There are some interesting developments using cementitious concrete mixed with fibre
materials to form composites with high tensile capacity as being developed by Southern
Cross University which may lead the way to some high durable, strong concrete
members. This work is still in the research and development phase.
14. REFERENCES
1 . Kirkby, Hinczak, Sioulas, (1997). "Durability of Marine Structures -A Historical
Perspective ". Technical paper for Blue Circle Southern Cement Ltd, 1997.
2. Baweja, D, (CSR), Prof Roper, H, (Univ of Sydney), Sirivivatnanon, V, (CSIRO),
"Durability of Plain and Blended Cement Concretes as Predicted by Corrosion Potentials",
Australian Civil Engineering Transactions, August 1995.
3. Guirguis, S, (19 89), "Durable Concrete Structures ", Cement & Concrete Association
of Australia, Technical Note TN5, March 1989.
4. Stephen R Yeomans. Galvanized Steel Reinforcement in Concrete, Elsevere
Publishers, Oxford UK, 2004.
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Andrew Patterson
Patterson Britton & Partners
06.11.19

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