Behavior of reinforced concrete under the effect of different microclimates

Abstract

Concrete buildings located in urban and/or marine environments experience attacks by external agents that cause damage to their structure, decrease durability and affect the physical appearance of these, resulting in maintenance or repair costs. Due to the problem described above, this study covers small-scale analysis of exposed concrete at three stations in Panama experiencing environmental differences. The duration of the investigation was 1.5 years. Applied experiences consisted of physicochemical analyses, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The laboratories used belong to the University of Technology of Panama and the SMITHSONIAN Institute of Panama. The results are exposed to 1 and 1.5 years of exposure using tables, microphotographs, and absorbance spectra. Applying the different methods was valuable as you could see the evolution of the parameters evaluated over time.