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Whether the ground floor of a house is suspended or filled, it will include either a solid slab or an oversite layer of concrete laid on compacted hardcore directly on the ground. Both hardcore and soil are potential sources of sulfates and other chemicals harmful to concrete. This programme investigates the hardcore components and soil conditions likely to contain sulfates, explains how concrete is affected by sulfate attack and looks at methods used to prevent such damage.
Sulfate and concrete
Typical concrete comprises cement, water, gravel and sand. While this mixture makes the substance hard and strong, it does not promote flexibility. Thus concrete is brittle and prone to cracks if too much weight is applied. What if it could be more bendable?
A new generation of materials and structures will address concrete damage at various length and timescales.
The urbanisation process itself is one of the major causes of urban flooding. Here we explore ways of mitigating the impact and show how design and specification choices can make a significant difference.