Long term field study into the durability of silica fume concrete in a marine tidal zone

In 1983, samples of reinforced concrete made from a range of concrete mixtures containing varying amounts of CEM I and silica fume were placed in a marine tidal zone at Trondheim, Norway. Examination and testing of the samples occurred periodically during the initial 21.5 years of exposure. In 2014, after 31 years exposure, the field site closed and the samples examined for a final time. This paper presents the results of compressive strength, electrical resistivity and chloride ingress tests on cores taken from the 31-year-old samples. The durability performance of the silica fume mixtures was seen to be significantly better than the CEM I mixtures. The uniqueness of this research is being able to draw upon 31 years of empirical real-world data.