Proceedings Article | 11 April 2007
KEYWORDS: Water, Oceanography, Absorption, Inspection, Optical inspection, Ultrasonics, Nondestructive evaluation, Oxygen, Corrosion, Analytical research
The physical deterioration of reinforced concrete reefs, which were fully immersed in Tongyeong waters of South Korea
for 19, 21, 23, and 25 years, respectively, were investigated. Firstly, the marine environmental factors such as sea
temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, sea bottom materials, and water depth of target water sites were observed
from 1997 to 2002. Secondly, four reinforced concrete reefs recovered from different sites in Tongyeong waters were
tested through various nondestructive tools such as visual inspection, composition test, tensile strength test, compressive
strength test, absorption rate and apparent density test, and pore volume test. Thirdly, those test results are analyzed to
see the physical deteriorations. Based on the observations and test results, it is shown that, in global, the reinforced
concrete reefs have sound physical properties and their originally estimated service life is secured enough for a further
service period in the water depth of 28 to 32 m.
