A Methodology to Evaluate Long Term Durability of Dam Concrete Due to Calcium Leaching through Microscopic Tests and Numerical Analysis

Hydropower dams are subjected to soft water penetration during their service lives. Concrete deterioration due to calcium leaching will decrease the durability of concrete and affect dam safety. The long-term performance of concrete dams due to calcium leaching should be evaluated and predicted accurately to complete reinforcement work in a timely manner. In this paper, a methodology that combined microscopic tests and numerical analysis to evaluate the long-term performance of dam concrete due to calcium leaching is proposed. The current state of concrete is evaluated by analyzing the components of sediments and seepage water through microscopic and spectroscopic tests, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The long-term degradation of concrete was predicted by utilizing a multi-scale model of calcium leaching, which considered the micro-pore structure of cement hydrates flux with time. The simulated results using this calcium leaching model showed a good agreement with other experiments. Finally, a real case study including field inspection was performed and the long-term durability of dam concrete was predicted through microscopic tests and finite element analysis method. It implies that the proposed method could provide calculation and theoretical basis for the durability analysis of concrete dams due to calcium leaching.