The Effect of Changes in Carbon-dioxide Concentrations on Corrosion Initiation of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Carbon dioxide and carbonation in concrete structures after several years may leads to corrosion of the reinforcements, and consequently reduces the life of concrete structures. According to reports of IPCC, uncertainty to predict the weather conditions is very high. The annual growth rate of carbon dioxide concentrations from 1.4 ppm during the period of 1960 to 2005 has increased to 1.9 ppm during the period of 1995 to 2005. Two predictions of A1F1 and A1B are presented for changes in carbon dioxide concentrations. In A1F1 high economic growth, population growth will continue in the mid-21st century with high speed, and the use of fossil fuels will also continue as before. In A1B, using clean energies is common. In fact, A1F1 and A1B are respectively pessimistic and optimistic predictions for the concentration of carbon dioxide in the environment. According the analysis results base on Monte Carlo simulation, global warming and climate change lead to an increase in average temperature of Earth and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and finally, it can reduce the durability of concrete structures. Also, it was observed that ignoring changes in concentration of carbon dioxide can have a significant effect on the results obtained for carbonation depth. It was also observed that considering each of predictions for changes in carbon dioxide concentrations does not substantially influence the depth of carbonation.