It is good mixing concrete with sea water or brackish water.?

Question

im doing the construction in island.so only have sea water.what is the ecffet of using sea water, and how to solve this problem.tq

Answer 1

Better do some real research on this one, as I know that too much salt or calcium chloride in concrete retards the drying and hardening process, and also weakens the finished product.

Answer 2

Try asking the question here

http://www.eng-tips.com/

You will need to find the correct forum and to register but they are all professional engineers.

I have used seawater in a cement grout in a jetty and it was still working 25 years later.

You cannot use carbon steel rebar in the mix but you may be able to use stainless steel rebar.

Answer 3

Salt, even on the outside of concrete for extended periods will cause 'Chloride Cracking' and breakdown of the concrete unless it has been specially prepared for that environment. I wouldn't like to guess what will happen to concrete made with salt or brackish water.

Answer 4

If you want a very qualified source, search http://scholar.google.com to find academic articles on the matter.  You may need to pay for some of the articles but if this is a real-world question then it will be money well spent.

For example:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob...

Answer 5

Neither. To get the required strength of concrete, you need to use clean drinking water. However, if you are limited to using sea water or brakish water, it really depends on what is this concrete used for. As long as you don't have rebar in the concrete, you are alright. You can mix some concrete additives to neutralize the effects of sodium chloride in the sea water. check with your local cement dealer or hardware stores. They may carry these additives.

Answer 6

we do not use sea-water to mix with concrete, especially when we are talking of reinforced concrete -meaning: there will be reinforcement steel bars required to be embedded in the concrete. it is unethical practice and is against the law..

to solve this problem, you have to tap the natural drinking water resource of the island.. the logical move is to locate rivers, and make a plan to convey the water to the site. if that is an impossibility; you have to consider pre-fabrication of structural components near the water source and find a way to transport these pre-fabricated items to the project site.

note:

engineering approach should be practical; it would be wise to use other materials readily available in the project site, than insist on using a specific material (like concrete) when the situation does not warrant. most builders in your position would logically opt to use timber (piles) and drive it directly underwater.. when these are set, you can start building on atop these upright supports, above the water surface.