Concrete in aggressive aqueous environments - Performance, Testing, and Modeling

RILEM TC PAE "Performance of cement-based materials in aggressive aqueous environments" focuses especially on the problems of concrete and cement-based infrastructure having to operate in aggressive aqueous environments:
* natural environments such as soft or aggressive waters giving rise to concrete leaching
* public health environments with their associated drainage and treatment structures such as sewers, conduits, waste tanks etc
* water supply infrastructure with the provision of dams and canals
* groundwater and other sulphate-bearing solutions
* industrial and marine structures with natural or artificial highly aggressive environments.

In all these cases, concrete is subjected to a process of degradation whereby mass/ionic exchange processes occur leading to a breakdown of the matrix microstructure and a weakening of the material. In some cases this can be extremely rapid and serious, such as in acidic environments, whether industrially or biogenically generated. In other cases degradation occurs over long periods of time, but the scale of the problem is such that the consequences are also severe, e.g. major dams, marine works, etc. Many industrial processes also generate aggressive aqueous solutions some of which can leach or attack concrete. Furthermore with increasing levels of acid rain being experienced worldwide, the ability of concrete to withstand this form of aggressive attack is also important.
This conference will focus on the following topics, in 4 sessions:
* Nature of aggressive aqueous environments including measures of aggressivity; nature of degradation and deterioration mechanisms for different cement-based materials in such aggressive aqueous environments
* Degradation and service life prediction models for concrete structures in such environments and their effectiveness in being universally applicable
* Appropriate test methods to assess performance of cement-based materials in such environments, which can be used to characterise and rate relative performance, as well as to inform long term predictions
* Survey and analysis of the scale of the problem worldwide. Studies of in-situ performance of concrete structures in such environments

Organising committee
Prof. Mark Alexander, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town
Dr. Eric Samson, SIMCO Technologies Inc., Québec (Qc), Canada
Dr. Alexandra Bertron, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Dr. Marie Coutand, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Dr. Laurie Buffo-Lacarrière, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Prof. Nele De Belie, Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research, Ghent University, Belgium

Scientific committee
Prof. Mark Alexander, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town
Dr. Eric Samson, SIMCO Technologies Inc., Québec (Qc), Canada
Dr. Alexandra Bertron, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Prof. Karen Scrivener, Laboratory of Construction Materials, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
Prof. Gilles Escadeillas, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Prof. Josée Duchesne, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, CRIB, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Mr. Alastair Goyns, PIPES Consultancy, South Africa
Dr. Emmanuel Guillon, Lafarge Centre de Recherches, France
Dr. Patrick LeBescop, CEA Saclay, Lab d’Etude du comportement des bétons et des argiles, France
Dr. Marta Castellote, Instituto Eduardo Torroja, Madrid, Spain
Dr. Kenneth A. Snyder, NIST, Gaithersburg, USA
Dr. Barbara Lothenbach, EMPA, Switzerland
Dr. Esperenza Menendez, Instituto Eduardo Torroja, Madrid, Spain
Dr. Sylva Modry, Czech Technical University, Czech Republic
Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, Associated Cement Co., India
Prof. Fred Glasser, Engineering & Physical Sciences School, University of Aberdeen, UK
Dr. Neil Milestone, Immobilisation Science Laboratory, Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield, UK
Prof. Doug Hooton, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada


Local Organising Committee
Dr. Alexandra Bertron, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Dr Marie Coutand, Dr. Laurie Lacarrière, PdD Student Camille Magniont, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France
Dr. Stéphane Multon, LMDC, INSA-UPS, Toulouse, France

Address: http://www-lmdc.insa-toulouse.fr/rilem_pae/accueil.htm