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Noteworthy Contributions

  • Nuclear power plants involve complex engineering structures and components operating in demanding environments that potentially challenge the high level of safety required throughout the operating life of the plant. It is key aspect to be taken into account when dealing with the extension of power plant service life. It is as well a relevant aspect in long-term storage or repository installation where beyond 300 years is usually targeted. It is necessary that safety issues related to plant aging and extended service life of nuclear plants be resolved through development of sound scientific and engineering understanding. The models (For Ti and Tp) evolved from this project to determine the effect of the whole corrosion process on structural performance so that the safe service life of corroded RC structures can be predicted.
  • In India it has been estimated that the total cost of corrosion is 4 % of Nations GDP. Cost of corrosion of infrastructure sector alone is Rs.22,660 crores (NACE International, India section-2008). Corrosion of rebar is posing a major threat to the durability of concrete structures in the infrastructure sector. Coating to rebar is a well-known protective method widely adopted to increase the durability of concrete structures.
  • Cement polymer composite coating developed in CECRI has been used as a protective coating to rebar in the construction industry for the past 10 years. It consists of a primer and a sealing coat. Being cement based system, it is having a more compatibility and alkaline resistance with the surrounding concrete. The developed technology has been transferred to 14 licensees all over in India and implemented in many major constructions such as flyovers in Mumbai, Western Freight corridor, Mumbai (Maharashtra to Gujarat), bridges constructed by Southern railway in Chennai, Kerala regions and so on. Annually 4 million tones of steel have been produced in India and out of this, 1 million tones of steel may need this treatment. By implementing this technology, the service life of concrete structures can be increased by a minimum factor of 10 times and thus saves material and life.