Asset Management

Project Title

Smart Infrastructure Repairs

Primary Theme

Asset Management

Secondary Themes

Construction Materials and waste minimisation, Sustainability and urbanisation

Project Summary

The UK spends over £50B/year, i.e. half of its construction budget, on the repair and maintenance of existing concrete assets. In the US the situation is worse and reportedly infrastructure asset owners owners pay ~$20B/year on concrete repair, protection and strengthening, with associated costs for maintenance due to steel corrosion alone reaching $125B/year. Compounding this issue is the fact that current repair systems are not effective. It is reported that in the EU 20% of concrete repairs fail within 5 years, 55% within 10 years and almost all within 25 years of service. There is hence significant potential and opportunities for innovation in the concrete repair area to hugely improve performance, reliability and permanence and reduce costs. There is wide range of commercial repair mortar systems for both structural and non-structural concrete including those for overlay and underlay applications, patch repairs, large volume repairs and dry spray applications, many of which are polymer modified Portland cement based systems.  The aim is to develop robust and resilient set of repair grout and mortar systems with a focus on surface treatments, e.g. overlays and coatings. The project will focus on a specific application (perhaps relating to both concrete and steel) and specific damage scenarios. It will include fundamental scientific developments, laboratory developmental and validation work and potential large scale field application.