The long-term monitoring of civil engineering and building structures - developments in techniques for monitoring corrosion in reinforced and post-tensioned concrete

An important step in the progress towards smart structures is the development of reliable systems for the long-term monitoring of performance. Data obtained from monitoring can provide an early warning system to maximize the safe use of structures, contribute towards planned maintenance by giving advanced notice of durability or structural problems and provide information on actual performance, which can be fed back into the design process. This paper sets out to describe some developments in permanent in situ monitoring systems which have achieved practical use on civil engineering and building structures constructed from concrete, concentrating on the key area of corrosion of reinforced and post-tensioned concrete. The techniques are illustrated with case histories.