The model of abrasive wear of concrete in hydraulic structures

Abrasion wear of concrete in hydraulic construction is caused by movement of rubble carried by water. Difficulties in methodology of modelling this process in a laboratory scale constitute an obstacle to the rational assessment of influence of material and environmental conditions on durability of objects exposed to these actions. This paper presents a new concept of testing the abrasion of concrete by rubble carried by water, modelling the natural mechanisms present in the environment. It was shown that loss of mass in abraded concrete can be expressed as function of work by the abrasive mix and a material parameter depending on composition and independent of the intensity of environmental action. The results of tests allowed the criteria to be given for the selection of the composition of concrete exposed to abrasion-wear.