RP Pathak, Sameer Vyas, Pankaj Sharma, NV Mahure, SL Gupta
The hydro projects envisage various concrete structure viz. dam body, foundation galleries, inspection galleries, power house complex, headrace tunnel, tail race tunnel etc. which are constructed using concrete linings of different grades. Its durability is determined by various factors viz. aggressivity of surrounding water, temperatures fluctuations etc. If the water happens to be soft it is injurious to the useful life of concrete as it leads to leaching of lime. Leaching is a phenomenon that is caused by water migrating through the permeable concrete. The permeated water causes corrosion of reinforcement leading to weakening of structure. Once such phenomenon is observed in any such structures a vigilant periodic monitoring approach becomes mandatory. The suitable remedial measure to be adopted will depend on the observed degree of deterioration. In this paper effort has been made to diagnose degree of corrosion of reinforcement at different locations in the power house complex and dam foundation gallery of one of the projects in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India using Half Cell Potentiometer.