A method for determining the amount of salt in structures

Abstract

The invention belongs particularly to the technical field of civil engineering and is related to a method for determining the amount of salt in structures, which can be easily implemented without any specialized knowledge and which does not incur high costs.

Description

[0001] A METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF SALT IN STRUCTURES

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The invention belongs particularly to the technical field of civil engineering and is related to a method for determining the amount of salt in structures, which can be easily implemented without any specialized knowledge and which does not incur high costs.

[0004] PRIOR ART

[0005] Corrosive activity is a process in which materials corrode and deteriorate due to environmental factors such as high humidity, salt water, acid rain, or chemicals. This type of activity can lead to serious technical problems, especially in construction materials such as concrete and steel. Technical problems such as rusting, carbonation, chloride infiltration, sulfate attack, surface abrasion and more intense thermal stresses may occur in highly corrosive environments for concrete and steel materials.

[0006] Determining and controlling the amount of salt in corrosive environments is extremely important to ensure the durability and longevity of building materials. Determining the amount of salt should often be taken into account at the design stage of the building material and in the process of maintenance.

[0007] For this, a continuous monitoring system can be established to monitor the conditions to which the constructed structure will be exposed in a corrosive environment.

[0008] Another method is to conduct salt tests under similar conditions in the environment in which the structure will be used or on the components in the structure. These tests are important for understanding how the material reacts and how long it takes for corrosive effects to occur.

[0009] For the applied techniques it is equally important to carry out sampling processes without damaging the building structures and without disturbing its statics. These methods applied in the art are expensive, require long periods of time and specialized knowledge. They are not methods that every person can easily perform periodically.

[0010] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Particularly in earthquake region building structures, it is essential to determine the robustness and life span of the components that make up the structure. In order to determine this, risk analyzes are carried out for buildings and estimates are made in terms of the characteristics of the most important concrete and other steel components that make up the structure.

[0012] The most risky environments for building structures are regions with high corrosive activity. In particular, it is necessary to carry out tests on the components of the building structures in these regions regarding whether they are affected by the corrosive environment and to conduct a risk analysis. The risk analysis processes mentioned for the relevant technical field usually require skilled person knowledge and involve costly tests. For this reason, these tests cannot be continuous and easily performed processes.

[0013] Also, for the relevant tests, it is equally important to carry out sampling processes without damaging the building structures and without disturbing its statics.

[0014] For all the mentioned requirements, the present invention introduces a test method which is easy, cost-effective and which can be performed by taking small amounts of samples without the need for a skilled person in the relevant technical field.

[0015] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 shows a representative view of the main screw where the inner screw is located.

[0017] Figure 2 shows a representative view of the main screw, where the inner screw is absent and the chamber is exposed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCES

[0018] 10 Main Screw

[0019] 11 Inner Screw

[0020] 12 Chamber

[0021] 13 Screw Bit

[0022] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] In this detailed description, the subject of the invention relates to a method for determining the amount of salt in building structures and is described by way of nonlimiting examples only for a better understanding of the subject matter.

[0024] One of the most important parameters that determine the robustness and life span of building structures is whether the components that make up the structures are affected by corrosive factors. In particular, it is necessary to continuously conduct risk analyzes regarding whether the components of building structures in highly corrosive environments are affected by corrosion.

[0025] The method of the present invention allows at least a risk analysis to be conducted by taking a small amount of concrete sample present as the main component in building structures, and by qualitative colorimetric-based analysis processes between the sample and the test components.

[0026] In order to perform the method of the invention, the inventors of the present invention offer all the components that the testers should use during the test as a test kit. The most important component of said test kit comprises a main screw (10) for creating the chamber which is the space required for taking samples, allowing the other components of the test kit to enter the concrete piece to perform the tests, and ensuring the durability of the structure during all these operations.

[0027] The invention includes an internal screw (11 ) which enables drilling operations and structural durability during drilling, and a main screw (10) that enables the test process steps to be performed through the gap formed by the release and retraction of the internal screw after drilling. In a preferred embodiment, the main screw (10) is manufactured from corrosionresistant material. The reason is that it is resistant to corrosive environments and has long-term use. The size of the main screw (10) is not limited by the scope of protection of the invention. However, it is expected to have a length of 10 cm in order to provide sufficient samples for the necessary test measurements. It is contemplated that this value of 10 cm should be considered as the minimum value. Because it is known that the main screw (10) should be inserted such that 5 cm is inside, where changes in the chemical state of the building structure are observed.

[0028] In order for the main screw (10) to be able to penetrate a strong material, such as concrete in particular, it should preferably have a concrete drill screw bit (13). With the screw bit (13), it can enable users to drill into concrete for installation without requiring a drill bit.

[0029] The main innovative aspect of the main screw (10) of the invention is that it comprises a chamber (12) so that a sample can be taken for testing concrete fragments after drilling and this sample can be first introduced into a solution. This chamber (12) is closed with the inner screw (11) within the main screw (10) before installation. The inner screw (11 ) is located on the inside of the main screw (10) and preferably has a size the size of the chamber (12). The function of the inner screw (11) is to protect the chamber and prevent contamination with the inner screw (11) during drilling, so that the chamber (12) is not contaminated with salt, organic matter, and chemicals when the main screw (10) drills the concrete. Further, it is to ensure the durability of the structure during drilling. Figure 1 shows a representative view of the main screw (10) where the inner screw (11) is located; and Figure 2 shows a representative view of the main screw (10), where the inner screw (11) is absent and the chamber (12) is exposed.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the inner screw (11) is also manufactured from a stainless material.

[0031] During the processes, after the main screw (10) is mounted on the concrete, the inner screw (11) located therein is removed. In the meantime, the hollow chamber (12) provides functions such as taking the necessary samples for the tests, introducing the necessary solutions to the sample, and providing the necessary static dynamics. The test kit of the invention comprises chemical components that enable colorimetric tests to be performed in order to have information about the samples. Preferably, there are ampules in which these chemical components are stored. The chemical ampules used in this invention are distilled water ampule, potassium chromate ampule, and silver nitrate ampule. The reason for storing chemicals in ampules is to prevent possible problems that may arise from external factors that may manipulate the result before the process and during the process, and to guarantee material safety.

[0032] The test kit of the invention includes a color meter. It is used to determine the salt ratio (the amount of salt particles per million (ppm) from 1 to 100 and more) corresponding to the color of the mixture obtained as a result of the test with a certain margin of error. In this way, the result of the test can be interpreted without requiring any expertise.

[0033] As described in the invention, the test method performed using the test kit is essentially a colorimetric method. Qualitative observations can be made regarding the salt content of the building structures from the color changes obtained as a result of the tests.

[0034] In one aspect, the invention is related to a method in which qualitative observation by colorimetric method is used to obtain information about the amount of salt in building structures. Accordingly, the method is performed through the use of the test kit described in the invention. The method of the invention is performed in the following order

[0035] • installing inside the building structure with only the head of the main screw (10) exposed, a main screw (10) included in the test kit and an inner screw (11) for closing a chamber (12) located in the main screw (10),

[0036] • after the main screw (10) is completely inserted into the building structure, releasing the inner screw (11) by removing it from the main screw (10) backwards in the same plane with a tool suitable for the recess compatible with the screw head of the inner screw (11), and exposing the chamber (12) inside the main screw (10), • taking the glass ampule containing distilled water from the test kit and delivering the distilled water into the main screw (10) and into the chamber (12) with the help of a carrier-like tool,

[0037] • inserting into the inner cavity of the main screw (10) attached to the building structure the carrier to the bottom thereof and pouring and withdrawing the distilled water contained therein into the chamber (12) more than once, thus ensuring that the concrete particles enter the distilled water,

[0038] • removing the carrier from the chamber (12) and then from the main screw (10),

[0039] • pouring the mixture of concrete particles and distilled water removed from the main screw (10) into the remaining distilled water,

[0040] • adding the silver nitrate compound into this mixture and performing the mixing process until a homogeneous appearance is obtained,

[0041] • adding the potassium chromate compound to the homogeneous mixture obtained and repeating the mixing process until the color change stops,

[0042] • analyzing the amount of salt in the concrete by means of the color meter after the color change stops

[0043] Said silver nitrate solution is preferably at a value between 1 to 4 mL and at a value between 0.0005 to 0.0001 Molarity. These values are important for the reaction of the salt in the concrete powder obtained while drilling concrete with the amount dissolved in distilled water. The amount of salt dissolved in this distilled water is naturally very low. For this reason, the concentration of silver nitrate used in the present invention must be similarly low in order to maintain the sensitivity of the test. If the silver nitrate is more than the amount of salt desired in the concrete, the color change cannot be seen at the targeted point. If silver nitrate is less than the present salt, the color change occurs earlier than desired.

[0044] Said potassium chromate solution is at a value between 1 to 4 mL and at a value between 0.0003 to 0.0005 molarity. Potassium chromate reacts with silver nitrate alone, turning it red from a yellow solution. When silver nitrate reacts with dissolved salt, it cannot react with potassium chromate. Thus, there is no color change to red. The values determined for potassium chromate, similar to silver nitrate, should be at a low concentration for the sensitivity of the test and should be within a range compatible with the concentration of silver nitrate used.

[0045] The solution obtained at the end of the test is between a light yellow color and a red color. This result can be interpreted with a simple color meter that comes with the test. The red test indicates that there is no salt in the concrete. If it is yellow, it means that there is an amount of salt in the concrete that may pose a risk. The transition colors between these two colors will be included in the color meter, but this is purely for consistency since the test is aimed at detecting salt rather than giving a measurement value.

[0046] By making qualitative observations with the test kit characterized in this invention and the method for the implementation of this test kit, analyzes can be performed regarding the amount of salt in the concrete structure without the need for any skilled persons. Further, these processes do not create high costs, therefore creating a technical advantage for the relevant technical field.

[0047] The application method of the test procedure is simple and does not create high costs, therefore allowing periodic salt content analysis to be performed easily and in a short time for building structures.

[0048] The scope of protection of the invention is specified in the appended claims and cannot be limited to what is described for illustrative purposes in this detailed description. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can produce similar embodiments in the light of what is explained above, without deviating from the main theme of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A test kit for determining the amount of salt in building structures, characterized in that it comprises• a main screw (10) that allows the components included in the test kit to enter the building structure,• a chamber (10) located on the inside of said main screw (12), which provides space for samples,• an inner screw (11) located on the inside of the main screw (10), which enables injection into the building structures and performing the test process steps through the chamber (12) resulting from its withdrawal after the injection process,• distilled water, potassium chromate, and silver nitrate solutions used to analyze the amount of salt in the building structure with color changes,• a carrier that enables the delivery of said distilled water, potassium nitrate, and silver nitrate solutions to the chamber (12) for testing procedures,• a color meter in which color changes are analyzed.

2. A test kit according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the main screw (10) is manufactured from a material with stainless properties.

3. A test kit according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the inner screw (11 ) is manufactured from a material with stainless properties.

4. A test kit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the main screw (10) has a length of at least 5 cm.

5. A test kit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the main screw (10) contains a concrete drill screw bit (13) in order to be able to penetrate a strong material such as concrete.

6. A method for determining the amount of salt in building structures, characterized in that it comprises the process steps of• installing inside the building structure with only the head of the main screw (10) exposed, a main screw (10) included in the test kit and an inner screw (11) for closing a chamber (12) located in the main screw (10),• after the main screw (10) is completely inserted into the concrete, releasing the inner screw (11 ) by removing it backwards in the same plane with a tool suitable for the recess compatible with the main screw (10) head, and exposing the chamber (12) inside the main screw (10),• taking the glass ampule containing distilled water from the test kit and delivering the distilled water into the chamber (12) with the help of a carrier,• pouring and withdrawing the distilled water contained in the main screw (10) attached to the building structure into the chamber (12) more than once, and thus ensuring that the concrete particles enter the distilled water,• removing the carrier from the chamber (12) and then from the main screw (10),• pouring the mixture of concrete particles and distilled water removed from the main screw (10) into the remaining distilled water,• adding the silver nitrate compound into this mixture and performing the mixing process until a homogeneous appearance is obtained,• adding the potassium chromate compound to the homogeneous mixture obtained and repeating the mixing process until the color change stops,• analyzing the amount of salt in the concrete by means of the color meter after the color change stops.

7. A method according to Claim 6, characterized in that said silver nitrate solution is preferably at a value between 1 to 4 mL and at a value between 0.0005 to 0.0001 molarity.

8. A method according to one of Claim 6 or Claim 7, characterized in that said potassium chromate solution is at a value between 1 to 4 mL and at a value between 0.0003 to 0.0005 molarity.

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