An attempt to classify environmental aggressiveness in the city of Salvador - BA

Resumen

This paper presents a proposal for a classification of environmental aggressiveness in different areas of the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The work is based on the analysis of field data acquired in different areas of the city over the period of 2003 to 2007 and on the information obtained from designers and companies that perform mitigation in reinforced concrete structures. The occurrences of pathologies in reinforced concrete constructions which have suffered intervention in the city were used to identify the areas of the city with different degrees of environmental aggressiveness. Statistical analysis was carried out to identify the variables that most influence the intensity of the attack by environmental agents on the reinforced concrete structures. Empirical equations are proposed and fitted to experimental results. Finally a map is drawn up considering the urban zone of the city of Salvador, classifying it into zones of different degrees of environmental aggressiveness. Despite being completely empirical work with derived equations valid only to the specific case of Salvador Bahia, the authors believe that this method could be used in other cities in Brazil with different characteristics as it takes into account the particularities of each place.