Weathering of building infrastructure and the changing climate : Altération atmosphérique des bâtiments et les changements climatiques : les options d'adaptation

The amount of deterioration that actually results for any given material depends on the agent of deterioration (mechanical, thermal), the resilience or responses of materials or components as a result of in-service loads and the duration of the load effect. [...] While rust and corrosion effects can be minimized through sandblasting, priming and sealing, the effects of oxygen and moisture continue to weaken the integrity of structures to the point of failure. [...] According to a 1997 report published through the Canadian Institute for Research in Construction of the National Research Council Canada, corrosion of the reinforcing steel or rebar in concrete structures is one of the primary causes of premature deterioration of North American bridges, parking garages and other concrete structures (Gu and Beaudoin, 1997). [...] It is the function of the building envelope, which includes the exterior walls, foundations, roof, windows, insulation, connectors, and doors that enclose the indoor environment, to separate the indoor from the outdoor environments (Bomberg and Brown, 1993). [...] In Canada, documentation on the premature failures of building envelopes in various regions of the country – notably on the West Coast, British Columbia, as well as Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces – has led to increased efforts to develop climate indices in relation to the performance of walls (Cornick and Chown, 2003).