Spalling and Exposed Reinforcement on the Sunshine Coast

Spalling is concrete breaking away because the steel inside has rusted and swelled. UNSW says the rust takes up more room than the steel it came from and forces open bigger cracks, so a bare bar means the process has run for some time.

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What spalling and exposed reinforcement on the Sunshine Coast actually involves

Cracks or pores in concrete let water seep in, and that water reacts with the steel reinforcing to produce rust. The corrosion product takes up more space than the metal it formed from, and the part of the concrete that carries the load is the part being eaten away, which is why the damage is serious.

Concrete spalled away around a bare corroded bar on a slab edge — spalling and exposed reinforcement, Sunshine Coast. Illustrative example.

What happens next

As rust forms it opens bigger cracks, and each crack lets in more water, so the concrete degrades further over time. UNSW's newsroom describes the result as forcing the concrete to fracture apart in a process called spalling, more widely known as “concrete cancer”.

Note where the concrete has broken away and how long it has been there, and ask the provider whether the steel around it has been checked.

A duotone view of a concrete block with a recess cut to show steel bars — spalling and exposed reinforcement, Sunshine Coast. Illustrative example.

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