Improving Tomorrow's Infrastructure: Extending the Life of Concrete Structures With Solid Stainless Steel Reinforcing Bar

Stainless steel reinforcement has been used in numerous structures throughout North America. Recent advances in concrete technology have provided structural designers with materials that can easily last over 100 years, and the life of many concrete structures today is limited by the reinforcing. Improvements in the life of the reinforcing can translate directly into extended service life of the structure. Current projections by several transportation agencies show that the use of solid stainless steel reinforcing bar in bridge decks will more than double the service life of the bridge deck. While solid stainless steel reinforcing bar can increase the cost of the bridge deck by as much as 12% (compared to carbon steel reinforcing), the economic value of the longer life outweighs the initial higher cost. Most concrete structures are designed with minimum concrete cover over the reinforcing bar, which is required to protect the reinforcing bar from corrosion. Where the reinforcing bar is completely resistant to corrosion, the cover can be reduced, saving costs of concrete and reducing the total weight of the structure. In some structures, design savings made possible by the use of solid stainless steel reinforcing bar will offset as much as 100% of the initial cost increase from using stainless reinforcing.