Corrosion Protection: Concrete Bridges

Premature corrosion of reinforcing steel has caused many concrete bridges in the United States to deteriorate before their design life was attained. Recognizing the burden that reinforcing steel corrosion imposes on natural resources, the Federal Highway Administration established Corrosion Protection for Concrete Bridges as one of the high-priority areas (HPAs) in its Structures Research Program. This HPA had two main objectives: (1) To develope effective and economical methodologies for arresting or reducing the extent of steel corrosion due to chloride-contamination of concrete bridges, thereby reducing maintenance costs of existing concrete bridges and minimizing interruption to traffic and, (2) To develop sound design and construction practices and materials for preventing corrosion of reinforcement in new structures, hence minimizing Mure deterioration. To meet these objectives, several research programs were developed and pursued in this HPA. This report summarizes the progress made through research efforts conducted under these programs. Prepared in cooperation with Virginia Transportation Research Council, Charlottesville.;pg 76\n