STATE-OF-THE-ART: CONCRETE AS A BRIDGE MATERIAL

The performance of portland cement concrete when used as a material of bridge construction remains a matter of utmost concern to all those involved with the design, construction and maintenance of our nation's bridges. For the purpose of this presentation, the primary area of research needed for reinforced concrete bridges deals with the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete. This is to be considered as a first priority when we address research needs of concrete as a bridge material. This area encompasses the elucidation of the basic processes of corrosion of steel in concrete, how these processes lead to eventual failure of the reinforced concrete-composite system, and how one could develop a model of such processes with the aim of predicting lifetimes of bridges.