2009 Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders 125

Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders

Walter Unterweger (MSc)

Master of Science and candidate to PhD in Civil Engineering at the School of Doctoral Studies, Isles Inter-
nationale Université (European Union)

Professor Kurt Nigge (PhD)

Chair of Civil Engineering of the Department of Engineering and Technology at the School of Doctoral
Studies, Isles Internationale Université (European Union)

Abstract
A critical examination concerning the problem of corrosion in concrete bridge girders with recommendations
to resolve the issue

This paper provides a strong engineering and safety background into the problems associated with corrosion
and bridges. The procedure used in this paper is presented through the careful examination of the existing
literature. Some of the literature may be a few years old but the past is prologue; what went before is as
relevant as what is going on today. Other literature presented is quite contemporary, and all of the materials
presented in this paper are relevant. Especially relevant are studies that have been conducted six, seven,
eight and more years ago; compared and contrasted with what engineers and scientists are saying in the
latest bulletins and research documents. For example, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) offered standard specifications for highway bridges in the 1990s that
seem to be practical and yet have clearly not provided a workable solution to the ongoing problems of
corrosion. In the article titled “Reliability of Reinforced Concrete Girders Under Corrosion Attack,” the
authors (Frangopol, et al, 1997) embrace the AASHTO strategy; first, the effects of corrosion “on both
moment and shear reliabilities” are carefully investigated; second, a “reliability-based design approach” that
is based on minimization of “total material cost including corrosion effects” is taken into consideration. This
article suggests that taking into consideration the environmental stressors on concrete (due to corrosion),
along with the AASHTO standards, can then be plugged into “reliability-based optimization software.”
That software is a product of the combining of general-purpose optimization software and a Monte Carlo
simulation-based evaluation program.Hence, the procedure for coming up with reliable estimates of the life
expectancy of concrete girders comes in two phases, according to this research. Phase one spans the time
from construction to corrosion initiation; phase two, from corrosion initiation to time when “unacceptable
levels of section loss have occurred.” But is this procedure proactive or reactive? The answer - it is indeed
reactive, and it is also outdated. But nevertheless it should be researched and understood because it is part
of the literature. Science cannot predict future conditions and dynamics based on models and hypotheses
alone. A foundation for the projections of the future is based on evidence from the past.

Key words: Civil Engineering, Bridge’s Building, Steel Corrosion, Materila Structure Engineering

W. Unterweger, K. Nigge - Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders

126 School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal
Introduction
How safe are America’s older concrete highway
bridges? And how long is a concrete bridge
expected to remain viable? What are the influences
that have a negative effect on the integrity of
concrete-steel composite bridge girders? Has
there been adequate empirical research into these
matters? What are the scholarly journals reporting
about corrosion and possible solutions?
These concerns are not new, but they have
become more public and urgent since the collapse
of the I-35 freeway bridge in Minnesota in
August 2007. That structural failure has raised
new concerns about what effects corrosion can
have and does have on the structural integrity of
concrete bridge girders. And although engineers
have been working with contractors and planners
for many years to address issues of bridge safety,
much remains to be done.
Hypothesis Of Theoretical
Considerations
The many and diverse problems associated
with corrosion – and, at the end of the day,
highway safety – certainly boil down to more
complex and substantive matters than theory.
But indeed theoretical considerations are part of
the discussion and should logically lead to more
profound understanding and hence a solution.
To wit, an hypothesis: a) there is an enormous
volume of engineering data available; b) whether
or not current public resources are made available
for the work that needs to be done to empirically
inspect and evaluate existing bridge infrastructure,
those resources and assets must be made available
without equivocation or delay; and c) corrosion is
a fact of life but a nation that can send humans
to the moon and explore the Solar System with
robotic flying machines can certainly find a way
to retard corrosion in bridge girders and in the
process make travel safer.
School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal - July, 2009 No. 1
July
Procedure
This paper provides a strong engineering and
safety background into the problems associated
with corrosion and bridges. The procedure used
in this paper is presented through the careful
examination of the existing literature. Some of the
literature may be a few years old but the past is
prologue; what went before is as relevant as what is
going on today. Other literature presented is quite
contemporary, and all of the materials presented in
this paper are relevant.
Especially relevant are studies that have been
conducted six, seven, eight and more years ago;
compared and contrasted with what engineers
and scientists are saying in the latest bulletins
and research documents. For example, the
American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) offered
standard specifications for highway bridges in
the 1990s that seem to be practical and yet have
clearly not provided a workable solution to the
ongoing problems of corrosion.
In the article titled “Reliability of Reinforced
Concrete Girders Under Corrosion Attack,” the
authors (Frangopol, et al, 1997) embrace the
AASHTO strategy; first, the effects of corrosion
“on both moment and shear reliabilities” are
carefully investigated; second, a “reliability-based
design approach” that is based on minimization of
“total material cost including corrosion effects”
is taken into consideration. This article suggests
that taking into consideration the environmental
stressors on concrete (due to corrosion), along with
the AASHTO standards, can then be plugged into
“reliability-based optimization software.” That
software is a product of the combining of general-
purpose optimization software and a Monte Carlo
simulation-based evaluation program.
Hence, the procedure for coming up with reliable
estimates of the life expectancy of concrete girders
comes in two phases, according to this research.
Phase one spans the time from construction to
corrosion initiation; phase two, from corrosion
initiation to time when “unacceptable levels of
section loss have occurred.” But is this procedure
proactive or reactive? The answer – it is indeed
2009 Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
reactive, and it is also outdated. But nevertheless it
should be researched and understood because it is
part of the literature. Science cannot predict future
conditions and dynamics based on models and
hypotheses alone. A foundation for the projections
of the future is based on evidence from the past.
Results
The cumulative result of doing the research of
all available and pertinent data is to become well
informed. Without a background into what sources
of materials have been used, what methodologies
have been applied, what science has brought to
the table in this regard, future researchers are
fumbling around in the dark. The results of the
research bring perspective and knowledge. An
example of the knowledge that research of existing
literature can bring is provided by University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign engineers writing in
a white paper (“Topical Conference on Wireless
Communication Technology”).
Bernhard, et al, propose – after pointing
out what all informed engineers know, that the
infrastructure of structural concrete bridges is
“aging and deteriorating” – the use of wireless
technologies (a wireless embedded sensor system)
to detect corrosion in concrete girders. The sensing
mechanisms that are embedded into the girders are
“active acoustic transducers” – and through the use
of antenna sticking out of the girder, information
about what is going on inside the girder can be
transmitted to engineers on a constant basis. Not
once a year, or every other year, but every day data
would be available on the advent of, continuation
of, and seriousness of the corrosion.
The research on this project has already been
done, but its application in terms of widespread
acceptance is still an unknown. But the investigation
done by Bernhard, et al, shows that the loss of
bond strength as a result of corrosion between the
reinforcing steel and the concrete that surrounds it
“can be estimated using measurements of acoustic
group velocity in the bar.” Tools that actually
measure the acoustic signals were still under
development at the time of this article (2003), but
W. Unterweger, K. Nigge - Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
127
it seems promising, albeit more research is surely
needed.
Discussions Of Results
Getting to the heart of the matter, an article in
the Journal of Structural Engineering (Enright,
et al, 1998) explains (in classic understated
narrative), “Experience has demonstrated that
highway bridges are vulnerable to damage from
environmental attack,” including freeze-thaw,
corrosion, and alkali-silica reaction.” What is
needed now are “rational decisions” in terms of
the expected life cycle of a bridge, what costs are
expected to be in order to maintain the integrity of
bridges, the authors write.
The Enright article provides research into
“time-variant reliability methods” regarding
“bridge life-cycle cost prediction.” Time changes
the resistance of a bridge to environmental factors,
but many reliability studies on reinforced concrete
bridges do not factor in “time-dependence” aspects,
the article explains. Some studies suggest that
concrete elements in bridges do not degrade and
hence, the belief is that resistance to environmental
factors does not decrease as time goes by. There
are currently over 600,000 highway bridges in the
United States; and of those, “many” are “severely
deteriorated” and in desperate need of major
infrastructure repair, the authors continue.
Bridges are naturally expected to – and
designed to – function safely over “long periods
of time,” Enright argues. And during those years
of service the concrete bridges are fully expected
to stay sturdy notwithstanding “aggressive” and
“changing” environments. Because there are
limited funds available for proper maintenance,
it makes good sense to use those funds the most
efficient way, and hence, one of the main purposes
of the time-variant reliability analysis. When
engineers say a bridge has failed, they allude to
the failure of “any girder among a set of girders in
an individual span.
A study such as the one reported by the authors
of this article can help determine the reliability
of reinforced concrete bridges while the bridge
is under the environmental attack by freeze-thaw,
128 School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal
corrosion, and alkali-silica reaction – and the
data can also show at the same time the results of
the bridge’s sensitivity to various types of loads.
The bridge that was analyzed in this research is
located near Pueblo, Colorado; it was a reinforced
concrete T-beam (built in 1962; bridge L-18-BG).
This bridge is made of three 9.1-meter (or 30 ft.)
“Simply supported spans.”
Each of the three spans has five girders “equally
spaced” at 8.5 feet apart. The bridge provides two
lanes of traffic heading north; the most intense
random moment (pulse) for the bridge is when
two heavily loaded trucks drive over it side-by-
side. This occurs probably a thousand times a year
and yet he admits that it is “often difficult” to get
“accurate maximum live load data” for two side-
by-side big trucks with full loads.
The author reports that typically corrosion
begins in a concrete bridge structure after a window
of time known as “corrosion initiation time.”
It is this period of time during which the steel
reinforcement becomes “depassivated due to
carbonation or chloride ion ingress” (Enright).
And once that initial intrusion of corrosion
has begun, the reinforcing cross-sectional area
begins to decrease; the rate of decrease depends
upon the number of reinforcement bars that are
indeed corroding. Also, the writer explains, after
thorough examination, failure can happen when
“the limit state of bending failure by yielding
of steel of any one (or more) of the girders is
reached.” This is a very technical research article,
and often the writer seems to admit that no matter
the attempted empirical nature of the research, it
is not easy to predict “the rate of strength loss” for
reinforced concrete elements. But the research is
vitally important in terms of trying to understand
the impact of corrosion, because “…even small
variations in the degradation can have a large
impact on the reliability of a bridge over its service
life,” Enright explained.
The actual time frame during which strength
in the girders begins to be lost is known as the
“damage initiation time.” And the degradation
(deterioration) of a single girder does not
necessarily mean the imminent failure of the
bridge, Enright found; and interestingly, he
School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal - July, 2009 No. 1
July
concludes that a bridge in which not all girders are
under “environmental attack” the series system
“can be reduced to a smaller number of girders”
provided, that is, that the remaining strength of the
girders “in the reduced system is substantially less
than the remaining strength of girders eliminated
from the original system.”
Writers M. Tavakkolizadeh and H.
Saadatmanesh (“Strengthening of Steel-Concrete
Composite Girders Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Polymers Sheets”) published their article in the
Journal of Structural Engineering in 2003. The
authors suggest in the beginning of their article
that “advanced composite materials” for use in
the rehabilitation of failing bridge infrastructure
have been “embraced worldwide.” The reason for
this worldwide use of advanced materials is that
conventional applications used in strengthening
“substandard bridges” are not only “labor
intensive,” but they cost more and they take more
time to apply to the deteriorating bridge.
Their study was completed in 2003, four years
prior to the disastrous bridge collapse on Interstate
35; but even then, the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) was wary of deteriorating bridges
and was setting up strategies for rating the safety
of bridges. The result of AASHTO work at that
time showed that “more than one third” of the
highway bridges in the U.S. were believed to be
“substandard.”
Indeed, the National Bridge Inventory (NBI)
showed that there were in 2003 81,000 “functionally
obsolete bridges” in the U.S. Moreover, of the
81,000 functionally obsolete bridges more than
43 percent are constructed of steel. The main
problems associated with steel bridges, the author
write, is that they are subject to corrosion, they are
not maintained properly on a consistent basis, and
they suffer from “fatigue” over the years.
What to do with these failing and faulty bridges?
The authors report that replacing a bridge is far
more expensive than retrofitting it, and retrofitting
takes a lot less time. Hence, it is recommended
that steel-concrete composite bridges be beefed
up with concrete composite girders, and by
introducing fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) (made
2009 Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
of glass, carbon, and Kevlar “…placed in a resin
matrix.” The reason for using FRP materials is that
they have “outstanding mechanical properties”
and they also feature elasticity; and when FRP is
applied to strengthen a deteriorating girder, the
laminates weigh “less than one fifth of the steel
and are corrosion resistant.”
Before the authors explain the process of using
FRP to strengthen faulty bridges, corroded bridges,
they point out that traditional rehabilitation of
bridges has been through five techniques. One,
simple strengthening of members; two, placing
addition member (girder) in the bridge; three,
“developing composite action”; four, “producing
continuity at the support” structures; and five,
“post-tensioning.” The downside of these
traditional applications is that they call for the use
of heavy machinery, there is a substantial period of
down-time for the bridge (which of course causes
inconvenience for traffic and trucks that cross the
bridge in normal times), they are expensive kinds
of repairs and moreover, “they do not eliminate
the possibility of reoccurrence of the problem.”
They offer the example of the use of welded
steel cover plates used to repair and beef up
existing structures – this has been a commonly
applied method for many years, since 1934 when
a French bridge that was 73 years old received
this kind of “fix.” The main problem with this
kind of solution is that first of all, it requires heavy
equipment and worse yet, the welded plates are
also subject to the same fatigue that the original
girder suffered from. There is also the possibility
that there may be “galvanic corrosion between
the plate and existing member and attachment
materials” (Tavakkolizadeh, et al, 2003).
The research into the possible use of epoxy-
bonded steel plates for use in strengthening
flawed, corroded steel-concrete composite bridge
infrastructure was launched in 1964, in South
Africa. And again in Japan in 1975, epoxy-bonded
steel plates were used in bridges needing an
upgrade. The authors offer several more studies
to back up their assertions. Then they report
their own research on the effectiveness of epoxy
bonding carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP);
they tested three large-scale girders that had been
W. Unterweger, K. Nigge - Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
129
strengthened with “pultruded carbon fiber sheets.”
And then three identical girders were strengthened
with “one, three, and five layers of CFRP sheets.
Viscous epoxy was used to bond the laminate
to the steel surface. Those girders were put
through a series of tests at varying load levels.
Through a series of mathematical diagrams the
authors show the physics involved in their tests.
The conclusions they reached showed that when
steel-concrete girders were retrofitted with epoxy-
bonded CFRP laminates a “very promising”
outcome was experienced. The technique of
applying epoxy-bonded CFRP “improved the
ultimate load-carrying capacity significantly,”
the authors report. In specifics, they report that
when the CFRP laminates are applied in sufficient
quantities the ability of a concrete-steel composite
girder to carry a heavy load is increased by 44%
(one layer); 51% (three layers of epoxy-bonded
CFRP applied); and when five layers are applied,
the ability of the girder to handle a heavy load is
raised by 76%.
Further, because of the flexibility of the CFRP
bonding, there was no problem with the elastic
stiffness of the girders.
An article titled “Behavior of reinforced
concrete beams strengthened with carbon fibre
reinforced polymer laminates subjected to
corrosion damage,” published three years prior to
the research by Tavakkolizadeh and Saadatmanesh,
explores the same issue, the feasibility of – and
effectiveness of – using reinforcing concrete-steel
composite beams with epoxy-bonded CRRP. In
the research, researchers utilized ten reinforced
concrete beams (100 x 150 x 1200 mm) using
“variable chloride levels” that ranged from 0-3%
chloride.
Six of those beams had been strengthened
by using epoxy bonding CFRP laminates on
the surface of the concrete. In this experiment,
four were left un-strengthened. And of the un-
strengthened four they were put through the rigors
of “accelerated corrosion by means of impressed
current to 5, 10, and 15% mass loss.” More tests
were conducted. A bending procedure was done.
The bottom line of the tests showed that the beams
that were treated with CFRP laminates did indeed
130 School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal
“successfully confine the corrosion cracking.”
All the beams that were strengthened showed
“increased stiffness over the un-strengthened
specimens” and they revealed what the authors
called “marked increases” in the “yield and
ultimate strength” of the beams.
The authors noted that a number of studies have
been done relating to the problem of corrosion, and
consistently that research has shown that when
there is corrosion there is a “corresponding drop in
the cross-sectional area of the steel reinforcement.”
Moreover, research has shown, according to the
authors, the corrosion products occupy a “larger
area” than the steel occupies. Meanwhile the
corroded areas can and do exert “substantial
tensile forces” on the concrete surrounding the
reinforced area. This is problematic because
those expansive forces that result from corrosion
are capable of causing “cracking, spalling, and
staining of concrete” – which leads to a depletion
of the structural bond between the concrete and
the reinforced steel.
It is therefore apparent to the authors that by
using carbon fibre reinforced polymer laminates the
expansion of steel reinforcements that are caused
by corrosion can be restricted to “up to 15% mass
loss.” The bottom line in this research is that the
structural performance of the CFRP strengthened
and corroded beams were improved in comparison
to the beams that were not strengthened.
The Journal of Structural Engineering, a very
good source for reference material regarding
corrosion of concrete reinforced bridge girders,
published an article in 2003 titled “Life-Cycle
Modeling of Corrosion-Affected Concrete
Structures: Propagation.” In this piece author C.
Q. Li, a senior lecturer of civil engineering at the
University of Dundee in Scotland, addresses what
he terms “unsatisfactory” results from previous
studies into reinforcement corrosion in concrete.
Therefore, Li sets out to develop new models of
structural resistance deterioration used in “whole
life performance assessment of corrosion-affected
concrete structures.” Li explains in his abstract
that his paper will provide a “complete picture” of
whole life performance assessment of reinforced
concrete structures that are affected by corrosion.
School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal - July, 2009 No. 1
July
He claims that over the last thirty years there
has been intensive research into how to prevent
corrosion in reinforced concrete; he mentions the
lack of satisfaction regarding the results of that
research. In particular, he points to “Concrete in
the Ocean” in the UK; BRITE in Europe, and in
North America, SHRP studies. These studies, Li
claims, did not go deeply enough into the effect
that corrosion has on structural deterioration. For
his work, Li ignores the kinds of studies that deal
with corrosion in the “first life cycle” (from the
time of installation to the first signs of corrosion)
and rather, looks into the “second life cycle” (from
the time of the initiation of corrosion to the time the
concrete beam or structure is “unserviceable”).
Li’s model goes beyond the existing Tuutti
model (“the well-known” model that assesses
and predicts the service life of corrosion-affected
concrete structures); he does so because the Tuutti
model uses “degree of corrosion to indicate service
life,” which is not far enough into the meat of the
issue, he contends. The Tuutti model, like others
in this genre, relates to the fact that the degree
of corrosion is indeed connected to structural
resistance deterioration and “a conversion from
the degree of corrosion to structural resistance
deterioration” (strength and stiffness). But this
strategy is not as “straightforward” as it could be
in terms of telling the tale of the life cycle using
the performance criteria that structural engineers
use, Li insists.
In his tests, Li used a total of 30 specimens
that consisted of a variety of different concrete
compositions (different water cement rations and
cement types). He put the tested samples under
“simultaneous loading and salt spray” conditions,
which were simulated in a big “corrosive
environmental chamber” that was constructed
exclusively for Li’s research purposes. To achieve
test results in a short amount of time, Li adopted
accelerated conditions; the loads were “kept
constant” on the concrete samples until they were
removed from the environmental chamber for the
testing procedure.
It was determined that the corrosion growth
was directly related to “crack distribution” as well
as the pattern within the test sample itself. What
2009 Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
did this prove? Corrosion is “essentially a local
activity at the cracked sections of RC members,”
Li indicates, which he says is “very important to
structural engineers” who concern themselves
with the “cross-sectional capacity of structural
members.” As to the flexural strength of the
examples tested, this was measured during three
windows of time during the research – those were
the third, the fifth and the seventh months of the
test. The results of that flexural strength research –
reflected through Li’s charts and diagrams – show
that the rate of deterioration of RC structures (for
strength and stiffness) is “sharply different.” The
stiffness deteriorates far more severely than the
strength; for example, by the time the stiffness
deteriorates to about 60% of its original condition,
the strength of the concrete substance has only
deteriorated to about 10% of its original state
(during the same amount of time).
Like all cautious researchers, Li reminds readers
that the test data always varies with reference to
structural deterioration; and yet these variations
can be understood by realizing that there are the
following: environmental conditions; material
discrepancy; human error; and workmanship
variations. Playing roles in the research projects
are the following: physics, chemistry, mechanics,
structural engineering, concrete technology
among other disciplines. And so with these
factors in mind, Le explains that he has taken
the “phenomenological approach” – which takes
into consideration the uncertainties associated
with attempting to focus on statistics related to
deterioration of strength and stiffness.
In his discussion section Li mentions that his
paper can serve as “an example of future research
direction.” That is to say, the problem cries out for
more research, as do all the aspects of corrosion
that were looked into during his research. His
conclusion points to the fact that indeed reinforced
concrete flexural members “deteriorate at different
rates,” and as reported, stiffness deteriorates at
a faster rate than strength. His model, at the end
of the day, will show that once the reinforced
concrete flexural members break down to the point
that they are “unserviceable” that tells engineers
that there is “less than 15% of service life left.”
W. Unterweger, K. Nigge - Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
131
The key of course is being able to know when
the reinforced concrete flexural members have
reached “unserviceable” conditions.
But interestingly, while Li explained at the
beginning of the article that there was too little
research into this area of bridge corrosion, and
that he would produce a model in order to better
determine the science of corrosion’s effects, in the
end he writes that “more research on corrosion
propagation” – in particular, research that is in
itself experimental – is necessary. That is the case
because there need to be rational models developed
“to be used in whole life performance assessment
for corrosion-affected concrete structures.”
Conclusions
Bridges using concrete girders (reinforced
with steel rebar) are constantly under attack by
the environmental conditions and by the loads that
rumble over them every day of every year. The
public officials whose responsibility includes the
safety and welfare of the citizens are apparently
not doing the job that is expected of them; that is to
say, this paper points out that of the 600,000 or so
highway bridges in the United States, perhaps as
many as one-third are unsafe due to deterioration
caused by corrosion. That is an unconscionable
and deplorable situation and must be addressed by
the legislators in all 50 states along with elected
representatives in Washington, D.C.
Recommentations
Recommendation ONE: A recent article can
be a good example of a recommendation for better
predictability vis-à-vis when a bridge is due to be
replaced. To wit, in the previous research article
the author discussed in depth the problems related
to measuring the time involved and difficulties
connected to coming up with a valid live
assessment of reinforced concrete that has been
attacked by corrosion. The variables that Li alluded
to as difficult to put a precise finger on (he used
the “phenomenological approach”) authors M.B.
Anoop and K. Balaji Rao called “fuzzy variables.”
In their research the two structural engineering
132 School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal
scientists from India present a case study in which
they attempt to establish a model which compares
the times “to reach different damage levels” for a
“severely distressed beam.” The beam in question
is located in the Rocky Point Viaduct and the point
of the research is to provide a model that can be
used in terms of when to schedule inspections for
reinforced concrete girders that are being attacked
by “chloride-induced corrosion.”
In order for wise engineering decisions to
be made vis-à-vis the proper time for bridge
girder inspections and maintenance activities to
commence, a formula or strategy is necessary.
And the authors of the article “Application of
fuzzy Sets for Remaining Life Assessment of
Corrosion Affected Reinforced Concrete Bridge
Girders” assert that the use of inspection field data
– in anticipation of evaluating the performance
and remaining life assessment of corrosion of
reinforced concrete bridge girders – should proceed
using the concept of “additive fuzzy sets.”
Why use “fuzzy” variables? The authors
believe that there are always to be uncertainties
with regard to the variables that the environment
brings to the table regarding corrosion on concrete
girders. And so, the benefits of “fuzzifying” those
uncertain variables are several, this article states.
For one, the authors contend Fuzzifying offers
“greater generality”; two, “higher expressive
power”; three, an “enhanced ability to model real
world problems”; and four, “a methodology for
exploiting the tolerance for imprecision.”
That last reason used to justify fuzzifying
seems to go against the grain of engineering since
precision and exactitude are so very important
to solving problems. But Anoop and Rao insist
that in projecting a life assessment procedure
using their strategy if offers a chance to measure
environmental aggressiveness factors. The authors
define that factor based on environmental variables,
the relative humidity and “degree of wetting and
drying,” and of course the temperature. Once those
are known from field observations, and then there
will be “linguistic uncertainties” as regards the
values of those known environmental variables.
How to deal with the uncertainties? That’s
where the authors bring in their fuzzy sets. In
School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal - July, 2009 No. 1
July
seeking the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,
so to speak, that is, the method for determining
how long the Rocky Point Viaduct will remain
effective given the attack of corrosion produced
by the environmental aggressiveness, the
authors continue using a “rule-base, formulated”
approach. Technically, the whole point of their
discussion and research is to show the engineering
community (and readers who may have a vested
and/or professional interest in understanding the
dynamics of corrosion in concrete bridge girders)
how useful this proposed methodology is by way
of assessing how much time the girder at issue has
left (its “life assessment”).
The Rocky Point Viaduct is located near Port
Orford, Oregon about 25 miles due east of the
Pacific Ocean. The viaduct has five spans (each
with a length of 114 m and a deck width of 10.6
m), and the records for how the viaduct has been
maintained as noted below. It was built in 1955; the
initial report of problems through the maintenance
inspection was 12 years later in 1967. In May
of 1968 cracking was noticed on the concrete
beams, and a year later, January 1969, inspectors
noticed “badly rusted rebars” and “spalling” of the
concrete.
The first repairs were made in September 1969;
in May 1976 a “substantial” portion of one section
had been lost due to corroded rebars; and by
February 1991 the decision was made to replace
the structure entirely, the authors explain. What
the authors offer in this article is a study focused
on the beam on the extreme western edge of the
viaduct, the part closest to the ocean and most fully
exposed to the “impact of the weather from the
ocean.” At this point in their article the authors do
the math, explain the variables, and point out how
they went about doing their research. The “fuzzy”
numbers they used in the research were based on
the damage levels; the “cracking,” spalling, the
color changes of the concrete, and the loss of steel
section “and deflections.”
The schematic of the damaged viaduct is
presented as Appendices #1 at the end of this paper.
The authors state that by researching the failed
portions of this bridge, applying their strategies
– combined with the definitions of damage levels
2009 Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
– they can (with reasonable accuracy) predict
the window of time at which various levels of
damage can be expected on future bridges using
concrete girders. In their summary, the authors
insist that their methodology for projecting future
life assessment of corrosion affected reinforced
concrete bridge girders is based on, first, accurate
data from field observations that empirical evidence
of performance evaluation. Secondly they write
that as to the life assessment of the girders in
question they use the concept of “additive fuzzy
sets.”
What’s the advantage of using fuzzy sets?
Using this strategy, research engineers can project
the known, reported times of corrosive impacts
(which were demonstrated using the inspection
data from the Rocky Point Viaduct engineering
maintenance records) for different levels of
damage on future bridges. In other words, by
observing a very distressed beam, in this case the
Rocky Point beams, which lasted only 36 years,
researchers can take those numbers and add to
the existing research other case studies; then they
have the opportunity to plug in “fuzzy” numbers
for future bridge corrosive damage. They admit
in their Summary that this “fuzzy” strategy needs
to be “further developed,” but they offer it as a
beginning. Their paper was written in 2007, prior
to the disastrous bridge collapse in Minnesota, but
if their “fuzzy” approach had been used perhaps in
2005, or 2006, based on engineering inspections,
the failure of the I-35 structure may have been
predicted – and even averted.
Recommendation TWO: According to a brief
article in the journal Advanced Materials &
Processes, a potentially effective and reliable way
of protecting against steel rebar corrosion that
seems inevitable in concrete bridges is by using
zinc-hydrogel anode 4727. This product may
provide “long-term electrochemical protection”
against the deterioration of the steel rebar in the
concrete, the article states. What actually happens
when this “pressure-sensitive” zinc-hydrogel
solution is applied is that an “iconic current” is
conducted. Wires run through the rebar grid once the
concrete is covered thoroughly with the adhesive
gel. Then there is a “transfer of electrons” and
W. Unterweger, K. Nigge - Corrosion in Concrete Bridge Girders
133
the zinc behaves as though it were the corroding
anode, which then allows the rebar to function as
“the cathode protected from corrosion.”
The bottom line here is the zinc slowly corrodes
rather than the rebar. Ironically, this zinc hydrogel
anode was developed in Minneapolis in the year
2,000 – by the 3M company – seven years before
I-35 crashed into a river in Minneapolis.
Recommendation THREE: The study
conducted by Korean civil engineers Hyo-Gyoung
Kwak and Young-Jae Seo puts forward, in short,
another methodology in terms of predicting the
life expectancy of a concrete bridge. The authors
suggest the behaviors of “pre-stressed concrete”
(PCS) girders can be predicted fairly accurately.
This is because the PCS girders are constructed by
placing in-situ concrete decks on the girders “at
time intervals.” Therefore a careful engineering
assessment of the differences in materials, their
properties and their age, at the time they are loaded,
can lead to “time-dependent material behaviors.”
Their model posits that cracking at interior
supports can be predicted because the “ultimate
shrinking strain is expressed as a function of
concrete slump” along with factors such as relative
humidity, unit weight of cement, and air content.
Frequent field inspections and recommendations
go hand-in-hand with this method of predicting
the life span of concrete bridge girders.
Recommendation FOUR: Yet another model
offering possible solutions for bridge engineers
dealing with corrosion comes from Kim Anh T.
Vu and Mark G. Stewart; the authors propose
a strategy built around three durability design
specifications relating to a RC slab bridge and
relating to a projection of loads crossing the bridge
over a given number of months and years. In other
words, builders should not just construct a bridge
and then begin safety inspections at pre-arranged
intervals; instead, specific projections as to the load
and the environmental factors can give advanced
answers to durability and time-variant awareness.
Meantime the authors provide the obvious answer
to one reason for long-term deterioration and
reduction in structural safety is the use of de-
134 School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal
icing salts during winter seasons. When the ratio
of water to cement is heavier on the water than it
should be “increases failure probabilities.”
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