AN ANALYSIS OF ATMOSPHERIC CORROSION TESTS ON LOW-ALLOY STEEL-APPLICABILITY OF TEST RESULTS TO HIGHWAY BRIDGES

A LITERATURE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO GATHER INFORMATION FOR USE IN EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF UNPAINTED, LOW- ALLOY STEEL BRIDGES WHICH WILL BE CONSTRUCTED BY THE NEW JERSEY STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT SOON. SOME PROBLEMS RELATED TO MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS AND ATMOSPHERIC CORROSION TESTING ARE DISCUSSED. THE DATA CONTAINED IN SEVERAL REPORTS ON THE ATMOSPHERIC CORROSION OF MANY LOW-ALLOY STEELS ARE EXAMINED. ESTIMATES OF THE AMOUNT OF CORROSION WHICH WILL OCCUR TO UNSTRESSED SAMPLE PANELS CAN BE MADE BY COMPARING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF A GIVEN STEEL WITH SEVERAL TESTED CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS TO WHICH IT IS SIMILAR IN PERCENTAGES OF THE MAJOR CORROSION-REDUCING ALLOYING ELEMENTS. TEST RESULTS FROM THREE DIFFERENT REPORTS ARE COMPARED FOR STEELS WHICH WERE GROUPED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PERCENTAGES OF THE MAJOR CORROSION-REDUCING ALLOYING ELEMENTS CONTAINED. AN EMPIRICAL METHOD IS PROPOSED FOR PREDICTING THE DEPTH OF PENETRATION OF CORROSION FOR BRIDGE MEMBERS. THIS METHOD ASSUMES A LINEAR LONG-TERM CORROSION RATE AND INCLUDES AN EXPOSURE FACTOR, PITTING FACTOR AND A SAFETY FACTOR. THE REDUCTIONS IN SEVERAL CROSS-SECTIONAL PROPERTIES OF TWO WIDE-FLANGE BEAMS AND VARIOUS SIZES OF PLATE ARE COMPUTED AND IT IS SUGGESTED THAT FURTHER STUDY OF THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE MADE. THE POSSIBLE EFFECT OF LOADS ON CORROSION AND OF CORROSION ON STATIC AND FATIGUE LOAD RESISTANCE ARE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. A PROPOSED TEST PROGRAM FOR AN EXPERIMENTAL NEW JERSEY BRIDGE IS OUTLINED.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1967/204/204-003.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper sponsored by Committee on Metals in Highway Structures and presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation
• Publication Date: 1967

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 22-45
• Monograph Title: Metal corrosion
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 204
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Chemical composition; Corrosion; Corrosion tests; Crash exposure; Depth; Empirical methods; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Low alloy steel; Metal bridges; Pendulum tests; Performance; Pitting; Reviews; Safety; Static loads; Steel bridges
• Uncontrolled Terms: Exposure
• Geographic Terms: New Jersey
• Old TRIS Terms: Atmospheric corrosion tests
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00216081
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-000 708
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 2 1994 12:00AM