DEEP SEALING OF CONCRETE BRIDGE DECKS WITH LINSEED OIL AND RELATED COMPOUNDS

Deterioration of concrete bridge decks is one of the major problems facing highway agencies today. The major cause of this problem is corrosion of reinforcing steel due to the presence of chloride ions from deicing operations. One means of preventing or retarding reinforcement corrosion is to impregnate concrete with a suitable material to prevent ingress of deicer salts. The major thrust of the research described in this report is to evaluate linseed oil and related compounds as concrete impregnants to prevent or significantly retard rebar corrosion, and to develop and demonstrate techniques suitable for achieving bridge deck impregnation. Laboratory investigations reveal that about 50-50 mixture by weight of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits optimizes the trade-off between depth of impregnation and sealing properties. One drawback of linseed oil impregnation is a slight decrease in the compressive strength of the concrete (about 5 percent for the 50-50 mixture). However, this may not be serious.

• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Transportation Research Building
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  1215 Transportation and Safety Building
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120
• Authors:
  • Cady, P D
  • Kline, D E
  • Blankenhorn, P R
• Publication Date: 1977-8

Media Info

• Pagination: 114 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Chlorides; Corrosion protection; Cost estimating; Deicers (Equipment); Drying; Estimates; Impregnation (Engineering); Laboratory tests; Linseed oil; Reinforced concrete; Reinforcing steel
• Uncontrolled Terms: Deicers
• Subject Areas: Construction; Finance; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00167338
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: PTI-7717, FHWA/PA-77/75-4
• Files: NTIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Dec 8 2002 12:00AM