DURABILITY OF PRESTRESSED BRIDGE DECKS. INTERIM REPORT

It is estimated that $500 million dollars is spent annually for repair of bridge decks which suffer from deterioration. The major cause of bridge deck deterioration is corrosion of reinforcing steel induced by exposure to chlorides from deicers and salt water spray. Dissolved salts seep into bridge decks primarily at crack locations and cause steel corrosion which sets up a splitting force because of the volumetric expansion and eventually breaks the concrete. This report briefly presents background information on the mechanism of corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete, and summarizes the observations and findings from an experimental corrosion study. A simple test specimen was developed to simulate the behavior of a transversely prestressed bridge deck subjected to an aggressive deicing salt exposure. The experimental program investigated the primary variables affecting corrosion of steel in prestressed concrete: concrete cover, crack width, protective coatings for steel reinforcement, type of prestressing protective system, concrete quality, and level of prestressing. Behavioral trends are presented as determined from half cell potential measurement of the nonprestressed reinforcement, chloride analysis of the concrete, and visual observation from a post mortem autopsy of the specimens.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Austin

  Center for Transportation Research, 3208 Red River Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78705

  Texas State Department of Highways & Public Transportation

  Transportation Planning Division, P.O. Box 5051
  Austin, TX  United States  78763

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Poston, R W
  • Carrasquillo, R L
  • Breen, J E
• Publication Date: 1985-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 176 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Chloride content; Concrete; Corrosion; Cracking; Durability; Prestressed concrete; Protective coatings; Reinforced concrete; Reinforcing steel; Width
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Materials; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00457529
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TX-86/16+316-1
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 31 1988 12:00AM