Predicting service life from site-accessed corrosion rate data Available to Purchase

Corrosion rate probes have been installed in over 60 structures including bridges, car parks, marine jetties, historic stone and reinforced concrete buildings over a 20-year period and used to assess the performance of concrete repairs and methods of corrosion mitigation in a variety of exposure conditions. Many of the sites have systems to collect data remotely and on a daily or a weekly schedule over many years. This paper discusses the development of corrosion rate probes and network data management systems in practice, including environmental exposure parameters, and correlates these with the accumulated corrosion rate and the resulting prediction of the residual service life. The data were tested against the Tuutti model for the service life of structures and showed a correlation between the predicted deterioration and the real-site corrosion rate data. The effectiveness of corrosion mitigation methods, including surface-applied corrosion inhibitors and cathodic protection, was also similarly assessed.