Abstract
This paper presents developments over 30 years in the field of cathodic protection of steel reinforcement in concrete in The Netherlands and elsewhere. From the late 1980s major developments have been: application to large numbers of precast elements corroding due to mixed-in chloride with drilled in titanium anodes and conductive coatings; analysis of working life of systems and components and end-of-life considerations; application to prestressed structures; new anode types including galvanic systems with associated life and design considerations; numerical modelling and preventative applications. Presently, CP has become a fully accepted method of securing safety and serviceability of buildings and infrastructure. Major successes and lessons learned will be presented. Technical and non-technical developments are highlighted and some recent innovative CP systems are discussed.
Highlights
More and more reinforced concrete structures develop corrosion of the embedded steel
This paper reports on the history and experience with Cathodic protection (CP) of concrete structures, based on the authors’ involvement in The Netherlands and documentation from elsewhere
Activated titanium systems performed well over at least 20-25 years in many well-documented cases; working lives of 25 and more years appear very well possible. This experience is in agreement with a recent study on long term performance of CP systems on motorway structures [14], which showed that conductive coating anodes may work for a very long time, in infrastructural works and despite visible deterioration of the coating
Summary
More and more reinforced concrete structures develop corrosion of the embedded steel. This is due to long-term exposure to aggressive influences such as chlorides from sea water and de-icing salts or to the effects of mixed-in chlorides; in some cases aggravated by carbonation [1, 2]. In many cases conventional methods of concrete repair have been shown to be ineffective or not durable [3, 4]. Cathodic protection (CP) on the other hand, has widely been found to be an effective and durable method for protection of steel in concrete. In the USA, a large number of concrete bridge decks was damaged by corrosion due to chloride ingress from de-icing salts. Long term performance and an overview of interventions (repairs) of large numbers of systems have been analysed [14, 15]
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