Abstract
Design for durability of road infrastructures is becoming increasingly important in view of its large impact on economics. Reinforcement corrosion is the most common cause of concrete deterioration of bridge structures in Latvia. The ingress of chlorides is often considered to be the major threat to durability of concrete structures. During the winter season de-icing salts are spread out on roads to avoid formation of ice and ensure the anti-sliding properties of the road surface. The melting water mixes with de-icing salt are splashed and sprayed on reinforced concrete pier structures by passing vehicles. Absorbed water with chloride ions initiates and accelerates the reinforcement corrosion process. This paper highlights the results of investing accumulation of chlorides in reinforced concrete bridge piers located near high traffic volume roads in Latvia. The chloride contents were determined on different surfaces of reinforced concrete piers. Environmental conditions were analysed and prediction of remaining service life for chloride induced reinforcement corrosion was performed.
Highlights
Roads with high traffic volume require special care to maintain safe driving conditions during winter
This means that bridge structures located beside roadways with high traffic volume are highly exposed to intense chloride ingress
Due to reinforcement corrosion caused by chlorides, the service life of numerous bridge structures is reduced to 40 years or less, though Eurocode: Basis of Structural Design defines the bridge service life of 100 years
Summary
Roads with high traffic volume require special care to maintain safe driving conditions during winter. During winter road maintenance regulations require the use of enormous amounts of de-icing salt. To improve driving conditions during heavy snowfalls, de-icing salts are used for fighting snow. This means that bridge structures located beside roadways with high traffic volume are highly exposed to intense chloride ingress. Since bridges are one of the largest community investments and because maintenance and repair costs will increase considerably, it is important to improve the durability of reinforced bridge structures by better understanding the processes and sequences of chloride induced deteriorations. This paper describes the results of investigation performed on three reinforced concrete bridges near high volume traffic streets in Riga city and on the bridge located on Riga’s bypass
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