Abstract
The article analyzes the composition of concrete taken from various elements from a 100-year-old bridge in South Poland, so as to analyze its technical condition. The main methods applied during experimental work were: Designation of pH, free chloride content, salinity, XRD and SEM examinations, as well as metals determination using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-ICP-MS, and cold-vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CV-AAS). The concrete of the bridge was strongly carbonated and decalcified with an extremely high content of chlorides. The pH of the concrete was in a range from 10.5 to 12.0. Acid soluble components were between 9.9% and 17.6%. Typical sulfate corrosion phases of concrete were not detected. Friedels’ salt was found only at the extremity of an arch. The crown block was corroded to the greatest extent. Various heavy metals were absorbed into the concrete, likely from previous centuries, when environmental protection policy was poor. The applied research methodology can be used on bridges exposed to specific external influences. The acquired knowledge can be useful in the management processes of the bridge infrastructure. It can help in making decisions about decommissioning or extending the life cycle of the bridge. This work should also sensitize researchers and decision-makers to the context of “bridge safety”.
Highlights
Bridge structures are exposed to many factors, which weaken the structure, its elements, concrete, and steel
The contamination of river water could have changed over the years
In order to maintain a high pH, the hydrated phase decalcification process begins, i.e., their dissolution, so that free calcium ions are present in the solution in the pores of the concrete [84]
Summary
Bridge structures are exposed to many factors, which weaken the structure, its elements, concrete, and steel. These factors include environmental (heating, freezing, drying, spraying), mechanical (loads), and chemical (exhaust gases, de-icing salts) influences. A case will be considered where, apart from general factors that weaken bridge structures, there is in addition of high humidity and the influence of impurities—basic salts that corrode the structure (chlorides and sulphates) and toxic metals in the river water. Contaminants found in river water may be of a natural or of anthropogenic origin, and can cause corrosion to the bridge elements or can be absorbed by concrete. The issues surrounding the destruction of bridges by water has previously been briefly described [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9], to the best of our knowledge, there is no literature concerning the destruction of the bridge’s concrete under the influence of the polluted river water
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