Corrosion Prediction Models in the Reinforcement of Concrete Structures of Offshore Wind Farms

Abstract

The growth of offshore wind farms (OWF’s) is expected to be significant. Reducing operation and maintenance (O&M) costs will be important to ensure its development. The foundation is the most important structural element, with concrete as its main constituent. With concrete structures, particular attention must be paid to corrosion of embedded steel especially in marine environments, as poor maintenance management can have significant economic and structural safety consequences. This article presents a systematic analysis of prevalent corrosion prediction models and the subsequent development of a tool for estimating the diameter loss in the reinforcement of concrete structures in OWFs. For validation, the tool methodology is applied to 32 real cases to evaluate the difference between the calculated and the real diameter loss. The results indicate that the combination between the chloride diffusion model of the Spanish code on structural concrete (EHE-08) and the corrosion rate model of Li (2004) guarantees favourable diameter loss prediction results. The ability to rapidly calculate the diameter loss of reinforcement in concrete structural elements as a function of time, provides OWF operators with a valuable tool for the planning of maintenance strategies and cost optimisation.