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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

steel corrosion, bridge decks, impedance spectroscopy, concrete cover

College

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Abstract

On bridge decks, a specified thickness of concrete cover, usually between 2.0 and 3.0 in., is provided over the embedded reinforcing steel as a protective layer. When chloride ions penetrate the concrete cover, corrosion of the reinforcement can occur [1, 2, 3]. Corrosion problems are usually exacerbated in cold regions, where the source of chlorides is usually deicing salts applied to roads during winter conditions to melt ice, and in coastal regions, where exposure to sea water is prevalent. Since corrosion products are generally five to seven times greater in volume than the parent steel, the corrosion process can induce significant tensile stresses inside the concrete. Because concrete is relatively weak in tension, it can then sustain damage in the form of cracking, delamination, and spalling [4, 5, 6, 7]. Because bridge deck failures are commonly linked to elevated chloride concentrations, measuring chloride content is an important goal of many bridge inspection programs.

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