Cost-Effective Corrosion Protection Systems for Reinforced Concrete

Owners of concrete structures are looking at ways of cost-effectively protecting new assets such as bridges and parking garages against corrosion. In order to conduct economic analyses for corrosion-induced damage, knowledge of chloride ingress, the amount of chloride to initiate corrosion, corrosion rates and the amount of corrosion to cause cracking are required. This 4-page document summarizes key findings from a study conducted at the University of Phoenix relating to the cost and performance of concrete bridge decks containing various corrosion-protective systems. The study found that the life-cycle cost of a deck using epoxy-coated reinforcing steel was almost half that of the deck containing uncoated reinforcing steel and approximately 35 percent lower than a deck containing Type 2205 Stainless steel. This report is of value to those evaluating alternative corrosion-protection systems for concrete bridges.