Evaluation of anodes for galvanic cathodic prevention of steel corrosion in prestressed concrete piles in marine environments in Virginia. Final report, October 1996--June 1999

Technical Report · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1999

OSTI ID:678912

Clemena, G G; Jackson, D R

Many of the major highway crossings over coastal waters in the Hampton area of Virginia are supported by prestressed concrete piles, some of which are showing signs of reinforcement corrosion. Grout jacketing alone is an inadequate protection against corrosion and should be supplemented with cathodic protection (CP). Recent advances in the development of anodes make it practical to use galvanic CP to protect these types of concrete bridge components. Five anode systems were tested on several piles of the Willoughby Bay Bridge on I-64 in Norfolk, Virginia: (1) an aluminum-zinc-indium alloy applied by arc spraying on the concrete, (2) a zinc foil with conductive adhesive backing, (3) a system of zinc mesh and grout jacket, (4) a system of zinc mesh and compression panels, and (5) a bulk zinc. During the first 14 months of operation, the protection current outputs of these anodes, the closed-circuit potentials of the steel at various elevations on the piles, and the extent of polarization imparted were measured.

• Research Organization: Virginia Transportation Research Council, Charlottesville, VA (United States); Federal Highway Administration, Richmond, VA (United States); Virginia Dept. of Transportation, Richmond, VA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 678912
• Report Number(s): PB--99-156895/XAB; VTRC--00-R3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
ANODES
CATHODIC PROTECTION
INDIUM ALLOYS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
REINFORCED CONCRETE
SEAWATER
STEELS
ZINC
ZINC ALLOYS