Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Chloride profiles in a coastal bridge

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 8; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/15732479.2010.505378

1744-8980

Manuela Salta, Ana Paula de Melo, João Ricardo, Afonso Póvoa,

Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition

Abstract This article addresses the results obtained in the field investigation performed on Barra Bridge, on the Portuguese Atlantic coast, to determine the degree of chloride transport into the concrete. A critical analysis is performed to quantify (i) the influence of the degree of exposure to the chloride environment, (ii) the average values of the apparent chloride diffusion coefficients, (iii) the surface chloride content estimated from the chloride profiles and (iv) the uncertainties associated to these concrete variables, which are expressed in terms of their covariance. Considerations are also given to the relevance of these results for (i) corrosion modelling of reinforced concrete, which aims to predict the time to corrosion initiation in concrete structures in marine environments and (ii) improving maintenance planning. Keywords: chloride thresholdchloride transportationcorrosion initiationreinforced concrete Acknowledgements This study was developed under MEDACHS project (Marine Environment Damage to Atlantic Coast Historical and Transport Structures) from the EU INTERREG- Atlantic Space Program. The authors thank Estradas de Portugal, S.A. for the permission given to perform this study and for the local facilities made available during the in situ tests.