Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete

Concrete bridge deck support beams with impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) showed corrosion damage after about 12 years of operation. The CP design was based on activated titanium strips in horizontal slots cut in the sides of the beams. During execution the usual care was taken to secure...

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Main Authors: van den Hondel Anthony, Polder Rob
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2025-01-01
Series:MATEC Web of Conferences
Online Access:https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2025/03/matecconf_cs2025_04002.pdf
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author van den Hondel Anthony
Polder Rob
author_facet van den Hondel Anthony
Polder Rob
author_sort van den Hondel Anthony
collection DOAJ
description Concrete bridge deck support beams with impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) showed corrosion damage after about 12 years of operation. The CP design was based on activated titanium strips in horizontal slots cut in the sides of the beams. During execution the usual care was taken to secure steel continuity. The subsequent performance was satisfying based on the 100 mV depolarisation criterion. After 12 years cracking and a blue-green zone were observed, while depolarisation was still sufficient. Investigation in 2022 revealed that corrosion occurred on two parts of the upper reinforcement in one beam, with wide cracks and rust efflorescence. The corroding rebars were electrically non-continuous stirrups. During execution, continuity had been tested only in spalled parts, which missed discontinuous stirrups in non-damaged parts. The blue-green zone was a piece of copper anode cable, embedded in the same slot as the anode strip, that suffered corrosion due to anodic polarisation at a defect in the insulation. Finally, it appeared that some corrosion also occurred of rebars that were located deeper in the beams, which received insufficient protective current. The paper will give suggestions for design and execution of ICCP based on the “lessons learned” from this case.
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spelling doaj-art-0aa2fb837bb04d04941ee58ca18eb2882025-08-20T03:24:07ZengEDP SciencesMATEC Web of Conferences2261-236X2025-01-014090400210.1051/matecconf/202540904002matecconf_cs2025_04002Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concretevan den Hondel Anthony0Polder Rob1Cathodic Protection Advice, Capelle aan den IJsselRPCPConcrete bridge deck support beams with impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) showed corrosion damage after about 12 years of operation. The CP design was based on activated titanium strips in horizontal slots cut in the sides of the beams. During execution the usual care was taken to secure steel continuity. The subsequent performance was satisfying based on the 100 mV depolarisation criterion. After 12 years cracking and a blue-green zone were observed, while depolarisation was still sufficient. Investigation in 2022 revealed that corrosion occurred on two parts of the upper reinforcement in one beam, with wide cracks and rust efflorescence. The corroding rebars were electrically non-continuous stirrups. During execution, continuity had been tested only in spalled parts, which missed discontinuous stirrups in non-damaged parts. The blue-green zone was a piece of copper anode cable, embedded in the same slot as the anode strip, that suffered corrosion due to anodic polarisation at a defect in the insulation. Finally, it appeared that some corrosion also occurred of rebars that were located deeper in the beams, which received insufficient protective current. The paper will give suggestions for design and execution of ICCP based on the “lessons learned” from this case.https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2025/03/matecconf_cs2025_04002.pdf
spellingShingle van den Hondel Anthony
Polder Rob
Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
MATEC Web of Conferences
title Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
title_full Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
title_fullStr Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
title_full_unstemmed Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
title_short Lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
title_sort lessons learned from a case of concrete damage under cathodic protection of steel in concrete
url https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2025/03/matecconf_cs2025_04002.pdf
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AT polderrob lessonslearnedfromacaseofconcretedamageundercathodicprotectionofsteelinconcrete