Severe corrosion and mechanical damage are studied in the largest Mexican bridge over seawater. The bridge has been in service since 1982 in marine tropical environments of the Gulf of Mexico. The bridge is supported by sets of long piles, about 20m length and a cross section of 45cm x 45cm, which were hammered down into sea soil. The concrete of the piles exhibits cracks up to 4m length above sea level. Half cell potential and electrical resistivity measurements indicated that large portions of the piles are in favorable conditions for high corrosion activity of rebar. Chloride penetration was found to be significative according to SEM-EDS analysis on core samples of concrete drawn from the piles. Major repairs for the bridge are now in progress, which include the filling of cracks with resin, encasing the piles with a steel mesh reinforced cement jacket in moulds of fiber glass.

Subject
Steel structures, Marine environments, Rebar, Corrosion cracking, Seawater, Electrical resistivity, Cement, Maritime, Piles, Bridges, Chlorides, Half cell potential, Concrete
Keywords:
reinforced concrete, corrosion, marine, bridge, reinforcing steel, half-cell potential, electrical resistivity, chlorides, cracking
© 1994 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1994
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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