Abstract
Following many years of positive experience with epoxy-coated reinforcing steels as a supplementary protective measure for reinforced concrete structures in the USA and Canada, the first pilot projects have now been carried out in Europe. Since the beginning of 1990, an epoxy resin coating has been used for the first time on a large scale in Denmark, as part of the Great Belt tunnel project. Extensive suitability tests were first carried out, especially in Germany, indicating the conditions under which epoxy-coated reinforcing steels could be used in accordance with the German construction regulations. These tests and their results were used as the basis for guidelines on the use of epoxy-coated reinforcing steels which is also employed in other European countries and whose requirements are considerably stricter than those in the American ASTM A 775 guidelines. This paper describes reinforcement corrosion damage problems and requirements for coated reinforcing steels, together with the associated test procedures used in the suitability and licensing tests carried out in Germany. Apart from possible applications and market potentials, the paper also outlines the first European pilot projects with coated reinforcements.
