Material Matters Bridge corrosion risks assessed with
structural health monitoring
designing and building a structure provides a manage- ment tool that helps those responsible for sustaining the structure to anticipate maintenance requirements and recognize safety issues by identifying and assessing operating incidents, damage, corrosion, degradation, and
other anomalies. Corrosion is a major factor that can
The intelligent SHM program installed on the Crusell Bridge during construction integrates a total of 92 different electrical, electrochemical, and fiber optic sensors, which are installed in various locations on the bridge's concrete deck, steel pylons, and expansion joint. Photo courtesy of Savcor Group, Ltd.
A 14 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE November 2012
dvances in struc- tural health moni- toring (SHM) have enhanced the abil- ity to continuously
collect a variety of informa- tion about a structure. Incor- porating SHM devices such as accelerometers, displace- ment transducers, inclino- meters, temperature gauges, and corrosion sensors when
affect the service life and safety of a struc- ture. Steel components, a mainstay in structures constructed of reinforced and prestressed concrete (i.e., bridges, dams, buildings, etc.), are subject to corrosion stemming from several factors, which include water, chlorides from deicing salts and coastal environments, and variations in pH levels. All of these fac- tors can be observed and tracked by in- corporating corrosion monitoring into a SHM program. The success of SHM is based on the
ability to select the areas of a structure where information collection and assess- ment is critical, explains Atef Cheaitani, general manager-global operations with Savcor Group, Ltd. (North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), an engineering ÅZU \PI\ NWK][M[ WV XZM[MZ^QVO QVNZI- structure assets. For example, he says, on a bridge that crosses seawater in a harsh marine environment, critical areas of concern would be the splash zones on the reinforced concrete substructure that
NACE International, Vol. 51, No. 11