Technical Reports, Civil and Environmental Engineering

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Browsing Technical Reports, Civil and Environmental Engineering by Author "Brown, Michael C."

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    Bridge Deck Service Life Prediction and Costs
    Williamson, Gregory; Weyers, Richard E.; Brown, Michael C.; Sprinkel, Michael M. (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, 2007-12-01)
    The service life of Virginia's concrete bridge decks is generally controlled by chloride-induced corrosion of the reinforcing steel as a result of the application of winter maintenance deicing salts. A chloride corrosion model accounting for the variable input parameters using Monte Carlo resampling was developed. The model was validated using condition surveys from 10 Virginia bridge decks built with bare steel. The influence of changes in the construction specifications of w/c = 0.47 and 0.45 and w/cm = 0.45 and a cover depth increase from 2 to 2.75 inches was determined. Decks built under the specification of w/cm = 0.45 (using slag or fly ash) and a 2.75 inch cover depth have a maintenance free service life of greater than 100 years, regardless of the type of reinforcing steel. Galvanized, MMFX-2, and stainless steel, in order of increasing reliability of a service life of greater than 100 years, will provide a redundant corrosion protection system. Life cycle cost analyses were conducted for polymer concrete and portland cement based overlays as maintenance activities. The most economical alternative is dependent on individual structure conditions. The study developed a model and computer software that can be used to determine the time to first repair and rehabilitation of individual bridge decks taking into account the time for corrosion initiation, time from initiation to cracking, and time for corrosion damage to propagate to a state requiring repair.
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    Corrosion Protection Service Life of Epoxy-Coated Reinforcing Steel in Virginia Bridge Decks
    Brown, Michael C.; Weyers, Richard E.; Megan C. Wheeler (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, 2003-09-01)
    The corrosion protection service life extension provided by epoxy-coated reinforcement (ECR) was determined by comparing ECR and bare steel bars from 10 Virginia bridge decks built between 1981 and 1995. The objective was to determine the corrosion protection service life time extension provided by ECR field specimens with various degrees of coating adhesion: disbonded, partially disbonded, and wholly bonded coatings. The size and length distributions of cracks in Virginia bridge decks were investigated to assess the frequency and severity of cracks. Correlation of cracks with chloride penetration was used to characterize the influence of cracking on deck deterioration. Cracks influence the rate of chloride penetration, but the frequency and width distributions of cracks indicate that cracks are not likely to shorten the overall service life of most bridge decks in Virginia. Altogether, 141 drilled cores, 102 mm (4 inches) in diameter, were employed in this study. For each of the decks built with ECR, 10 to 12 cores were drilled through a top reinforcing bar adjacent to the previous study core locations. In addition, approximately 3 cores were drilled through a top reinforcing bar at a surface crack location. Laboratory testing involved nondestructive monitoring using advanced electrochemical techniques to periodically assess the corrosion state of the steel bars during cyclic exposure to chloride-rich solution over 36 months of treatment. Time of corrosion initiation and time of cracking (where applicable), as well as chloride content of the concrete before and after treatment, were used in the analysis. Analysis of the epoxy coating after treatment showed the presence of micro cracks in the surface of some coatings, and moisture uptake and glass transition temperatures, as related to curing of the coatings, were investigated. Less than 25 percent of all Virginia bridge decks built under specifications in place since 1981 is projected to corrode sufficiently to require rehabilitation within 100 years, regardless of bar type. The corrosion service life extension attributable to ECR in bridge decks was found to be approximately 5 years beyond that of bare steel and, therefore, ECR is not a cost-effective method of corrosion prevention for bridge decks. Deleting the requirement for ECR in decks would save Virginia approximately $845,000 per year.
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    Parameters Governing the Corrosion Protection Efficiency of Fusion-Bonded Epoxy Coatings on Reinforcing Steel
    Andrei Ramniceanu; Weyers, Richard E.; Brown, Michael C.; Sprinkel, Michael M. (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, 2008-01-01)
    The purpose of this study was to investigate various epoxy coating and exposure parameters to determine their effects on the corrosion of reinforcing steel. The parameters investigated were: chloride content at the bar depth, coated bar corroded area, corrosion product color under the coating, epoxy coating adhesion, coating color, coating damage (holidays and holes), coating thickness, TGA, DSC and EDS analysis and SEM coating cracking investigation. This study demonstrated that the ECR coating samples extracted from concrete exhibited extensive cracking compared to the new ECR samples in which the coating cracking was limited to only one sample. The coating cracking correlated with the amount of chloride at bar level, residual adhesion of the epoxy to the steel surface, and the percent moisture in the coating. The coating cracking is also related to the change in color of the epoxy and indicates that the epoxy coating degradation in concrete influences the surface condition of the coating. The DSC results showed that both the extracted epoxy coating samples as well as new samples are not fully cured during the manufacturing process. Additionally, the extracted epoxy coated samples investigated presented significant permanent adhesion loss with little or no epoxy coating residue present on the bar surface, while the EDS analysis showed that once adhesion is lost, corrosion will proceed unimpeded under the coating even in the absence of chlorides. The parameters that presented a direct correlation with the observed corrosion activity were the number of holidays and the number of damaged areas per unit length of bar. The results also show a distinct loss of quality control in the handling and possibly storage of new coated bars. The new ECR samples had significantly higher damage density than the samples extracted from concrete, while there was no change in the number of holidays and cure condition.
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    Structural load testing and flexure analysis of the Route 701 Bridge in Louisa County, Virginia
    Cousins, Thomas E.; Lucas, Jeremy L.; Brown, Michael C.; Stephen R. Sharp; Lane, D. Stephen (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, 2004-06-01)
    A continuous slab bridge in Louisa County, Virginia, on Route 701 developed a planar horizontal crack along the length of all three spans. This project was designed to determine if the current load rating of the bridge could be raised and to document the behavior and stiffness of the bridge to serve as a benchmark for possible future tests, which may determine if there is progressive damage attributable to crack growth. These objectives were accomplished through field tests performed in November 2003. One truck (loaded to three different weights) was used to perform static and dynamic tests on the bridge, and the truck was oriented in three test lanes. Vertical displacement gages (deflectometers) attached to the underside of the bridge slab were used to measure deflections during the truck passes. The recorded deflections were analyzed and normalized to document the behavior of the bridge. The values were also compared to estimated design values in accordance with the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges. Under the testing loads, the bridge behaved elastically, and thus raising the load rating of the bridge was considered safe. The deflections and process are presented to allow comparisons with future tests to determine if there is progressive damage to the bridge attributable to crack growth.
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    Structural Load Testing and Flexure Analysis of the Route 701 Bridge in Louisa County, Virginia: Supplemental Report
    Lucas, Jeremy L.; Cousins, Thomas E.; Brown, Michael C. (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, 2006-02-01)
    A continuous slab bridge in Louisa County, Virginia, on Route 701 developed a planar horizontal crack along the length of all three spans. This project was designed to determine if the current 12-ton posted load restriction of the bridge (instituted in January 2002) could be raised and to determine if the horizontal crack causes degradation in the structural integrity, specifically stiffness, over time. These objectives were accomplished through field tests performed in November 2003 and October 2004. One truck (loaded to three different weights) was used to perform static and dynamic tests on the bridge, and the truck was oriented in three test lanes. Vertical displacement sensors, or deflectometers, attached to the underside of the bridge slab were used to measure deflections during truck passes. The recorded deflections were analyzed and normalized to document the current behavior of the bridge. The 2003 values were compared to estimated design values in accordance with the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges. Under the testing loads, the bridge behaved elastically, and thus raising the load rating of the bridge to 27 tons was considered safe. Normalized deflections from both years were compared to determine if there was progressive damage to the bridge attributable to crack growth. The researchers concluded that no degradation of the stiffness of the bridge occurred over the last year of service. Carrying out the recommendation of this report to remove the posting that restricts loading of the structure will not incur any significant cost. The benefit of removing the posting would be that trucks weighing more than 12 tons, but not exceeding the legal limit, could cross the structure. This would allow the Virginia Department of Transportation to defer superstructure replacement, at an estimated cost of $350,000, thus freeing up funds to address more pressing needs.
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    Summary Report on the Performance of Epoxy-Coated Reinforcing Steel in Virginia
    Weyers, Richard E.; Sprinkel, Michael M.; Brown, Michael C. (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research, 2006-06-01)
    From 1992 to 2006, the Virginia Transportation Research Council and its contract researchers conducted a long-term systematic series of investigations to evaluate the corrosion protection effectiveness of epoxy-coated reinforcement (ECR) and to identify and recommend the best and most cost-effective corrosion protection system for Virginia bridge decks. This report summarizes this research and subsequent efforts to implement alternative reinforcement. The work was conducted, and is reported, in this general order: review of historical performance of ECR, ECR performance in solutions and concrete, and preliminary field investigations; investigation of field performance of bridge decks built with ECR; assessment of alternative corrosion protection methods; development of probabilistic service life models for bridge decks and laboratory assessment of ECR cores extracted from bridge decks to determine service life extension; efforts to implement alternative reinforcement. The series of studies demonstrated that the epoxy coating on ECR naturally degrades in the highly alkaline moist environment within concrete. The subsequent loss of bond, coupled with the inevitable flaws in the coating induced by construction, leads to an estimated service life benefit of ECR of as little as 3 to 5 years. Further, non-critical decks, beams, and substructure elements not exposed to marine environments, particularly on secondary and rural routes, can be cost-effectively constructed and maintained using low-permeability concrete and black reinforcing bar. However, because the Federal Highway Administration requires the use of corrosion-resistant reinforcement, and because ECR cannot provide adequate corrosion protection for structures designed for a 100-year+ service life as currently recommended by FHWA, the report recommends that the Virginia Department of Transportation amend its specifications regarding the use of ECR to require the use of corrosion-resistant metallic reinforcing bars such as MMFX2, stainless steel clad, and solid stainless steel.