ASSESSMENT OF CORROSION IN A PRE-STRESSED REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE USING NOVEL ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES

Corrosion of reinforced concrete structures is a major problem facing the construction industry today. The severity of the problem is dependant on many factors as the local environment , the quality of the concrete mix and reinforcing steel, the standard of construction and other related factors. An example of a corrosive environment is the Persian Gulf. Where the extreme humidity and high salinity promote the ingress of chloride ions into concrete and therefore increase the risk of corrosion. There are also artificially induced corrosive environments such as reinforced concrete bridges in Europe and USA where applications of road salts on the bridge deck advance the ingress of chloride ions into the bridge and hence increase the risk of corrosion of the reinforcing steel.