Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Corrosion Of Steel In Submerged Concrete Structures, Michael Thomas Walsh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This investigation determined that severe corrosion of steel can occur in the submerged portions of reinforced concrete structures in marine environments. Field studies of decommissioned pilings from actual bridges revealed multiple instances of strong corrosion localization, showing appreciable local loss of steel cross-section. Quantitative understanding of the phenomenon and its causes was developed and articulated in the form of a predictive model. The predictive model output was consistent with both the corrosion rate estimates and the extent of corrosion localization observed in the field observations. The most likely explanation for the observed phenomena that emerged from the understanding and modeling …