Stainless Steel Prestressing Strands and Bars for Use in Prestressed Concrete Girders and Slabs

2015PDFTech ReportMD-13-SP309B4GSP309B4GStainless steelPrestressed concreteBridge decksGirdersSlabsCorrosion protectionReinforcing barsAlternatives analysisBest practicesResearch HubSpallingMarylandUnited StatesMaryland. State Highway AdministrationHead, MoniqueAshby-Bey, EbonyEdmonds, KyleEfe, SteveGrose, SiafaMason, IsaacMorgan State University. Dept. of Civil EngineeringUS Transportation CollectionCorrosion decay on structures has continued to be a challenge in the scientific and engineering communities, where significant federal and state funds have been spent towards replacement or rehabilitation of bridges that were damaged by corrosion deterioration. In Maryland, a great portion of its yearly bridge funding allocation is spent on performing repairs and rehabilitations on its aging bridge inventory. In an effort to reverse this trend, SHA has monitored problematic design practices and adjusted present designs to avoid future maintenance issues. One area that has been particularly problematic for SHA is the deterioration of prestressed steel strands in prestressed concrete beams and girders. In fact, in recent years, SHA has performed emergency span replacements on two different bridges because the strands had deteriorated to such an extent that serious safety concerns were exposed. One tactic SHA has used to remedy this issue has been to increase the concrete cover requirements beyond code requirements to help prevent the onset of deterioration. This will help, but comes at a price. The strands are less effective and more strands are often required. Therefore, this research consisted of gathering and synthesizing information on how others have addressed this issue, as it relates to the deployment of other materials that can be used to provide durable corrosion protection and prevention of premature spalling or corrosion-induced cracking. To assess the use of stainless steel and other materials, a survey was conducted and disseminated to contractors, personnel at various departments of transportation, and construction industry personnel. This study presents a summary of various projects that have used corrosion-resistant rebar (CRR), a summary of what other states are doing to address this issue, and results from the survey of how various states are addressing the issue of corrosion decay on structures