Long-term asset management and corrosion monitoring with sensors

Corrosion sensors have recently proven to be a useful and valuable tool for monitoring corrosion of civil infrastructure assets in a variety of marine, land and atmospheric environments. The sensors have been used in various functions from corrosion rate alarm monitoring, assessing protective coating performance, pre-construction corrosion severity surveys and preventative maintenance planning schemes. Data output from the sensors however, can be complex and requires some in depth understanding with respect to how corrosion mechanisms specific to the local environment can effect sensor outputs, as this can have a profound effect on the decision making process from an asset managers point of view. The purpose of this paper it to highlight some case studies where corrosion sensors have been deployed on various infrastructure assets and how the information retrieved from the sensors can be used to assist the decision making from an asset manager/engineers point of view to plan for preventative maintenance and/or implementation of corrosion prevention countermeasures. The paper will also highlight some pitfalls including accuracy of the measurements and erroneous interpretation of the data due to a lack of understanding of specific corrosion mechanisms.