Almost all the bridges in the stock are liable to suffer from reinforcement corrosion at some time during their lives because the entire Trunk Road Network in England and Wales is treated with de-icing salt during the winter to prevent traffic accidents caused by skidding on ice and to keep the roads open for transportation. Other forms of deterioration of concrete bridges such a alkali silica reaction and freeze-thaw attack only affect a very small number of bridges. It can be seen, therefore, that corrosion is by far the most important form of deterioration for concrete bridges and considerable efforts have been made during the last 20 years to develop methods for detecting, diagnosing and repairing corrosion damage of concrete bridges. This paper summarises the findings of research carried out to protect concrete bridges from corrosion and to repair the damage caused by corrosion. (A)
Abstract