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Steel Reinforcement Section Loss Guidance Tables

Project Details
STATUS

Completed

START DATE

07/01/19

END DATE

09/30/22

FOCUS AREAS

Infrastructure

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, BEC
SPONSORS

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Behrouz Shafei

Structural Engineer, BEC

Co-Principal Investigator
Brent Phares

Bridge Research Engineer, BEC

About the research

The strength and durability of reinforced concrete (RC) bridges are adversely affected by the deterioration of their structural members. When investigating bridges in need of maintenance and repair, the deterioration due to the corrosion of steel rebars is commonly found to be a primary source of structural damage and degradation. To ensure the safety and performance of RC bridges while reducing their direct and indirect costs, an accurate estimate of the extent of reinforcement section loss has central importance for a wide spectrum of engineers and decision-making authorities.

This research project investigated the steps required to achieve such rebar section loss estimates. To achieve this purpose, field assessments of rebar section loss were correlated with available predictive models and later calibrated to condition-specific field data. The outcome, which has been delivered in the form of steel reinforcement section loss guidance tables, directly contributes to understanding variability in rebar section loss when making loss predictions for use in structural evaluation. This facilitates planning preventive and/or corrective actions tailored to the condition state of deteriorating bridge elements.

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