Evaluating Arkansas Weathering Steel Bridge Performance

Details

• Creators:
  Gonzalez, Yessenia ; Heymsfield, Ernie.
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Department of Civil Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Arkansas. Department of Transportation. Transportation Research Committee ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Bridge engineering
  • Bridge construction
  • Weathering steel
  • Corrosion
  • Unmanned aircraft systems
  • Bridge inspection
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Arkansas ; United States
• Edition:
  Final Report (12/20 – 06/23)
• Corporate Publisher:
  Arkansas. Department of Transportation. Transportation Research Committee
• Abstract:
  Weathering steel enhances corrosion-resistant steel features over conventional steel when a patina properly forms on the weathering steel surface. Weathering steel is a low-carbon steel of less than 0.3 percent carbon by weight. The steel material’s chemical composition includes other alloying elements such as nickel, copper, and chromium. These components help in developing a dense protective oxide film layer, the patina, on the steel member surface. The patina protects the steel member surface from corrosion by preventing moisture, oxygen, and contaminant penetration. However, long periods of moisture and/or deicing chemicals applied during wet wintry conditions can hinder proper patina formation. Without proper patina formation and appropriate ambient environmental conditions, the weathering steel corrosion rate may increase and be similar to that of plain steel. Weathering steel bridges in Arkansas are normally uncoated. Consequently, the steel surface of these bridges is not protected with paint or primer. In addition, many of these bridges are in geographic regions where ambient conditions may promote steel corrosion. This report presents the approach used by the authors to relate weathering steel bridge corrosion to the overall bridge condition. These results were then used to rank Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) bridges as a function of their oxide film degradation severity. The authors visited more than 25 ARDOT UWS bridges during the study to examine the bridge characteristics that lead to oxide film degradation. The inspection protocol used by the research team is summarized as inspection guidelines to aid ARDOT bridge inspectors in locating, identifying, and grading oxide film degradation. The potential for incorporating the use of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to help with bridge inspections is discussed.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  TRC2103
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75154/dot_75154_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 21.14 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:2f390a028e730fa12a7e332e01dcaf9acc02e875504e6f7a9b03cb83ec391e2f