Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management and Life-Cycle Optimization Frangopol, Sause & Kusko (eds) 2010 Taylor &

p; Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-87786-2

Sustainable and cost effective solutions to life extension of bridges

C. P. Atkins, P. Lambert, R. Brueckner, R Merola & A. R. Foster
Mott MacDonald, Altrincham, United Kingdom

ABSTRACT: In order to minimise costs and disruption associated with repair it is necessary to minimise the amount of concrete removed wherever practical. Cathodic protection (CP) can be used as a repair technique for chloride contaminated concrete. The main benefit is that it is no longer necessary to remove all the chloride contamination. This paper presents an outline of a number of UK based projects where CP has formed a key part of a maintenance strategy.
1 INTRODUCTION Cathodic protection (CP) is a very useful tool to repair reinforced concrete bridge structures when suffering of chloride induced corrosion. Chlorides commonly derive from de-icing salts and/or were formerly used as concrete admixture. Chloride contaminated reinforced concrete structures mainly suffer from cover concrete delamination and loss of reinforcement cross-sections. Conventional repair methods involve removing all of the chloridecontaminated concrete causing an increased amount of material to dispose and used to reinstate the structure. Using CP there is no need to remove all of the chloride-contaminated concrete reducing the time for access, repair and traffic management. It is only necessary to remove spalled concrete and to reinstate heavily corroded reinforcement bars. CP involves polarizing the reinforcement in an electrical circuit. The electrical circuit converts the reinforcement into the cathode and an inert electrode (e.g. mixed metal oxide coated titanium) forms the artificial anode which can be installed discretely or on the surface. Additionally a secondary effect of a working CP system is that it causes chloride ion diffusion from the steel to the anode, enhancing corrosion protection. The main benefit for the structure is that it is not necessary to remove all of the chloridecontaminated concrete. This is beneficial not only because it reduces the volume of concrete removed but also because it often eliminates the need to support the structure during the work, Lambert (1998). Three different CP systems installed on freeway and bridge structures in the UK are described. 2 M4 ELEVATED FREEWAY - LONDON 2.1 General The M4 is a major elevated freeway into the west of London. It carries 87,000 vehicles per day into and out of the capital of England. It was constructed directly over an existing major highway that carries an additional 51,200 vehicles per day. Both run through a residential area with private dwellings directly adjacent to the twin level route. The elevated freeway is 3.5 miles long and is made up of pre-stressed beams supported on 120 bents using two half joints at each bent, see Figure 1. It was constructed in 1967 and has long showed its age. Every winter, huge quantities of de-icing salts are liberally applied to prevent ice forming on the freeway.

Figure 1. Twin half joints contribute to the problems.

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These have penetrated the leaking joints and passed into the concrete. 2.2 The Challenge Levels of chloride of over 5% by mass of cement (17.5kg/m3 or 30lb/yd3) are regularly recorded, with one value double this. The reinforcement is corroding, and concrete has spalled. The shape of the structure means the majority of work has to take place within lane closures. For most of the structure this can only take place at night when the traffic volumes are lowest. The residential area means that you cannot make any significant noise at night to carry out repairs. The acceptable level of noise is roughly equivalent to loud speech. In the first instance the structural capacity was assessed and all loose concrete removed to prevent this falling onto vehicles. Then a repair strategy had to be developed for the most heavily chloride contaminated half-joints. A standard mesh and overlay CP system could only be used in conjunction with shutting the whole freeway. To install anodes from the soffit required a total length of drilling of approximately 600 feet. The estimated duration was over 30 days per crossbeam. The persistent traffic during the day meant the drilling would have to be carried out at night but the noise limits prevented night work. 2.3 The Solution On reviewing the reinforcement details it was noted that there was an area running along the crossbeam that contained no reinforcement. This was close to the main inaccessible reinforcement. If it were possible to install anodes in this location the risk of hitting steel was dramatically reduced so the works became more manageable. The lengths of holes required reduced from 600 to 60 feet so it became shorter in duration. The shorter duration meant that the works became significantly cheaper. The neighbourhood would be less disrupted. Site safety would improve as there would be fewer people working for shorter periods. The only problem was that no one had ever attempted this before. A specialist sub contractor was appointed to carry out a trial. The coring started at one end and remained on course, coming out within 2 inches of where it was predicted. The core drifted down under gravity, but as all the crossbeams to be protected were on a camber this was not considered a problem. Due to the success of the coring trial it was decided to use this approach on site. The coring was successfully carried out over three night shifts. A detailed design was produced that split the upper section of the crosshead into two zones. Anodes were fixed to

a titanium conductor bar at different locations to vary the current distribution in accordance with the reinforcement. Reference electrodes were also fixed to the conductor bar to allow for monitoring the system. This was then pulled through the core hole and grouted into place. The manufacturers recommended grout did not flow sufficiently to enable its use so a post tensioned duct grout was employed instead. It was still necessary to repair the cantilevered crossbeams, but this was still limited by the noise and traffic problems. The contractor came up with an innovative approach adapting an airport baggage handling truck to provide a mobile soundproofed enclosure that could be raised into position and moved around during night work, see Figure 2. This meant that hydro-demolition and shotcrete reinstatement could be carried out at night without disturbing the local residents.

Figure 2. Modified airport vehicle becomes mobile soundproof enclosure.

2.4 Cost Implications The installation of the first pier was completed in March 2008. The estimated cost savings, assuming drilling from the soffit was possible, were 20%, reducing the cost of repair to approximately US$ 600,000 per crosshead. The estimated cost of crossbeam replacement was US$ 10 million. Due to the savings involved another eight piers were able to be repaired within the next twelve months. At present prices the cost of fixing the entire viaduct reduces from US$ 1.2 Billion to US$ 72 Million by employing this technique. The repair system has proved simpler and more efficient to install than any option previously proposed. The approach saves time and money, improves site safety and minimises the duration of the road works and the noise generated during repair. Both environmental and sustainability issues have been addressed in a positive and quantifiable manner.

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3 SILVER JUBILEE BRIDGE, RUNCORN 3.1 General The Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn, UK, was constructed in the 1960s and is a Grade II listed structure (Figure 3). It is part of a major highway route in North West England that carries over 90.000 vehicles per day on four lanes. The original design carried a single lane in each direction, plus a single overtaking lane along the middle. This was then widened to carry two narrow lanes in each direction during the late 70s. Due to the lane width and the significance of this route over the River Mersey traffic management with the current volume of traffic is difficult. A closure would result in a diversion of at least 40 miles. Partial closure would result in heavy congestion combined with night work next to live traffic so it has been crucial to maintain the integrity and durability of the structure. The bridge is such a significant restriction that a second structure, the Mersey Gateway, is to be constructed. The central span of the bridge is a 1082 feet long steel arch structure with two 250 feet side spans and is the largest of its type in Europe. The deck is reinforced concrete supported on structural steelwork. The original surfacing was hand placed mastic asphalt. This provided some degree of waterproofing, but was left in place for over 40 years, until a new waterproofing and surfacing system was installed in 2005. By this time the bridge deck was heavily chloride contaminated and corroding in many areas. The approach viaducts have four main beams supported by reinforced concrete piers. The ends of the beams were precast, and the central spans were cast in place at the same time as the deck. The approach spans are a total of 1713 feet in length.

The highways in this part of England are subjected to chloride-based de-icing salts during the winter months. Although the deck of the approach viaducts is waterproofed and has not degraded significantly, there are joints over every third pier that have degraded with time, allowing chloride-contaminated water to leak onto the substructure. Chlorides have penetrated the concrete cover, and levels at the reinforcement have reached 2% by mass of cement more than enough to cause corrosion. 3.2 Repair History Over the past 15 years Mott MacDonalds Materials and Corrosion team have been tasked with developing effective methods of stopping or controlling corrosion on the Silver Jubilee Bridge, Coull (2003). This has required pushing the boundaries of corrosion engineering to achieve a durable and reliable repair at the lowest practical cost, Lambert (2007). Most of the areas protected to date have been accessible from underneath the bridge, see Figure 4. This has meant that although access has sometimes been extensive, it has been relatively straightforward. Several repair strategies have been employed at the Silver Jubilee Bridge, such as patch repairs, electroosmosis protection and cathodic protections systems. The patch repairs carried out were mainly performed to ensure public safety. While reinforcement section loss was not significant enough to warrant structural concerns, the public was at risk from falling delaminated concrete from under the approach viaducts. Loose and delaminated concrete was removed and the steel and exposed concrete overcoated using a polymer-modified cementitious mortar containing an amino alcohol corrosion inhibitor. The mortar coating minimized any further corrosion of the reinforcement and prevented significant further ingress of the contaminants. This repair method has been performing adequately and prevented significant section loss over the previous 10 years, Baldwin (2003). An electro-osmosis system has been specifically developed to control moisture levels in a pier of the bridge by the application of controlled low voltage DC pulses. The system is capable of reducing moisture levels in concrete to between 60% and 70% RH, and maintaining this level irrespective of external weather conditions. An additional benefit to the removal of excess free moisture is the associated reduction in dissolved salts, particularly chloride, present within the pore solution of the concrete, with the overall effect of reducing chloride ions to below critical levels with respect to chloride-induced corrosion. The system is also designed to negatively polarise the reinforcement resulting in a degree of cathodic protection, helping to reduce the corrosion

Figure 3. Silver Jubilee Bridge, Runcorn side.

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risk of embedded steel during the transition period from high to low relative humidity (typically several months), and providing additional protection throughout the life of the installation, Lambert (1997).

for the overlay to minimize dust and noise disruption to a neighbouring school. In 2000 a cathodic protection system and patch repairs were used during a repair contract which included extensively contaminated areas next to the abutment and locally affected areas at the highest sections of the approach viaducts. To reduce costs, locally affected areas with difficult access were patch repaired using hand-applied mortar containing corrosion inhibitor to protect against the ring anode effect. The systems installed after 2000 were designed by reviewing the operating criteria of the existing systems. By employing this technique it was possible to reduce the quantity of anodes used, in some cases by a factor of 3. In addition the lower current demand means larger zones can be used, which reduces the number of monitoring probes and power supplies. As an example one system installed in 1995 used 7 zones to protect one 30m long beam. Four of these zones had multiple layers of anode mesh. There were 24 reference electrodes and 6 graphite potential probes installed. In 2005 four similar beams were protected as a single zone, with a single layer of mesh anode and 4 reference electrodes. 3.4 Innovative CP Solution The remaining heavily chloride contaminated bridge element to be protected is the deck; however, there are limitations in respect of the suitability and accessibility. The bridge deck is 131 feet above the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal and traffic management is restricted. A mesh and overlay system would certainly be able to provide the current, but the vibrations in the deck caused by traffic would mean there was a risk that the sprayed concrete overlay would debond. Discrete anodes could be installed by roped access, but would require drilling holes into the deck at depth. If the holes were drilled marginally too deep there was a risk of drilling into live traffic. A galvanic system as previously installed in combined systems would fall under the same restriction. The application of corrosion inhibitors could provide a time limited protection but a durable solution was required. What was needed was an anode system that could be surface mounted and securely fixed but did not require an overlay. Such a system did not exist in the UK market. The only other solution would involve the removal and replacement of the bridge deck. Aside from the traffic chaos associated with its closure, the environmental consequences of this cannot be tolerated. The deck is approximately 1000m3 of concrete. The embodied energy in the deck concrete is estimated to be around 6 TJ, equivalent to the energy produced

a) before repair

b) 10 years after repair

Figure 4. Original pier located under a joint in the deck above.

3.3 Mesh and Overlay CP The first cathodic protection system was installed in 1993 and represented the first commercial use of coated titanium mesh with a dry-mix shotcrete overlay for CP systems in England. The basic mesh and overlay system was also used on the next two contracts, but in 1998, another innovative approach, a hybrid system, was used. This hybrid system combined discrete anodes with mesh and overlay. In an unusual step, dry-mix shotcrete was used for the concrete repairs, while wet-mix shotcrete was used

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Figure 5. Cassette System installed on deck soffit.

by 1200 barrels of oil. This does not consider the associated disruption to traffic and the local population, Atkins (2006). After extensive research, a cassette system for installation on jetties and harbours was identified that showed promise. The anodes sit in a foam filled glass reinforced polymer tray which can be mounted on a concrete surface using bolts, see Figure 5. In the environment of jetties and harbours the foam never dried out as it was wetted by the tide but on the bridge this would not happen. Moisture is necessary to act as transport medium for the current to the reinforcement protected. Following several discussions about the purpose and the requirements for a suitable system to be installed on a bridge we worked with the manufacturers to refine the cassette system. The developed calcium nitrate impregnated glass fibre foam is able to remain moist simply by being in contact with the atmosphere. The responsible authorities accepted the proposal of a trial installation of a 197 feet section of the bridge deck. Cassettes are installed at 20 inches (500mm) centres, which is the maximum allowable spacing of anodes using the existing operating data showed this would provide an acceptable amount of current. The monitoring data of the initial 6 months showed the successful cathodic protection of the trial section, and the remaining 920 feet is being protected in the same way. 4 M4 THEALE RAILWAY BRIDGE, LONDON 4.1 General The Theale railway bridge crosses the M4, a major freeway leading to central London. The north abut-

ment of the railway bridge is suffering from reinforcement corrosion and cathodic protection has been identified as a remedial measure. The structure is adjacent to a main railway line and so access was limited, see Figure 6. In addition the concrete surfaces have been vandalised. 4.2 Cathodic Protection Based on the access restrictions between railway and abutment and the likelihood of vandalism it was considered that an embedded anode system would be the most robust, while maintaining a surface that can be easily cleaned. A mesh and overlay system was considered as too susceptible to vandalism and cleaning the rough surface from time to time was not intended to be included in the maintenance budget of the client.

Figure 6. Finished CP system at Theale.

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The access restraints did not favour the installation of a mesh and overlay system. Having reviewed the information available a system consisting of MMO coated titanium ribbon anodes embedded into 20mm deep x 5mm wide slots cut vertically into the surface of the concrete was chosen. Additional protection was required to tie reinforcement in the corbel and this was provided using discrete anodes. 5 CONCLUSIONS Repair strategies are mainly governed by access restrictions at the structures. The Intranode Cassette system installed at the Silver Jubilee Bridge was chosen as to be the most suitable system to withstand bridge vibrations, reducing installation time and avoiding long lasting traffic management. The system designed for the M4 in London was governed by access and noise restrictions. Every structure needs to be assessed for their local restriction and the most appropriate system needs to be identified by the engineer. Conventional systems such mesh and overlay and discrete anodes can be used most of the time, however, to go one step forward and reduce the environmental footprint a little thought and research is necessary. Innovative CP systems are able to reduce installation time and the amount of materials used as well as a significant life extension of bridges. For specific site and CP system requirements traffic management, working at height and exposure to vibration and noise can be limited. Over the years that CP systems have been designed, installed and subsequently monitored, it was observed that they have generally exceeded the performance criteria with ease, Lambert (2009). After the first 12 months of operation, cathodic protection systems stabilize and require little intervention. The oldest systems continue to operate at a current density of approximately 4 mA/m2 on the steel surface about 20% of the design output. The monitoring probes continue to give consistent and stable readings. The experience gained from each system was used to refine the design of the following applications, resulting in bigger zones, less anodes and reference electrodes, and the development of hybrid protection systems to overcome local difficulties. REFERENCES
Atkins, C.P., Buckley, L.J. & Lambert, P., 2006. Sustainability & Repair, Concrete Communication Conference, UCL/The Concrete Centre. Baldwin, N.J.R. & King, E.S., 2003. Field Studies of the Effectiveness of Concrete Repairs, Phase 4 Report: Analysis of

the Effectiveness of Concrete Repairs and Project Findings. Research Report 186, Health and Safety Executive, Sudbury, UK. Coull, Z.L., Atkins, C.P., Lambert P. & Chrimes, J., 2003. The Evolution of Reinforced Concrete Repair Techniques at the Silver Jubilee Bridge, Latincorr 2003, Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Lambert, P., 1997. Controlling Moisture, Construction Repair: Concrete Repairs 6. Lambert, P., 1998. Economic Aspects, Chapter 10, Cathodic Protection of Steel in Concrete, Editor: P.M. Chess, Pub: Spon. Lambert, P. and Atkins, C., 2007. Maintaining the Silver Jubilee Bridge Cathodic protection for a critical causeway, Concrete International. Lambert, P., Foster, A., Atkins, C. & Brueckner, R., 2009. Adaptive Design of Cathodic Protection for Reinforced Concrete, Proceedings of 17th IBAUSIL 2009, University of Weimar.

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