Assessment of Deficiencies and Preservation of Bridge Substructures Below the Waterline

摘要

This report examines the state of the art of the assessment of the effects of underwater deficiencies on bridge substructures. Also reported are methods to arrest the deterioration of concrete substructure units of all types in and below the splash zone caused by abrasion, corrosion, freeze-thaw and chemical attack. Proposed guidelines for a rating system stressing the urgency of corrective action for assessing various kinds of underwater deficiencies occurring to bridge substructures are developed and presented. Consideration was also given to developing practical methods to predict reduced structural capacity as a result of underwater deficiencies. This work was accomplished with a literature search, a telephone survey of 26 states and field visits to six of those states.