Application of Stainless and Stainless-Clad Reinforcing Bars in HighwayConstruction

摘要

Increasing the durability of reinforced concrete systems for transportationstructures has been a long-standing goal of federal and state transportation agencies. The strategy of increasing the corrosion resistance of the reinforcing material is common, with epoxy-coated carbon-steel reinforcing bars having a major share of the current market. However, one idea with growing support that overcomes troubles that some states have experienced with epoxy-coated bars is to apply stainless steel reinforcement, which has much higher inherent resistance to corrosion than other coated or uncoated bar systems. Therefore, an assessment was made for PennDOT of the first research, current applications, governing specifications, properties, cost factors, and competing systems that can affect the choice to use either solid stainless steel or stainless-clad steel reinforcement. It is concluded that the numerous field installations and laboratory studies, which have been conducted in about 30 states, Canada, and Europe, provide strong positive evidence that highway application of solid stainless reinforcement and , to a lesser extent, stainless-clad reinforcement would benefit PennDOT. Stainless and stainless-clad reinforcement would provide a high degree of corrosion resistance, extended pavement and bridge-deck life-even in heavy chloride environments-and reduced life-cycle cost. These gains are achievable without any sacrifice in mechanical and other properties, and require only the formulation of a specification by PennDOT that permits the use of stainless and stainless-clad reinforcement.