Cathodic Protection of Coastal Prestressed Concrete Piles: Prevention of HydrogenEmbrittlement

摘要

Assessing the effect of cathodic protection (CP) on a chloride-contaminatedbridge pile involved defining the hydrogen embrittlement behavior of the pearlitic reinforcement and quantifying the local (i.e., at the steel/concrete interface) chemical and electrochmemical conditions, both prior to and throughout the application of CP. The hydrogen embrittlement behavior of the reinforcement was assessed through a combination of Devanathan/Stachurski permeation experiments to quantify subsurface hydrogen concentrations, CH, as a function of the applied hydrogen overpotential, O, and crack initiation tests for bluntly notched and fatigue precracked tensile specimens employing elastic-plastic finite element analysis and linear elastic fracture mechanics, respectively. A series of laboratory scale piles was constructed to determine relevant environmental and electrochemical conditions at the steel/concrete interface.