Corrosion Rate Evaluation and Prediction for Piles Based on Long-Term Field Performance
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 3
Abstract
A study to evaluate corrosion rates was conducted using pile foundations abandoned during the reconstruction of I-15 through Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Corrosion rates were measured for 20 piles extracted from five sites after service lives of 34–38 years. Measurements were made of soil index properties, resistivity, pH, cation/anion concentrations, and water table elevation. The critical zone for corrosion was typically located within the groundwater fluctuation zone; but correlations with soil properties were generally poor. Despite low resistivity, average corrosion rates for pile caps in native soil were typically between 2 and with a maximum of and did not pose any structural integrity problems. Nevertheless, for abutment piles where chloride concentration was very high, the average pile corrosion rate increased to within the embankment and the maximum corrosion rate was in the underlying native soil. Based on data from this and previous studies, equations were developed to predict maximum corrosion loss for piles in nonaggressive soil as a function of time.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded through a grant from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). This support is gratefully acknowledged. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of UDOT. We also thank Penhall, Inc. for extracting the piles and Samuel Musser at UDOT who served as the project manager for this study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 3 • March 2008
Pages: 341 - 351
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 24, 2006
Accepted: May 21, 2007
Published online: Mar 1, 2008
Published in print: Mar 2008
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