Numerical Simulation to Optimize Impressed Current Cathodic Protection Systems for RC Structures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 6
Abstract
Corrosion of reinforcing steel is the primary degradation mechanism by which the long-term durability of RC structures can be seriously impaired. In order to mitigate reinforcement corrosion, impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is becoming an interesting option to be used in practice on real structures. In this study, the electrical field distribution of ICCP systems for RC structures with complicated geometry and multiple corrosion boundaries is investigated by using a finite-element method (FEM) numerical simulation method. The numerical optimization scheme for ICCP to control corrosion of RC structures is developed by tuning the amplitude of the impressed voltage, as well as the location and area size of the anode layer. Two prototypes of ICCP systems for RC structures are built to verify the effectiveness of the optimization algorithm under laboratory conditions. The testing results indicate that this optimization design scheme of ICCP systems can effectively control the corrosion of RC structures with multiple boundary conditions.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by grants from the Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Project Nos. 51008098 and 51378156), the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of China (Project No. 12175), the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) (Project No. 2011CB013604), the Special Fund for the Innovative Talents in the Field of Science and Technology in Harbin (Project No. RC2014QN012014), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Project No. HIT.BRETS.2012 33).
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 6 • June 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 31, 2015
Accepted: Sep 27, 2016
Published online: Jan 24, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jun 24, 2017
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