Bridges

One of the main remedial treatments for reinforced concrete structures such as bridges in marine environments is impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP). Many ICCP systems in marine environments have manifested backfill mortar deterioration due to acidification at the anode. This jeopardises the integrity of the protection system, resulting in the need for replacement of the ICCP anodeís acidified backfill mortar. Cathodic protection engineers have suggested different measures to manage the risk of acidification. However, Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) collection of data demonstrates that such measures have not typically been fully successful. TfNSW has undertaken a research project in collaboration with academia and industry to address this issue. This paper presents Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the acidified backfill mortar products. It also introduces acidification mitigation strategies based on state-of-the-art material technology as well as electrochemical science and engineering.