Title: Trial Implementation of Impressed Current Cathodic Protection as Part of a Structure Rehabilitation Strategy

Author(s): Eyad Alhariri

Publication: Web Session

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Date: 4/1/2021

Abstract:
Many key transportation assets such as tunnels and bridges were designed without considering that construction materials age and degrade over time when exposed to chemically aggressive conditions such as de-icing salts and seawater. Owners around the world are currently facing the challenging situation of having to extend the useful life of many of these structures. Although rehabilitation engineers have access to a wide range of proven solutions that extend the service life of structures in some instances access and applicability challenges arise when deploying solutions that are otherwise straightforward. Following a methodology that confirmed the need of a corrosion protection system to provide protection to critical yet unconventionally accessible areas of the structure a new approach was needed to evaluate the possibility of achieving corrosion mitigation. A trial was designed and installed over a limited area of the structure in order to evaluate the performance of an ICCP “impressed current Cathodic protection” system given the limited access options available. The trial was designed in a way that allowed the testing of multiple assumptions and options and confirming a number of operational parameters; it also served as a way to validate the assumptions with regards to the suitability of the installation methods to achieve corrosion protection criteria. The results indicate that the trial was successful in achieving the set targets with over two years of performance data confirming the ability to achieve the desired corrosion protection on elements of the structure that are not conventionally accessible. Results obtained also allows the design optimization for the entire system, along with a number of lessons learned in terms of expected performance.