Approach to Determine Corrosion Propensity in Post-Tensioned Tendons with Deficient Grout

Abstract

Copyright © 2013 Juan Carlos Rafols et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Li-cense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. After corrosion failure of post-tensioned tendons was identified in a Florida bridge in early 2011, laboratory tests were conducted in this study on extracted sections from the failed tendons to identify the grout properties and makeup lead-ing to the failure and also to elucidate the mechanism of corrosion. The initial steps in identification of PT tendons with a high propensity for corrosion initiation or damaged included a detailed visual inspection and identification of voids in the grout. Voids in tendon can be a result of bleed water formation or construction problems. General characteristics of the deficient grout and corrosion behavior of steel in the affected bridge gave a first approach to assessing grout defi-ciency and corrosion susceptibility. However, refinements in the understanding of the mechanisms causing grout segre-gation and the elucidation of the role of sulfates, oxygen content, and pore water pH in corrosion development are re-quired