Our specialist engineers provide cost-effective remedial solutions to protect important assets from corrosion. For steel and concrete structures, designing and installation of cathodic protection (CP) systems is one of the effective corrosion control techniques, capable of eliminating destructive oxidation of metal assets.
BCRC have designed and assessed the effectiveness of CP systems for several projects, including the recent completion of a deep well impressed current cathodic protection system for steel piles of a 700m bridge over a river in Dubbo, NSW.
Geotechnical survey findings indicated extreme corrosion potential in the surrounding soil, posing a significant risk to the integrity of the bridge pile. After extensive analysis, BCRC’s CP engineers developed a meticulous design for an impressed current cathodic protection system to mitigate the anticipated high corrosion rate of the steel piles, including environmental protection using a cased and sealed anode system.
The system was designed for 7 zones with requirements based on resistivity. The ground-bed resistance and ground potential rise were modelled using SES CDEGS. Step and Touch voltage calculations were performed for all anodes to ensure safe operations.
By ensuring the durability and longevity of the bridge infrastructure, this project contributes to the advancement of sustainable engineering practices in bridge construction and maintenance.
Article by
BCRC Durability Consultants Team
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