Monitoring and Early Detection of Corrosion in Concrete Infrastructure: Predicting the Initiation Period

我们在努力保持基础设施的功能和弹性时面临的主要挑战之一是腐蚀。钢筋锈蚀是钢筋混凝土中最大、最昂贵的劣化问题，英国每年的预算为10亿英镑。英国高速公路公司负责与公路网上钢筋混凝土和钢结构的防腐有关的所有问题。混凝土结构中钢筋的锈蚀表现为锈蚀、开裂和剥落，导致结构的破坏和退化，及早发现钢筋锈蚀对保护资产和优化维护制度具有重要意义。因此，开发和使用监测系统以实现这种早期发现是一个研究兴趣领域。另一个领域是开发新的和创新的涂层系统，以防止混凝土和钢材劣化。在适当的暴露条件下，耐候钢越来越多地作为一种耐用的低维护材料用于公路桥梁。这就需要进行腐蚀监测，以评估在设计中是否提供了足够的牺牲厚度余量。目前的腐蚀监测方法涉及到与钢表面的直接接触，通常涉及到影响那里的保护涂层。第四个有趣的领域是研究在不影响保护涂层的情况下远程监测截面损失/残余钢材厚度的方法。因此，与腐蚀有关的许多挑战可能构成PHD研究的主题，例如：-早期腐蚀检测。-用于混凝土或钢结构的新型涂料。--早期消除腐蚀。-监测耐候钢部分的腐蚀和损失速度。博士学位项目的范围特意广泛，以鼓励对不同相关方面以及候选人的兴趣和背景进行探索。确定和最终确定博士研究的范围和目标将成为MREs年的一部分。

One of the major challenges we face in our efforts to maintain the functionality and resilience of our infrastructure is corrosion. Steel corrosion is the largest and most costly deterioration problem in reinforced concrete, with a UK annual budget of >£1 billion. Highways England are responsible for all issues relating to corrosion protection of both reinforced concrete and steelwork structures on the road network. The corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete structures manifests itself in rust formation, cracking and delamination leading to the damage and degradation of structures.Very early stage detection of reinforcement corrosion would provide significant benefits in protecting assets and optimising maintenance regimes. Hence the development and use of monitoring systems to enable such early detection is one area of research interest. Development of new and innovative coating systems to prevent concrete and steel deterioration is another area. Weathering steel is increasingly being used, under suitable exposure conditions, in highway bridges as a durable low maintenance material. This leads to requirements for corrosion monitoring to assess the adequate provision of the sacrificial thickness allowance made in design. Current methods of corrosion monitoring involve direct contact with the steel surface and generally involve affecting the protective patina there. Investigating methods of remote monitoring of section loss/residual steel thickness without affecting the protective patina is a fourth area of interest.Hence, there are many challenges concerning corrosion that could form the topic of the PhD study, such as: - Early stage corrosion detection. - New coatings for concrete or steel structures. - Early stage corrosion elimination. - Monitoring the rate of corrosion and loss of section of weathering steel.The scope of the PhD project is purposefully broad to encourage exploration of different relevant aspects and the interest and background of candidates. Defining and finalising the scope and objectives of the PhD study will form part of the MRes year.