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

我们在努力维护基础设施的功能和弹性时面临的主要挑战之一是腐蚀。钢筋腐蚀是钢筋混凝土中最大和最昂贵的退化问题，英国每年的预算超过10亿英镑。Highways England负责所有与公路网上钢筋混凝土和钢结构防腐相关的问题。混凝土结构中钢筋的腐蚀表现为锈蚀、开裂和分层，导致结构的损坏和退化。早期检测钢筋腐蚀将在保护资产和优化维护制度方面提供显着优势。因此，开发和使用监测系统，使这种早期检测是一个领域的研究兴趣。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，耐候钢作为一种耐用的低维护材料越来越多地用于公路桥梁。这就要求进行腐蚀监测，以评估设计中是否提供了足够的牺牲厚度裕量。目前的腐蚀监测方法涉及直接接触钢表面，通常涉及影响那里的保护性铜绿。第四个感兴趣的领域是研究在不影响保护性铜绿的情况下远程监测截面损失/剩余钢材厚度的方法。因此，有许多关于腐蚀的挑战可以形成博士研究的主题，例如：-早期腐蚀检测。- 用于混凝土或钢结构的新型涂料。- 早期腐蚀消除。- 监测耐候钢截面的腐蚀和损失速率。博士项目的范围是有目的的广泛，以鼓励不同相关方面的探索和候选人的兴趣和背景。定义和最终确定博士研究的范围和目标将构成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.