The United States highway system is now over 50 years old and it, along with many other roads and bridges throughout the country, is aging and deteriorating, sometimes to catastrophic consequences. The major problem is deterioration of concrete brought on by corrosion of the embedded reinforcing steel. In fact, a 2002 study conducted by CC Technologies, now DNV Columbus, the Federal Highway Administration and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers found that the total annual direct cost of corrosion for highway bridges was estimated to be $8.3 billion. Indirect costs were estimated to be ten times the direct costs due to lost productivity caused by closures and rerouting. With proper design and material selection, this can be minimized for new construction. For existing structures, cost effective corrosion control methods and on-time maintenance programs can dramatically extend the life of a structure.

What DNV Can Do

DNV is a leader in corrosion control, including corrosion control of reinforcing steel in concrete. Our research and testing division has conducted numerous federally funded studies to characterize the degradation mode of concrete structures, as well as to establish repair strategies for existing structures and prevention strategies for new structures. Research has been conducted on cathodic protection, concrete mix design, epoxy coated reinforcement and inhibiting admixtures. We have performed studies on bridges, parking garages, tunnels, intake canals, and dock structures as well.

Services

Some of the services we provide include:

• Corrosion management
• Laboratory research and testing
• Failure analysis
• Materials selection and evaluation