Bridges

Durability assessment is increasingly becoming an integral part of infrastructure design projects in Australia. One of the key drivers for this is the requirement by asset owners for optimum whole of life cost, minimum construction period and minimum impact on the environment. Achieving these objectives, which have a direct or indirect impact on the durability of the assets can be challenging.

These challenges can often be exacerbated by the aggressive environments encountered on these projects and the lack of guidance in the standards for durability design in these environments. The three most common durability challenges include carbonation-induced corrosion, sulphate attack from soil or groundwater and acid sulphate soil attack.

In this paper, the challenges faced in assessing the above durability risks for reinforced concrete bridges in aggressive environments are discussed. The various approaches to assess the environment and to predict the rate of deterioration throughout the service life of the asset as well as the mitigation measures employed to enhance the durability will also be presented.