EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF CATHODIC PROTECTION SYSTEMS ON REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE SUBSTRUCTURES

The instrumentation and monitoring techniques used in evaluation of eight experimental substructure cathodic protection systems constructed on piers on the Burlington Bay Skyway Bridge during 1982-83 are described. E-log 1 tests were used to aid in determining protective current levels and the variation of test parameters. Corrosion currents predicted by E-log 1 tests are compared with those predicted by linear polarization methods. The instrumentation embedded in the concrete included artificial corrosion macrocells, current pickup probes and reference half-cells. Data from embedded cells and half-cell readings are compared to protection criteria in the literature.