ICDS12

International Conference DURABLE STRUCTURES: from construction to rehabilitation

LNEC Lisbon Portugal 31 May - 1 June 2012

DURABLE STRUCTURES

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LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

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STAINLESS STEEL REBAR FOR LONG SERVICE LIFE

M. J. Correia and M. M. Salta

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LNEC, Av. Do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisboa

DURABLE STRUCTURES

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

CORROSION PREVENTION - STAINLESS STEEL REBAR

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for long service life (highly aggressive

conditions) it is generally necessary to provide
additional corrosion preventive measures

COMPETITIVE LIFE CYCLE COSTS

DURABILITY

STAINLESS STEEL REINFORCING BARS

cost effective technical attractive approach

NEW INSIGHT INTO DESIGN

MAINTENANCE

ICDS12
International Conference DURABLE STRUCTURES: from construction to rehabilitation
LNEC Lisbon Portugal 31 May - 1 June 2012

DURABLE STRUCTURES
STAINLESS STEEL REBAR APPLICATIONS

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LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

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practical evidence of durability is provided by a pier in Progreso

which has been showing a good performance for more than 65
years in a subtropical environment without repair and significant
routine maintenance activities
no sign of deterioration, for concrete covers thicker than 20
mm, even with chloride contents of up to 1.9% Cl- in
concrete with relatively high porosity [1]
the remaining service life is estimated to be more than 20
to 30 year old without significant maintenance

typical applications, which include transport infrastructures,

structures in marine environments and rehabilitated historical
structures are spread all over the world

[1] ARMINOX, Pier in Progreso, Mexico:

Evaluation of the Stainless Steel
Reinforcement,
March
(1999)
www.arminox.com

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current experience sustains that it may enable a design life of

more than 100 years, without significant maintenance

DURABLE STRUCTURES

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

STAINLESS STEEL REBAR - CURRENT SPECIFICATIONS

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first standards:
BS 6744:2001

austenitic (1.4301, 1.4436, 1.4429, and 1.4529)

austenitic-ferritic (1.4162, 1.4362, 1.4462 and
1.4501)
range sizes from 3 mm to 50 mm
strength levels (200, 500, and 650)

ASTM A955/A955M

duplex and austenitic alloys including high

manganese austenitic alloys
strength grades (300, 420, and 520)

European standard (currently in preparation):

specifications for performance, mechanical properties

and conditions of testing, as well as guidance on grade
selection
ferritic, austenitic and austenitic-ferritic alloys
corresponding to five grades with yield strengths of
450, 500, 550, 600, and 650 Mpa, and an additional
grade of 200 MPa, especially for plain bars

ICDS12
International Conference DURABLE STRUCTURES: from construction to rehabilitation
LNEC Lisbon Portugal 31 May - 1 June 2012

DURABLE STRUCTURES

12

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

STAINLESS STEEL REBAR - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

Guidance on the use of stainless steel reinforcement for different service conditions
(BS 6744:2001+A2:2009 )

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Guidance on grade selection

environmental aggressivity
corrosion resistance of the alloy
design service life
mechanical and physical requirements
cost aspects

DURABLE STRUCTURES

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

STAINLESS STEEL REBAR - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

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Design durability requirements

concrete cover - 30 mm irrespective of the concrete mix and quality or exposure condition
concrete durability and cost

EN 1992-1-1:2004 - minimum cover may be reduced by cdur,st,

Portuguese Annex adopts a 20 mm value for cdur,st - austenitic or duplex

allowable crack width on the concrete surface 0.3-0.4 mm

M. J. Correia, M. M. Salta, Stress Corrosion Cracking of Austenitic Stainless Steel Alloys for
Reinforced Concrete, Advanced Materials Forum III - Mater. Sci. Forum 514-516 (2006)
1511-1515.

cracked concrete, with a crack

width of 0.8 mm at the concrete
surface (44 mm cover), under
wetting/drying cycles with a 3%
NaCl solution

ICDS12
International Conference DURABLE STRUCTURES: from construction to rehabilitation
LNEC Lisbon Portugal 31 May - 1 June 2012

DURABLE STRUCTURES

12

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

STAINLESS STEEL REBAR - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

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Fabrication,
transport,
storage,
and
handling
BS 6744:2001+A2:2009 - bend tested
samples from production batches with no
sign of fracture or irregular deformation
(specified bend tests).
cut and bend in accordance with BS
8666:2005, by the methods commonly
used for carbon steel.
avoid contamination with rust staining from
carbon steel
Installation, welding, and coupling
stainless steel tying wire and; spacers of
plastic, concrete, or mortar
welding is generally not recommended on
site - reduction in corrosion resistance (mill
scale and temper colours though being
improved by pickling or blasting)

6 to 10 mm concrete cover slabs (30x30x10 cm).

Periodical exposure to a 3.5 % NaCl solution in
alternated dry/immersion cycles

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reductions in both the critical chloride

contents and the pitting potentials
stainless steel couplers

DURABLE STRUCTURES

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

STAINLESS STEEL REBAR CORROSION RESISTANCE

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several reviewed field and yard exposure tests of concrete

specimens sustain the high corrosion resistance of stainless
steel rebars comparatively to carbon steel
critical chloride content for rebars embedded in chloride
containing uncarbonated concrete may be as more than ten
times higher for stainless steel than for carbon steel.
the consequences of galvanic coupling of carbon steel and
stainless steel have proven to be negligible in most situations
found in real structures
useful material for selective application, because it is a
less effective cathode than passive carbon steel

saturated Ca(OH)2 solution with 10 % chloride - Ep > 0.4 VSCE (except for SS3 welded sample, in consequence of its
unavoidable superficial defects)

ICDS12
International Conference DURABLE STRUCTURES: from construction to rehabilitation
LNEC Lisbon Portugal 31 May - 1 June 2012

DURABLE STRUCTURES

12

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

STAINLESS STEEL REBAR LATEST RESEARCH TRENDS

new less costly alloys [1]

to minimize the higher cost which is its commonly associated major disadvantage in spite of the
benefits established by a total cost analysis

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relations between passive film characteristics and corrosion resistance

critical factors - surface condition, microstructure, chemical composition, and environmental
parameters

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[1] EC-HIPER Project, Increased infrastructure reliability by developing a low cost and high performance stainless steel rebars, GDR12000-25601, EC, HIPER Project final report (2005).

DURABLE STRUCTURES

LNEC Lisbon 31 May - 1June 2012

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CURRENT RESEARCH FINDINGS AND INCREASING SUCCESSFUL

APPLICATIONS ANTICIPATE FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS

THANK YOU

Atlantic Area Operational Programme 2007-2013

and ERDF are gratefully acknowledged for the
financial support given to DURATINET project.