Search is on for a better steel reinforcement
April 4, 2011
By
Canadian Consulting Engineer
In the quest for steel reinforced concrete that will not succumb to the salts and other corrosive forces in the Canadian environment, the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa is pursuing tests on new types of stainless steel...
In the quest for steel reinforced concrete that will not succumb to the salts and other corrosive forces in the Canadian environment, the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa is pursuing tests on new types of stainless steel reinforcement.
Compared to conventional carbon steel reinforcement, stainless steel (SS) helps to minimize the corrosion problem. However, it is expensive and so its use has been limited so far. The price has increased more recently with the rising cost of nickel.
The NRC’s Institute for Research in Construction is doing a study on new types of SS reinforcement that have a lower nickel content. The research project is investigating how SS 2304, 2101 and UNS S24100 might improve durability of concrete structures, looking at the reinforcements’ performance under chloride attack and concrete carbonation. They are also looking at the corrosion performance of galvanized reinforcing steel — a study that was added at the request of infrastructure owners.
For more details and to contact the researchers, Dr. Shiyuan Qian or Dr. Jieying Zhang, click here.
www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ci/v16n1/12.html
