Development of Deterioration Models for Steel Bridge Corrosion Protection Systems

About the project

Steel bridge corrosion protection systems affect long-term service life and life-cycle costs of the structure. Currently there is no data-driven framework that links steel bridge corrosion performance, environmental exposure, traffic, geometric variables, etc. to deterioration rates and service life.

The purpose of this project is to use decades of VDOT bridge inspection data to develop data-driven deterioration models for steel bridge corrosion protection systems based on bridge performance in actual service environments. These deterioration models can then be used to determine (a) selection criteria for choosing a corrosion protection system during design and (b) performance-based service life estimates for these different corrosion protection systems in Virginia.

The project consists of three primary tasks. First, a literature review will be conducted to evaluate deterioration modeling techniques used for bridges and in other industries, including previous research using bridge inspection data to assess corrosion performance.

Second, machine learning, statistical analysis, and survival analysis techniques will be applied to VDOT’s steel bridge inspection data combined with readily available external data such as weather, de-icing practices, proximity to saltwater, etc. The analysis will identify factors that most influence the corrosion performance. Resulting deterioration models will form the technical basis for selection guidance and performance-based service life predictions depending on service environment.

Finally, a summary of the results will be compiled into a final report. The report will include the deterioration models for steel bridges and recommendations regarding (a) design guidance for selecting a steel bridge corrosion protection system and (b) performance-based service life estimates for these different corrosion protection systems in Virginia.

Project team

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