Chloride Extraction Field Trial on Burlington Skyway
| Structure: | West Column, Pier S19, Burlington Skyway | |
| Location: | Burlington, Ontario, Canada | |
| Project Date: | July, 1989 | |
| Client: | Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) | |
| Area Treated: | 331.5 ft2 (30.8 m2) | |
| Contract Duration: | 8 weeks | |
| Contractor: | Concrete Protection Systems |
Built in 1955, the Burlington Skyway was designed with less reinforcement than the typical bridge column, which made this site a perfect candidate for the first field trial use of Norcure® Electrochemical Chloride Extraction (ECE) in North America. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation funded the field study and built upon the SHRP Contract C-102A findings which indicated the technique was feasible.
The system was installed on the lower 13 ft (4 m) of the west column. Only three sides of the square column were treated, leaving the north side to act as a control area. Throughout the duration of the treatment, the system was monitored very closely, often daily, to have sound results throughout testing. After treatment was completed, it was found that the percentage of chloride ions removed above reinforcing steel was as high as 87% in some areas. Corrosion potential results showed that 6 months later, after depolarization, the reinforcement was in a passive and noncorroding state. MTO continues to monitor the pier years after treatment since it was their first field trial of the Norcure® system. These long term results show how ECE's effectiveness has withstood the test of time.
Corrosion Potentials Burlington Skyway (mV vs. CuSO4 Half-Cell (negative sign omitted))
Percentage of Readings in Each Respective Range
| Legend
<200 Passive Range 200-350 Corrosion Activity Uncertain >350 Active Corrosion Range |
North Face
(Untreated) |
West Face
(ECE Treated) |
||||
| 200 to | 200 to | |||||
| <200 | 350 | >350 | <200 | 350 | >350 | |
| Pre-Treatment | 0 | 85 | 15 | 0 | 96 | 4 |
| 1 Yr. After (1990) | 41 | 59 | 0 | 98 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 Yr. After (1991) | 41 | 59 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 Yr. After (1992) | 26 | 74 | 0 | 96 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 Yr. After (1993) | 26 | 70 | 4 | 98 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 Yr. After (1994) | 19 | 74 | 7 | 96 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 Yr. After (1995) | 26 | 59 | 15 | 96 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 Yr. After (1996) | 30 | 63 | 7 | 96 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 Yr. After (1997) | 11 | 78 | 11 | 96 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 Yr. After (1998) | 15 | 78 | 7 | 96 | 4 | 0 |
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