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Corrosion Rate Evaluation and Prediction PDF
Corrosion Rate Evaluation and Prediction PDF
Abstract: A study to evaluate corrosion rates was conducted using pile foundations abandoned during the reconstruction of I-15 through
Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Corrosion rates were measured for 20 piles extracted from five sites after service lives of 34–38 years. Measure-
ments were made of soil index properties, resistivity, pH, cation/anion concentrations, and water table elevation. The critical zone for
corrosion was typically located within the groundwater fluctuation zone; but correlations with soil properties were generally poor. Despite
low resistivity, average corrosion rates for pile caps in native soil were typically between 2 and 9 m / year with a maximum of
19 m / year and did not pose any structural integrity problems. Nevertheless, for abutment piles where chloride concentration was very
high, the average pile corrosion rate increased to 13 m / year within the embankment and the maximum corrosion rate was 48 m / year
in the underlying native soil. Based on data from this and previous studies, equations were developed to predict maximum corrosion loss
for piles in nonaggressive soil as a function of time.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1090-0241共2008兲134:3共341兲
CE Database subject headings: Corrosion; Driven piles; Infrastructure; Chlorides; Sulfates; Predictions.
the soil structure. Whereas most pile corrosion studies have fo- Corrosion Behavior at Individual Sites
cused on steel piles in undisturbed soil, piles are often driven
through fills where corrosion conditions might be similar to those 2100 South
for pipelines.
Currently, there is no widely accepted method of predicting The soil profile at 2100 South consists of interbedded layers of
pile corrosion in the United States and pile corrosion is often silt and clay with occasional sand layers as shown in Fig. 2. The
ignored in practice. Nevertheless, recent research indicates that a water table elevation was above the base of the pile cap at this
failure to account for pile corrosion may lead to unsafe conditions location. The chloride and sulfate content were both above the
if piles are located in fills containing slags, ash, cinders, or salt FHwA boundary for corrosive soil 共Elias and Christopher 1997兲
contamination 共Greene et al. 1995; Beavers and Durr 1998兲. and the resistivity was generally below 1,000 ⍀ cm. This criteria
Therefore, additional research is needed to provide a better un- places the soil in the extremely corrosive category 共see Table 1兲.
derstanding of pile corrosion and to predict when corrosion may Three pipe piles 共Piles 1–3兲 were extracted from a pile cap at this
pose a threat to the long-term integrity of a structure. As no pre- site. These steel pipe piles were 305 mm 共12 in.兲 in diameter,
vious research had been conducted on the corrosion of piles in the 4.90 mm 共0.19 in.兲 thick, and were filled with concrete with rein-
Salt Lake Valley, this study was also undertaken to provide some forcement limited to the top meter. These piles were obtained
basic information relating to pile performance and longevity for after being exposed to the soil-water environment for 36 years.
the soil conditions. The measured average corrosion rate is plotted for each pile as
a function of depth in Fig. 2. The corrosion rates are relatively
constant with depth. Despite the low resistivity and the high chlo-
Scope and Test Procedures ride and sulfate concentrations, the maximum measured corrosion
rate for Piles 1–3 was only 6 m / year on Pile 3 at a depth of
During the reconstruction of Interstate 15 through the Salt Lake 2.59 m 共8.50 ft兲 below the pile cap. The average corrosion rate
Valley, essentially all of the original 30 to 40 year old pile foun- for the three piles was just 2.43 m / year with a standard devia-
dations used for the original construction were abandoned. This tion of 1.39 m / year. The corrosion rates for these piles are
presented an opportunity to extract a sampling of old piles from within the mild range, with a maximum section loss of 4% and an
different sites, to measure corrosion rates, and to correlate corro- average loss of 2% 共refer to Table 2兲 after 36 years of soil
sion rates with soil properties using new and previously published embedment.
data. With the water table elevation 0.94 m 共3.08 ft兲 above the bot-
Based on findings from previous research, the majority of this tom of the pile cap these piles were primarily beneath the water
study focused on the ground water fluctuation zone. As shown in table fluctuation zone, which may explain the low and relatively
Fig. 1, sections from 20 piles that penetrated the groundwater constant corrosion rates. The high water table along with the fine
fluctuation zone at five locations were extracted in 2 – 6 m grained soils at the top of the profile likely prevented aeration and
lengths. At four of the locations the piles were driven in natural contributed to low corrosion rates. As a result, the soil parameters
soils with little fill; however, at a fifth site the piles extended did not significantly influence corrosion rate. For example, the
through a 5 m thick approach fill and into natural materials. cone penetration test 共CPT兲 resistivity dropped from a very high
Thickness loss was measured in 0.3 m segments along the length value of around 1 ⫻ 106 ⍀ cm to a low value of about 1,000 ⍀ cm
of each pile after cleaning and sandblasting the surface. Average at about 0.5 m, but this discontinuity did not affect the corrosion
corrosion rates were then defined as the total thickness loss di- rate.
vided by the years since placement. Corrosion thickness loss was
classified as follows: 0–10% as mild, 10–20% as moderate, and
greater than 20% as severe. These values are based on the fact South Temple
that a 25% section loss is generally considered very serious
共Picozzi et al. 1993兲. For a typical 1960-era I-15 pile thickness The soil profile at the South Temple site consists of interbedded
共4.76 mm or 3 / 16 in.兲 with a 36 year exposure time, this equates layers of silt and clay with one sand layer as shown in Fig. 3. The
to corrosion rates of 0–13, 13–26, and greater than 26 m / year water table was about 0.9 m below the base of the pile cap and
for the mild, moderate, and severe categories, respectively. the estimated zone of water table fluctuation is shown on the soil
In addition, the following soil parameters thought to influence profile. As indicated previously, moist fine-grained soils are be-
lieved to be more susceptible to corrosion. Four 305 mm 共12 in.兲 piles are referred to as Piles 7–10. These piles were exposed to
diameter spiral-welded steel pipe piles originally installed to sup- the soil-water environment for 38 years prior to extraction.
port a bridge bent in 1962 were extracted from this location. The In addition to the soil profile, Fig. 3 provides plots of the
steel pipe piles were 4.76 mm 共3 / 16 in.兲 thick and filled with measured soil parameters related to corrosion as a function of
concrete with reinforcement limited to the top meter. These four depth. The low resistivity values from the Wenner and laboratory
Table 2. Summary of Maximum Corrosion Rate, Length of Exposure, and Soil Properties from This and Other Previous Studies
Corrosion rate Years Resistivity Chloride
共m / year兲 exposed pH 共⍀ cm兲 共ppm兲 Source
18 22 5.1–6.0 50,000–70,000 16–59 Wong and Law 1999
30 20 Not given Not given Not given Manning and Morley 1981
15 12 Not given Not given Not given Manning and Morley 1981
30 46 Not given Not given Not given Manning and Morley 1981
58.9 6.8 Not given Not given Not given Escalante 1992
25.6 6.8 7 1,170 Not given Escalante 1992
12.9 12.9 7.7 2,080 Not given Escalante 1992
43.6 2.8 7 1,170 Not given Escalante 1992
47.8 2.8 7.2 455 Not given Escalante 1992
37.8 6.8 7.4 710 Not given Escalante 1992
16.5 12.9 7.4 710 Not given Escalante 1992
17.5 2.8 Not given Not given Not given Escalante 1992
14 12.9 Not given Not given Not given Escalante 1992
58 4.5 Not given Not given Not given Ohsaki 1982
47.6 7 7.4–8.2 850–7,000 0.3 Romanoff 1962
20.7 23 Not given Not given Not given Romanoff 1962
82.3 11 6.9 4,300–11,000 0.6 Romanoff 1962
47.6 11 8.1 800–1,290 0.5 Romanoff 1962
34.6 11 Not given 950–1,610 0 Romanoff 1962
15.9 12 7.7–8.4 345–1,300 0.5 Romanoff 1962
19 34 8.2 300,000 17.8 This study
13.3 35 7.7 150,000 256 This study
15.3 38 7.5 150,000 444 This study
tests fall in the highly corrosive range 共see Table 1兲, although the water table, which suggest petroleum contamination in the
CPT resistivity values are much higher below the water table. In groundwater was likely acting as an insulator. The laboratory
addition, the chloride and sulfate concentrations far exceed the measurements did not indicate high resistivity in these clays, but
limits for mildly corrosive soil identified by Elias and Christopher they were performed several months after the samples were taken
共1997兲 for MSE walls. In addition, the pH is quite high near the from the ground and the contaminants may have volatilized. As
surface. Under these conditions high corrosion rates would gen- shown in the photograph in Fig. 4, the piles also had small soft
erally be expected for buried metals. Nevertheless, the measured black deposits in the corrosion pits, which are a characteristic
corrosion rates are generally less than the 12 m / year value feature of attack by SRBs 共Videla 1996兲. Another possible indi-
suggested by Elias and Christopher when designing metallic re- cation of biocorrosion was evidenced by the many pile sections
inforcement strips for MSE walls with chloride and sulfate con- that exhibited noticeable corrosion with a shiny silver appearance,
centrations below the limits. The maximum measured corrosion which rusted over within days after being sand blasted.
rate for Piles 7–10 was 15 m / year on Pile 9 at a depth of 1.37 m
共4.49 ft兲. The average corrosion rate was 6.32 m / year with a
2nd South
standard deviation of 4.13 m / year. The corrosion rates for these
piles were moderate to mild with a maximum section loss of 12% The soil profile at 2nd South consisted entirely of sand, as shown
and an average loss of 5% 共refer to Table 2兲. The presence of the in Fig. 5. Three 305 mm 共12 in.兲 diameter corrugated steel piles
water table fluctuation zone appears to be the greatest factor con- were extracted from a pile cap at this site. The corrugated steel
tributing to the maximum corrosion rate, as the highest values
occur within this zone.
The corrosion rates drop off somewhat below the maximum
value; however, they do not decrease significantly with depth
below the water table as would be expected. One possible reason
for this discrepancy might be that the water table fluctuation zone
was larger than estimated. However, further investigation pro-
vided strong evidence that biocorrosion is the cause of the higher
corrosion rates at depth below the water table. Biocorrosion is
typically caused by sulfate reducing bacteria 共SRBs兲 which are
commonly associated with saturated clays, a pH value near neu-
tral and anaerobic conditions. SRBs also thrive where contami-
nants provide nutrients for bacterial growth and contribute to
anaerobic conditions 共Videla 1996兲.
The South Temple site was located in a heavy industrial area
near a railroad yard, suggesting that it was a high risk area for Fig. 4. Steel section from Pile 8 extracted at South Temple site
contamination. The CPT soundings at South Temple also mea- showing soft black material in corrosion pits typical of biocorrosion
sured abnormally high resistivity values in the clays below the from sulfate reducing bacteria
pipe was 1.66 mm 共0.065 in.兲 thick and filled with reinforced piles from 2100 South and South Temple, then the maximum
concrete. Due to the sandy profile and high water table at this section loss would be 10% and the average would be 5%. These
location, the excavation required to remove these piles could only section losses values would range from moderate to mild.
be extended to a depth of about 1.8 m 共6 ft兲 before the saturated
sand collapsed into the excavation. These piles were obtained
6th South
after 35 years of exposure to the soil-water environment. These
piles are referred to as Piles 11–13. The soil profile at 6th South consisted of a wide variety of soil
Fig. 5 presents the soil profile, soil parameters, and measured types ranging from high plasticity clays to well-graded sands as
corrosion rates as a function of depth for this site. The corrosion illustrated in Fig. 6. Four corrugated steel piles were extracted
rate does not appear to be strongly correlated with any of the from a pile cap at the site. The piles were filled with reinforced
parameters illustrated in Fig. 5 and the corrosion rates remain low concrete and step-tapered with depth. The first 1.09 m 共3.58 ft兲 of
even though chloride and sulfate concentrations are high. The the piles was 457 mm 共18 in.兲 in diameter, the next 3.71 m
corrosion rate peaks just above the existing water table in the 共12.17 ft兲 was 406 mm 共16 in.兲 in diameter, and the last segment
water table fluctuation zone, which seems to be the strongest fac- of the extracted length was 356 mm 共14 in.兲 in diameter. The
tor influencing the corrosion rate. The maximum measured corro- corrugated steel shell segments ranged in thickness from 1.14 to
sion rate for Piles 11–13 was 13 m / year on Pile 11 at a depth of 1.40 mm 共0.045 to 0.055 in.兲. The piles were obtained after 34
0.67 m 共2.20 ft兲. The minimum was 2 m / year on Pile 12 at a years of exposure to the soil-water environment. These piles are
depth of 0.30 m 共0.98 ft兲. The average corrosion rate was referred to as Piles 15–18. Pile 17 was not measure due to its
6.02 m / year with a standard deviation of 2.67 m / year. The short length, abundant extraction wounds, and time constraints.
average corrosion rate is very close to the average corrosion rate Along with the soil profile, Fig. 6 presents the soil parameters
measured for South Temple 共6.32 m / year兲, even though this site and the measured corrosion rates as a function of depth. The
had predominately granular soils and South Temple had predomi- maximum measured corrosion rate for Piles 15–18 was
nately fine grained soils. However, the standard deviation is much 19 m / year on Pile 15 at a depth of 0.48 m 共1.57 ft兲. The mini-
smaller than at South Temple 共4.13 m / year兲. The corrosion in- mum was 1 m / year on Pile 16 at a depth of 3.33 m 共10.93 ft兲.
creases with depth and peaks within the water table fluctuation The average corrosion rate was 5.10 m / year with a standard
zone just above the average water table depth. Below the water deviation of 3.07 m / year. The corrosion rates for these piles are
table depth, the corrosion drops back down and stabilizes at about severe to moderate with respect to percent of section loss, with a
5 m / year. maximum of 51% and an average of 14% 共refer to Table 2兲.
The corrosion rates for these piles are severe to moderate with However, the pile wall was only 1.14– 1.40 mm 共0.045–
respect to the percent of section loss, with a maximum section 0.055 in.兲 thick and like the piles at 2nd South these piles were
loss of 29% and an average of 13% 共refer to Table 2兲. However, most likely used just as casing for reinforced concrete. If the piles
the pile section was only 1.66 mm 共0.065 in.兲 thick and was most had been 4.76 mm 共3 / 16 in.兲 structural piles, the maximum sec-
likely used only as casing for the reinforced concrete. If these tion loss would have been 14%, with an average of only 4%. This
piles were typical structural piles having a thickness of 4.76 mm severity of section loss would range from moderate to mild.
共3 / 16 in.兲 and were used more for structural support, as were the The maximum corrosion rate on Piles 15 and 16 occurred
0.20 m 共0.67 ft兲 below the interface between the top layer of clay As a result of drought conditions the preceding 4 years, the water
and the underlying sand 共Pile 18 did not experience the same table elevation was likely close to the lower boundary of water
corrosive attack at this depth兲. As shown in Fig. 7共a兲, the corro- table fluctuation zone.
sion at this depth penetrated the thin corrugated steel piles. This Two steel pipe piles 共Piles 19 and 20兲 were extracted at
layer was 0.70 m 共2.30 ft兲 above the water table fluctuation zone. this site. The steel pipe piles were 318 mm 共12.5 in.兲 in dia-
It is possible that this elevated corrosion rate is due to a difference meter, 6.3 mm 共0.25 in.兲 thick, and were filled with concrete
of electrical potential between the clay and the sand or simply 共⬇28 MPa兲 with reinforcement limited to the top meter. These
localized water infiltration. Several factors may have lead to a
piles, which were driven at a 1:4 batter, were obtained after 37
difference in electric potential and the creation of a corrosion
years exposure to the soil-water environment.
“macrocell.” First, the moisture content in the clay layer was
Within the fill, the average corrosion rate for Piles 19 and 20
relatively high at around 40%, whereas the sand was low at
around 10%. The soil types were also very different, with one was only about 13 m / year with a standard deviation of 2.1,
layer being high plasticity clay and the other nonplastic sand. despite the fact that the resistivity was less than 500 ⍀ cm, the
Next, there were noticeable differences in chemical properties chloride concentration averaged approximately 2,100 ppm, and
from the clay to the sand, such as pH, sulfate content, sulfate the soil consisted of moist silty clay. The high chloride content is
absorption rate, and potassium content. Lastly, there was a large likely a result of deicing salt used heavily on the pavement during
difference in resistivity as measured by the laboratory resistivity winter months.
test. Resistivity in the sand was 18 times greater than that for the The corrosion rate increased significantly in the native soil
clay. as the zone of water table fluctuation was approached. The maxi-
There is another peak in corrosion rate within the water table mum corrosion rates for Piles 19 and 20 were 48 and
fluctuation zone. This peak is comparable to the corrosion rates 38 m / year, respectively. The average corrosion rate in the na-
found at the other sites investigated during this study. The corro- tive soil at this site was 22.3 m / year with a standard deviation
sion rate decreases with depth below the water table despite the of 13.8. A photograph showing the corrosion of a section of pile
fact that sulfate concentration increases and resistivity values re- at 118th South is provided in Fig. 7共b兲.
main at the same, relatively low values and sulfate concentration
Visual observations indicated that there was substantial differ-
increases
ence in the corrosion rates on opposite faces of the battered piles.
Therefore, separate corrosion measurements were made on both
118th South sides of the piles and then averaged to obtain the value at each
The piles at the abutment for the 118th South overpass on I-15 depth shown in Fig. 8. For example, at the base of Pile 19 the
were installed through 5 m of silty clay embankment fill before corrosion rate on one side was 77 m / year, whereas that on the
extending into the native clay soil at the site. The soil profile and opposite side was only 19 m / year resulting in an average of
soil properties as a function of depth are presented in Fig. 8. The 48 m / year.
water table was located at about 2.6 m below the natural ground For the 6.3 mm wall thickness, these corrosion rates for these
surface or 7.6 m below the top of the fill at the time of extraction. piles were moderate to severe with an average section loss of
Evaluation of Results
The average corrosion rates for piles below pile caps driven into
native soil were between 2 and 9 m / year with a maximum of
19 m / year. The percent thickness loss for a pile with a 9.53 mm
共3 / 8 in.兲 wall thickness typically used in the Utah Department of
Transportation practice today would be between 1 and 4% with a
maximum of 7% for exposure times of 34–38 years. For future
projects in the Salt Lake Valley, with soil conditions similar to the
soils at these sites, designs should allow for a maximum thickness
loss of about 7% for piles in the water table fluctuation zone for a
35 year design life.
For the abutment piles driven through the approach fill at
118th South, the average corrosion rate was about 13 m / year in
the fill with a maximum of 48 m / year near the groundwater in
the underlying native soil. For a 9.5 mm pile wall thickness, this
corresponds to an average thickness loss of 5% in the fill and a
maximum loss of 18.6% in the native soil for a 37-year design
life. The cause of these elevated corrosion rates appears to be
deicing salts which produced average chloride concentrations of
1,600 ppm, 16 times higher than the accepted limit for MSE wall
reinforcements, along with resistivity values of only 600 ⍀ cm.
These factors led to higher corrosion rates particularly in the
water table fluctuation zone. These high corrosion rates are a
serious concern and demonstrate the need to either design for
these rates at approach fills where deicing salts will be used or to
take measures to prevent salt infiltration.
Location of Corrosion
The maximum corrosion rate at each site typically occurred
within the water table fluctuation zone, with the exception of 6th
Fig. 7. Photographs of 共a兲 corrugated steel casing at South Temple South where the maximum rate occurred above the ground water
site; 共b兲 steel pipe pile as 118th South site table zone. The corrosion rate tended to drop off below the water
table fluctuation zone except at South Temple where biocorrosion
appeared to take place below the water table.
about 8% in the fill material, 13% in the native soil, and a maxi-
mum section loss of 28% near the water table fluctuation zone. Methods for Predicting Corrosion
Existing Methods
Thickness Loss versus Tensile Capacity Loss
We evaluated several methods used to predict corrosion rates or
the potential for corrosion of buried steel. These methods in-
Axial tension tests were conducted on 12 specimens of piles that
were 203.2 mm 共8 in.兲 long and 25.4 mm 共1 in.兲 wide. These cluded the steel pipe corrosion classification method based on
specimens had measured thickness losses between 5 and 29%. resistivity 共Palmer 1967兲, the FHwA criteria for MSE reinforce-
The tension tests indicated that the loss of tensile capacity was ments 共Elias and Christopher 1997兲, and the National Institute of
directly related to the loss of thickness. The average thickness Standards and Technology 共NIST兲 共American Iron and Steel In-
loss for the specimens was 13.3%, whereas the average loss in stitute 1994兲 method for buried culverts. All three of these meth-
tensile load capacity was 10.7%. These results suggest that per- ods proved to be inadequate for predicting pile corrosion. The
cent loss in tensile capacity is essentially the same as the percent methods generally tended to be overly conservative. For example,
section loss. These results are in agreement with most studies; the measured corrosion rates were typically only 33–67% of those
however, they contrast with compression test results presented by predicted using the NIST method with resistivity obtained from
Tungesvik et al. 共1975兲 in which the percent strength loss was lab tests.
Fig. 9. Relationship between corrosion rate and chloride Fig. 10. Relationship between corrosion rate and 共a兲 laboratory
concentration for data in the water table fluctuation zone from Salt resistivity; or 共b兲 CPT resistivity in the water table fluctuation zone
Lake Valley data set based on Salt Lake Valley data