Solar Powered Intermittent Cathodic Protection of Reinforced Concrete

Canada’s reinforced concrete structures which includes bridges and building are deteriorating rapidly due to rusting of the steel that reinforces the structure. When steel rusts it takes up more space than non-rusting steel. This puts pressure on the surrounding concrete and causes it to break off. The proposed project aims to research a new solution for steel in concrete structure deterioration. The project would look at whether providing rust protection to the steel periodically would provide enough protection to reduce or eliminate the current rust development. The new approach would use solar panels to power the protection system. The result would be a simple and cost-effective strategy that would prevent rusting of steel in concrete structures. This would increase the service life of our structures and therefore, reduce the frequency of repairs and replacement of steel and concrete structures.

Faculty Supervisor:

Aftab Mufti

Student:

Partner:

Vector Corrosion Technologies Ltd

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Manitoba

Program: