Funded Studentship: Long term protection to steel reinforced concrete structures

Description

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Steel reinforcement corrosion, particularly owing to chloride infestation, is one of the major deterioration mechanisms of reinforced concrete structures. Much success has been achieved in maintaining such structures which had suffered from reinforcement corrosion over the last three decades by the use of cathodic protection, one of the available electrochemical remediation techniques. This requires the continued application of a very small cathodic current to the steel reinforcement and a continuous, rather costly maintenance programme. Recently, the industry has started to seek alternative remediation techniques that are easier to maintain and more cost effective as aged cathodic protection systems have become more difficult and costlier to maintain. The main aim of this project is to develop a new temporary electrochemical technique that can offer long-term protection to steel reinforced concrete structures, by working closely with the industrial partner, Vector Corrosion Technologies Limited.

Contents

The primary deliverable is the identification of parameters and limits for the new electrochemical technique that encompass all of the beneficial effects as they are identified to ensure that corrosion of the steel reinforcement is arrested, to extend the residual service life of the structure or structural component, to limit or avoid any of the detrimental effects, and to identify the timescale(s) at which a further intervention may be required. Progress will also be made in designing the technique, with guidance for the production of the equipment and procedures to be followed for on-site use.

Requirements

Applications are invited from candidates with or expecting a minimum of a UK upper second class honours degree (2:1), or equivalent, in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics or Chemistry.

Funding

Value: The studentship, which is open to UK/EU students in the first instance, will pay the full tuition fees at £3,975, as well as providing an annual maintenance of £13,863.