The Cathodic Protection, Installation and Monitoring of Mile Bridge, Frankston, Melbourne

In the current economic environment a greater emphasis is being given to the general upkeep, preservation and overall extension of the physical life of existing bridge structures, far in excess of the original design life. the general am of this project was to evaluate the suitability of cathodic protection (CP) systems to extend the life of structures subject to chloride induced reinforcement corrosion. In addition, to increase the awareness of techniques involved in the installation, commissioning and monitoring of CP systems, as well as to prove the system for the Australian environment condition and concrete types. Following site inspection, diagnostic investigation and subsequent design, the trial CP system was installed on one of the supporting pier calls of Mile Bridge/Nepean Highway, Frankston (built three independent circuits, reflecting the threes different zones of corrosion activity. These are the tidal zine (upper areas) where corrosion is presently asset. In this CP system a titanium mesh anode material is fixed followed by cementious overlay. The long term evaluation and assessment of the performance of the system is an ongoing process, and will be done over the next few years. In the meantime, the performance of the system is monitored on a regular basis and a number of specific items are the subject of ongoing research. After element weeks from the initial energisation of the system, the majority of the reinforcement potentials are already in the protective region. Additional time will be required to achieve full protection of all areas, with the current results indication however, that the system is moving towards this aim.