Steel Structures to Withstand the Elements: What Structural Engineers Need to Know About Corrosion

The worldwide economic impact of corrosion has been estimated to be 3% of the global domestic product, yet there is little emphasis on designing structures to resist corrosion. In a profession with regimented design processes for load-induced effects, similar design processes for considering corrosion resistance are lacking. This presentation addresses this gap by reviewing: basic scientific principles governing corrosion to develop a scientific foundation for research findings; long-term field data on the performance of steel structures in varied quantified environments; field and laboratory assessment methods for corrosion; and practical design strategies for improving corrosion resistance. Audience members will be better prepared to optimize the corrosion resistance of their structures, improving life-cycle costs and service lives of civil engineering structures.