Use of Combined Plasma Cleaning/Coating Process for the Cathodic Protection of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Considering the number of concrete structures such as bridges, overpasses, trestles etc., their maintenance and repair form a significant part of the highway administration budget. Cathodic protection is becoming more popular because it helps reduce maintenance and renovation costs. Arc-sprayed zinc and zinc/aluminum alloy coatings are widely used in cathodic protection systems. The surface preparation of concrete is critical to the quality of coating and hence, the quality of the cathodic protection. Typically, sandblasting with surface brushing is used as preparation. This method has several technical, economic and ecological deficiencies: weather/humidity limitations, difficult removal of organic contaminants from the surface, an irrevocable loss of blasting media, high dust level, etc. An objective of this proceeding is to describe a plasma cleaning process as a successful alternative to sandblasting and to show the possibilities of combined plasma cleaning/coating process for the cathodic protection of reinforced concrete structures. This environmentally friendly process will result in better anodic coatings at lower cost and fewer concrete structure repairs.