Schaffhausen bridge

The Schaffhausen bridge across the river Rhine was completed in 1995. The bridge is required to resist to atmospheric corrosion and de-icing salts. The bridge is expected to last 80 years without loss of structural integrity and without significant maintenance.

Three options were considered for the rebar reinforcement:

  • Carbon steel: expensive repairs would have been required every 25 years and caused heavy traffic disruption
  • Epoxy coated carbon steel: less extensive repairs would nevertheless have to be carried out every 25 years with reduced traffic disruption
  • Carbon steel with stainless steel in the critical areas: meets the design life requirements

The comparative costs of the three alternatives are shown below.

Proper use of stainless steel leads to an extra cost of only 0.5%, paid back 30 times by the savings achieved over the lifetime of the bridge!

LIFE CYCLE COST SUMMARY OF A RIVER CROSSING HIGHWAY BRIDGE:

DescriptionCarbon SteelEpoxy C.S.Stainless Steel
Material costs8,19731,42088,6460
Fabrication costs000
Other installation costs15,611,35415,611,35415,611,354
Initial cost (CHF)15,619,55115,642,77415,700,000
Maintenance000
Replacement256,23976,872-141
Lost production2,218,5242,218,5240
Material related000
Operating costs (CHF)2,474,7632,295,396-141
Total LCC (CHF)18,094,31417,938,17015,699,859

 

References:

http://www.concretebookshop.com/tr51-guidance-on-the-use-of-stainless-steel-reinforcement-1821-p.asp

Picture by Wandervogel (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons