One approach to improving the performance of reinforced concrete structures in corrosive environments has been to coat the reinforcing bars with epoxy or another corrosion-protective coating.
Most concrete bridge decks develop transverse cracks soon after construction. The authors recently completed a study for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) that examined the causes of transverse cracking in new concrete bridge decks. They found that a combination of shrinkage and thermal stresses causes most transverse deck cracking, not traffic loads and vibrations before or during concrete hardening.
