Investigation of Marine Commerce Terminal Painted Steel Piles

This article presents a field investigation of painted steel piles at a New England marine commerce terminal.1 Project specification reviews showed that the paint system was inadequate for long-term service without cathodic protection. The cathodic protection was installed on the water side four years after construction. After five years of service, the paint on the waterside looked good in non-repaired areas. No signs of corrosion or barnacle-caused blisters were observed in non-repaired areas, or in non-mechanically damaged areas as a result of cathodic protection and the generation of high pH. The investigation concluded that coating maintenance, along with cathodic protection monitoring, can be an effective corrosion mitigation strategy for marine steel structures.