Civil Engineering Association

Guide for the use of stainless steel reinforcement in concrete structures

Premature deterioration of concrete buildings and infrastructure due to corrosion of reinforcement
is a severe challenge, both technically and economically. Repair-work on the public transportation
infrastructure are causing significant inconveniences and delays for both the industry and the
general public, and are now recognized as a substantial cost for the society.
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in applying stainless steel reinforcement in
concrete structures to combat the durability problems associated with chloride ingress. However,
the use of stainless steel reinforcement (SSR) has so far been limited mainly due to high costs and
lack of design guides and standards.
In 2004 a Scandinavian group was established to cope with these challenges and a Nordic
Innovation Centre project: “Corrosion resistant steel reinforcement in concrete structures
(NonCor)” was formed.
The present report; “Guide for the use of stainless steel reinforcement in concrete structures”, is the
final document of this project. The scope of this Guide is to increase the durability and service life
of concrete structures exposed to corrosive environments by focusing on two issues:
• Eliminating reinforcement corrosion by examining the core of the problem, i.e. the
reinforcement itself
• Overcoming the technical knowledge gap for application of stainless steel reinforcement in
concrete structures
The foreseen users of this Guide are:
• All parties involved in planning, design and construction of concrete structures to be
exposed to corrosive environments, - such as marine structures, coastal-near structures and
structures exposed to chloride based de-icing salts
• Owners and Clients who want to reduce or solve the corrosion problem for reinforced
concrete structures, in order to obtain a long service life with minimal maintenance