S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Mystery in
Minnesota—Part 2
Steel Sheet Pilings Still Plagued by Unusual
Corrosion Rates for Freshwater Marine
Environment—Research Continues as
Officials Search for Answers
KATHY RIGGS LARSEN, STAFF WRITER

A cargo ship enters�

Wisconsin at the western tip of Lake Superior. Photo courtesy of Kim Randolph, Web site: www.pbase.com/kimr55760/.

22 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE October 2008


I
n the May 2006 article,
“Mystery in Minnesota” by
Rikki Mitman, MP reported
that the steel sheet pilings in
the Duluth-Superior Harbor
(Duluth, Minnesota) were rust-
ing away at unusually acceler-
ated rates for a freshwater marine
environment. Thick steel plates,
designed to last 50 to 100 years
in the harbor, exhibited severe
perforations at about 30 years of
service life.
Now, about two and a half years later,
steel sheet pilings in the harbor are still
corroding unusually fast. While the to-
tal amount of sheet piling in the harbor
(dredged to a depth of ~27 ft [8.2 m]) hasn’t
changed over the years—70,000 linear ft
(21,336 m) or ~13 miles (21.33 km)—the
price to replace corroded bulkheads and
other structures has skyrocketed over the last
five years, says Jim Sharrow, facilities man-
ager for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority
(Duluth, Minnesota). He estimates today’s
cost to replace corroding steel sheet piling at
$4,000 per linear ft (0.3 m), up from $1,500
per linear ft as reported in May 2006, and
says that the total cost to repair the corro-
sion-compromised steel in the harbor could
run as much as $250 million.
Business at the port has not yet been
negatively affected by the corrosion—the
port has 15 major cargo facilities, receives
about 1,100 vessels per year, and handles
over 45 million tons annually—but inves-
tigations into the cause of this atypical
freshwater corrosion have continued,
with the help of funding from various
federal, state, and local agencies and or-
ganizations. Fortunately, researchers are
closer to finding answers about the cause
as well as more effective ways to combat
the problem.
When the accelerated corrosion was
first detected, a steering committee was
formed to provide a systematic focus for
research and mitigation. Members rep-
resented the Wisconsin and Minnesota
Sea Grant programs, the Duluth Seaway
Port Authority, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and the University of Min-
nesota-Duluth and its Natural Resources
Research Institute.
Back in September 2004, this steer-
ing committee assembled a panel of five
corrosion experts to visit the harbor and
examine the corrosion, identify possible
causes of the accelerated corrosion, and
make recommendations to combat the
burgeoning problem. The panel members
emphasized that any definite conclusions
regarding the causes of the corrosion, and
subsequent actions that should be taken
to mitigate the problem, would require
additional data obtained through appro-
priate collection and analysis procedures.
Their suggestions included, among other
things, that corrosion rates be measured
at various locations in the harbor; water
chemistry analyses be made at represen-
tative sites; corroded steel be tested for
microbiologically influenced corrosion
(MIC); and testing for stray currents be
performed.
“Results of the initial investigations
indicated that the extent and severity of
freshwater corrosion is typically greater
than we initially believed a few years ago
when we first started the study,” says
Gene Clark, coastal engineering special-
ist with the University of Wisconsin Sea
Grant Institute (Madison, Wisconsin).
“We haven’t found a simple answer, so
we are continuing to follow a systematic
approach to determine
what’s causing the ac-
celerated freshwater cor-
rosion and determine the
best practices for slowing
or eliminating it.”
Field
Investigations
and Preliminary
Results
In the summer and fall
of 2006, field data was col-
lected from over 40 sites
on various locations on An aerial view of the Duluth-Superior Harbor shows the
Duluth Entry (in the upper right corner) and the channel area of
government- and private- the harbor. Image courtesy of Gene Clark, University of Wisconsin
ly owned steel structures Sea Grant Institute.
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
located throughout the harbor, including
berths, bulkheads, docks, vessels, and bridge
piers. Most of the privately owned structures
analyzed were uncoated steel sheet piles.
CORROSION MEASUREMENT
Corrosion measurements, taken by
divers at various depths in August and
September 2006, were obtained by
nondestructive examination methods,
and included data such as overall plate
thickness, corrosion pit depth, and pit
diameter measurements. Inspected sites
were photographed at multiple depths.
At most sites measured for corrosion
within the harbor, inspectors reported
that general conditions were very similar.
In the main harbor, at depths of 0 to 4
ft (0 to 1.21 m) below the Lake Superior
Low Water Datum (LWD) referenced
to the International Great Lakes Datum
(IGLD)(1), the general penetration of the
pitting on all the tested locations older
than 30 years was typically 1/4 to 3/8 in
(6.35 to 9.5 mm); and at depths from 1
to 3 ft (0.3 to 0.91 m) below LWD, most
of the 3/8-in sheet pile structures older
than 30 years were either perforated or
close to being perforated. At depths of
4 to 10 ft (1.21 to 3.04 m) below LWD,
divers noted uniform material thickness
losses with high concentrations of pitting
This datum is referenced to sea level, as measured
(1)
at Rimouski, Quebec, Canada near the mouth of
the St. Lawrence River. Source: The Great Lakes
Information Network, www.great-lakes.net.
October 2008 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE 23
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E Mystery in Minnesota—Part 2
The accelerated cor-
rosion problem was very
evident on new steel that
was installed just a few
months earlier on the
Superior Entry, with or-
ange tubercles covering
over 50% of the sheet pile
surfaces. The inspectors
found major differences
in the degree and type of
corrosion as inspections
continued through the
channels and northeast-
ward to the Duluth Entry,
and reported that levels
Divers from AMI Consulting Engineers (Duluth, Minnesota) of corrosion dropped sig-
prepare to inspect the steel sheet piles at the Duluth Entry. nificantly as they headed
Photo courtesy of Gene Clark, University of Wisconsin Sea through the channel to-
Grant Institute.
ward Lake Superior.
LINEAR POLARIZATION RESISTANCE
over the entire surface, with a transition Used to assess the corrosiveness of the
from deep to shallow scoop-type pitting harbor with respect to the steel sheet piles,
as the depth increased. Large pitted areas linear polarization resistance (LPR) tests
tended to have numerous, small 1/16- to were conducted at eight preselected sites
1/8-in- (1.5-to 3.17-mm) diameter pits around the harbor during the height of the
within a larger pitted area. At depths of typical corrosion season, when the area
10 to 32 ft (3.04 to 9.75 m) below LWD, usually experiences the most sunlight hours
minor uniform material thickness losses per day and highest water temperature
were noted. readings.
Severe pitting and perforations to the steel sheet piles are seen at the CN Ore dock in the
channel area of Duluth-Superior Harbor. Photo courtesy of Gene Clark, University of Wisconsin
Sea Grant Institute.
24 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE October 2008
Two rounds of measurements were
taken, with the second reading repre-
senting the corrosion rate over a longer
period of time—from the height of the
normal corrosion season in late August
2006, to late November 2006 just before
the harbor started to freeze. Corrosion
rates from the first reading ranged from
1.977549 mpy (near the Duluth Entry)
to 6.494123 mpy (in the channel area),
and readings from the second test ranged
from 0.641771 mpy (southwest of the
channel area at the Oliver Bridge pier) to
2.687911 mpy (in the channel area).
WATER ANALYSIS
Water quality data were derived from
20 harbor water samples taken in July and
August 2006 at several different depths.
Samples were analyzed for pH, dissolved
oxygen (DO), conductivity, temperature,
alkalinity, chloride ions, sulfate ions, total
suspended solids, hardness, and total
iron. Measured ranges for the data col-
lected in July 2006 include: temperature:
49 to 85 °F (9.4 to 29.4 °C); pH: 7.55 to
9.41; DO: 4.46 to 11.68 mg/L; conduc-
tivity: 0.102 to 0.258 mS/cm; turbidity:
1.7 to 48.6 NTU; oxidation-reduction
potential: 220 to 506 mV; and salinity:
0.06 to 0.08 PSS.
SAMPLE COUPONS
In October 2006, sample coupon tray
installations were completed at six different
locations throughout the harbor. A decision
was made to isolate the samples from the ex-
isting steel using a non-conductive material.
Each sample tray contained eight coupons
(each ~190 by 114 by 9.5 mm and ~1,875 g)
made of new, uncoated, ASTM A328 steel,
the primary material used for typical sheet
piling. All coupons were carefully weighed
before placement, and plans called for col-
lecting various coupons at successive inter-
vals in order to measure corrosion product
details and procure biological samples for
culturing and DNA testing.
In July and August 2007, previously
installed sample coupons were collected,
and eight additional new sample trays
were installed in November 2007. The
new trays contained eight coupons each.
The coupon sizes and composition were
very similar to the ones installed a year
earlier; but four coupons in each tray
were coated with either a standard ep-
oxy, coal tar epoxy, zinc rich primer,
moisture-cure urethane, or Humidur†
epoxy-based coating.
MICROBIOLOGICALLY
INFLUENCED CORROSION
Samples collected from the harbor
in August and September 2006 were
analyzed by researchers with the Univer-
sity of Minnesota Duluth Department of
Biology. Microbial community biofilm
samples were collected from corroded
structures ~1 m below the water line at
three locations in the harbor, with one of
the locations at the Duluth Entry.
According to the researchers, the cor-
roded steel sheet piling surfaces and cor-
rosion tubercles were covered by complex
microbial biofilms, with the diversity of
bacterial biofilm community DNA be-
ing different on corroded steel pilings at
more corroded and less corroded areas.
Using a DNA fingerprinting technique,
the researchers noted that bacterial
communities on corroding steel pilings
in the channel area of the harbor, where
corrosion was more severe, were different
than bacterial communities on the steel
sheet piling at the Duluth Entry, where
corrosion was less severe. By sequencing
the 16S rDNA gene in some samples, the
researchers were able to determine the
specific types of bacteria found at a few
corroded sample sites. Results indicated
that iron-oxidizing bacteria (similar to
Siderooxidans lithoautotrophicus) and iron-
reducing bacteria (similar to Rhodoferax
ferrireducens) were repeatedly present on
corroding steel pilings in the harbor.
They were also able to isolate S. lithoau-
totrophicus directly from corroding steel
structures in the harbor.
“Our preliminary results indicated
that corroding steel structures are cov-
ered by complex microbial biofilms that
contain the type of bacteria responsible
for corrosion of steel in other environ-
ments. We know there are differences
in the microbial communities found on
†
Trade name.
A sample coupon collected from the harbor exhibits signs of accelerated corrosion. Photo cour-
tesy of Gene Clark, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute.
the more corroded areas, but we don’t
yet know the significance of those differ-
ences,” says Randall E. Hicks, Depart-
ment of Biology professor at University
of Minnesota Duluth. “While data from
the field research lead us to suspect that
MIC may be responsible for the acceler-
ated corrosion seen in this harbor, it does
not provide conclusive evidence that
S. lithoautotrophicus or any other isolated
bacterium so far are the causative agents
of the accelerated corrosion.”
Further Investigations Planned
According to Clark, with project fund-
ing from the State of Wisconsin and the
Federal Water Resources Development
Act, several new corrosion research
tests, as well as the continuation of MIC
and LPR testing, coupon sample col-
lection, and the possible installation of
additional sample trays, were launched
in June 2008.
CONTINUED MIC TESTING
Hicks and the University of Minnesota
Duluth researchers continued to examine
the role MIC may have in the accelerated
corrosion process. The researchers have iso-
lated an iron-oxidizing bacterium from cor-
roded surfaces, but not from non-corroded
surfaces, and started a pure culture. “We
inoculated steel plate samples in the lab with
microorganisms suspected of causing the
corrosion, and now we’re following those
samples to see if the same types of corrosion
will form,” says Hicks, who expects results in
about a year. “Then, if we can reisolate the
same bacterium from steel plates that show
severe corrosion in the laboratory, that will
give us some evidence as to whether a par-
ticular bacterium is responsible, either in full
or in part, for the accelerated corrosion.”
IN-PLACE COATING TESTS
Several in-place coating tests are
planned. One small-scale test will place
one or more racks of coated steel sheets
in the ice belt area of the harbor in order
to test how the coatings stand up to the
severe ice action in the harbor.
Another study will document the
history of several types of coated steel
sheet pilings that were already in place
at various facilities in the harbor before
the current corrosion study was initiated.
Through diver-conducted inspections
and evaluations, information about
the coatings and any corrosion will be
collected and loaded into a geographic
information system database.
A third coating study will involve the
full-scale coating and testing of ~1,000
linear ft (304.8 m) of an existing steel
October 2008 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE 25
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E Mystery in Minnesota—Part 2
A B
Light photomicrographs show corrosion tubercle materials from the Duluth-Superior Harbor. Note the filamentous algae in photo (a) and bacteria
(blue color)�
structure, with the test location at a com-
mercial facility where the owner received
a grant for substantial existing dock wall
repair work. This test will study the appli-
cability of using cofferdams as a method
for cleaning and coating corroded steel
sheet piles already in place and not dam-
aged beyond repair. The in-place coating
tests will dewater the structures through
the use of a cofferdam, clean the existing
steel to ASTM specifications, and coat the
cleaned steel with several types of com-
mercially available corrosion-resistant
coatings selected by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.
ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY STUDY
Other investigations will explore a
number of alternative corrosion control
methods available for round and H-
shaped steel piles as well as the steel sheet
piles in the harbor environment. Some of
the corrosion-mitigation technologies to
be tested will include, but are not limited
to, epoxy or fiberglass wraps and jackets
for round and H-shaped pile structures,
jackets and/or plates welded to uncoated
sheet pile structures, and cathodic protec-
tion systems for all types of steel structures
in the harbor.
Although officials are reviewing dif-
ferent options for freshwater corrosion
mitigation, Clark acknowledges that
many of the studies focus on coatings,
with the consensus being that coatings
will help control the corrosion, whether Acknowledgements:
the cause is MIC, a chemical anomaly in
the water, or something else.
26 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE October 2008
“We’re not going to find the answer Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute; Randall E.
to this corrosion problem tomorrow. It Hicks, professor with the Department of Bi-
will take some time and additional study,” ology at University of Minnesota Duluth;
says Clark. “We don’t believe we will be Jim Sharrow, facilities manager with Du-
able to eliminate the corrosion-causing luth Seaway Port Authority; and Brenda
agent entirely, so we are going to need ef- Little, FNACE, senior scientist with the
forts that will identify ways we can slow it Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis
down, mitigate it, and live with it. That’s Space Center, Mississippi, for providing
why these studies are taking place. Once updated information and photos for this
we get closer to zeroing in on the cause, article.
then we can really focus on additional
mitigation tests.” Bibliography
Organizations that provided funding Clark, G. “Accelerated Freshwater Har-
and/or significant project support time bor Corrosion.” Fact Sheet, Univer-
for the research and testing include the sity of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute,
Wisconsin and Minnesota Sea Grant July 2008. seagrant.wisc.edu/Coast-
programs; Duluth Seaway Port Author- alHazards/Portals/5/CorrosionFact-
ity; Great Lakes Maritime Research Sheet072408.pdf. Sept. 2, 2008.
Institute; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; “DSPA Corrosion Investigation Report.”
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; State AMI Consulting Engineers, AMI
of Minnesota Department of Natural #061016, March 2007. seagrant.wisc.
Resources; State of Wisconsin Depart- edu/CoastalHazards/Portals/5/
ment of Natural Resources; University DSPAcir.pdf . Sept. 2, 2008.
of Minnesota Center for Urban and Re-
“Duluth-Superior Harbor Corrosion.”
gional Affairs; and the Wisconsin Coastal
Management Program. University of Wisconsin Sea
Grant Institute. seagrant.wisc.edu/
Detailed information on the corrosion in
the Duluth-Superior Harbor—including an CoastalHazards/Default.
aspx?tabid=1535. Sept. 2, 2008.
historical account of the corrosion problems
found; detailed research documents, maps,
Hicks, R.E. “Structure of Bacterial Com-
and informational databases; photos; and munities Associated with Accelerated
project updates—can be found on the Corrosive Loss of Port Transportation
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant InstituteInfrastructure.” Final Report, Uni-
Web site at seagrant.wisc.edu. versity of Minnesota Duluth Depart-
ment of Biology, November 21, 2007.
seagrant.wisc.edu/CoastalHazards/
Special thanks to Gene Clark, engi- Portals/5/FinalReport_Hicks.pdf.
neering specialist with the University of Sept. 2, 2008.