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(lively music)
(logo whooshing)

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- [Narrator] Sealers and coatings are used

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by the Texas Department of Transportation

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to keep water out of pavement cracks,

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thereby preserving and extending the life

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of highways and roads.

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The Texas A&M Transportation Institute,

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working with TxDOT, performed
extensive evaluations

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of these concrete coatings
applied to bridges statewide.

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Seeing what methods work in
different weather conditions,

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the research is geared towards
developing recommendations

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for the best type of coating
in our unique Texas climates.

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- This research is focused

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on the how to protect concrete structures,

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in particular, how to
protect concrete structures

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using either a coating or a sealer.

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- See, extending the bridge substructure

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is a very, you know, important part

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of the bridge preservation,

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and the common practice
using effective sealer

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and coating materials.

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But the problem is that
no quantitative research

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has been done, especially in Texas,

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to determine the effectiveness of sealer

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and coating materials to
protect the bridge substructure,

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and also to know the impact
of surface preparation.

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- [Kevin] Across our network
of districts with, you know,

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25 districts in the state, the
vast majority of the people

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that work in those districts

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do not like bare concrete structures.

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So when you drive around the
state, you'll see our concrete

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is painted, especially on
our high level interchanges,

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you know, things that really stand out.

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But as long as that coating is in effect,

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is that coating helping keep
that structure protected

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from salts basically?

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Salts wanna work their way into
the concrete, plus moisture,

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and once the salts and moisture
reach the reinforcement

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of the concrete, now you have corrosion,

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which is how well is our
durability mechanisms

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protecting our reinforced
concrete structures

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from chloride-induced corrosion distress?

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So we wanna give you the
best coating options related

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to long-term durability
of the concrete structure.

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- We selected a commonly used
sealer and coating materials

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after the thorough evaluation.

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We created a concrete substructure,

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a typical concrete substructure,

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concrete as a substrate in the lab.

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We applied the different
products according

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to the product data sheet.

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And then we did a thorough
performance evaluation

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using the key standard test.

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Of course, we selected the
test based on back and through,

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I mean, back and forth
discussions with TxDOT.

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So we selected that.

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We also selected some advanced techniques

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to measure directly the corrosion.

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After that, we did some
selective field validation.

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Same tests were conducted in the field,

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and we established a lab
versus field comparison.

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This combined approach
of lab and field together

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help us to develop the protocol.

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- And I believe that with
the proper use of concrete,

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the proper use of sealers,
which can be another product

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that you continually apply,
those materials in themselves

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are gonna actually add to
the already good component

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of concrete, which is durability.

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We're adding more durability on top

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of what we were starting with,
this good quality concrete.

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So yes, we're in this for the long haul.

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I believe the research we
continue to push through

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is producing results that
are gonna end in structures,

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you know, being here a
100, 150 years from now.

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- [Narrator] For more information

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and to find the publication
for this project,

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please visit the TxDot Research Library

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at the link shown below.