Effect of corrosion on steel piles embedded in soils: State-of-the art review

Steel piles are widely used in the construction of civil infrastructure to support heavy loads from the superstructure in various types of soils and limit settlements. A key challenge associated with the design of buried steel piles is their gradual deterioration that can be predominantly attributed to corrosion. While corrosion mechanisms in atmospheric conditions are well understood, the long-term impact on the performance of buried steel piles in soils considering complex corrosion processes is less explored. Corrosion-induced degradation is of growing interest to both structural and geotechnical engineers because there is limited understanding of long-term performance and reliability of corroded steel piles behavior as infrastructure ages. This paper provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art literature review on the effect of corrosion on steel piles considering different scenarios of soil environments, focusing on experimental studies, prediction models, and numerical simulations. Current design methods for estimating pile bearing capacity are reviewed comprehensively, highlighting gaps in research and offering suggestions for future work. This review aims to guide the development of improved design approaches that account for corrosion, ensuring the long-term reliability and durability of steel pile foundations.