US Patent 7553554 Environmentally protected reinforcement dowel pins and method of making

Galvanically protected reinforcement dowel pins and methods of producing the same. In one embodiment, the reinforcement dowel pins comprise a bar or tube, the longitudinal exposed surfaces of which are covered by a heavy gauge of a sacrificial metal, such as zinc, zinc alloy, magnesium, magnesium alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. The bar or tube comprises steel, carbon steel, or other ferrous metal. The heavy gauge of sacrificial metal is applied to the ferrous metal by various processes, such as roll bonding, lock seaming, welding, die casting, flame spraying, plasma spraying, dipping, sinking, and drawing. The resulting reinforcement dowel pins resist corrosion without sacrificing structural integrity, and are reasonable in materials and manufacturing costs. These dowel pins may be installed in adjacent concrete panels using conventional methods, and therefore do not introduce additional costs in installation.