Effectiveness of pretreatment method to hinder rebar corrosion in concrete

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the ability of phosphate pretreatments applied on steel rebars to hinder the corrosion reinforcements using synthetic pore electrolyte and mortar contaminated by chloride ions. The electrochemical behaviour of the pretreated substrate was assessed by corrosion potential, polarisation resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results have demonstrated that the treatment of the rebar by immersion in the Na₃PO₄ (0·5M) solution favours the formation of a passive layer on the steel rebar surface, which increases the resistance to corrosion initiation up to 0·3M Cl^– instead of 0·1M Cl^– without treatment. The pretreatment also provides enhancement of corrosion protection of the steel rebar in mortar. The evolution of the impedance spectra in function of chloride concentration is in a fairly good agreement with the results obtained from R_P measurements.     

Characterisation of coating on rebar surface using Hot-dip Zn and Zn-4.9Al-0.1 misch metal bath

The corrosion of rebar is one of the primary causes of premature deterioration of the concrete structure. The ideal option to overcome this situation would be to provide corrosion protection right at the time of manufacturing of the rebar before it is encased in the concrete and hence, warrants the use of corrosion resistance rebar.The present paper outlines characterisation of coating obtained on rebar surface from pure Zn and Zn-4.9Al-0.1 misch metal bath. The coating was characterised by SEM, EDS, Galvanostatic and XRD techniques. In case of pure Zn bath, distinct phases such as eta, zeta, delta and gamma 1 and gamma were identified in coating where as in case of Zn-4.9Al-0.1 misch metal bath no such distinctive phases were found. The coating obtained from Zn-4.9Al-0.1 misch metal bath was thinner and consisted of outer Al₂O₃ phase followed Zn-Al phase resulting in better ductility compare to the coating obtained from pure Zn bath. Comparative corrosion resistance performances of both types of coating respect to uncoated rebar were evaluated by salt spray and tafel test. were conducted in simulated aggressive chloride and concrete pore solution of coated and The coating obtained form Zn-4.9Al-0.1 misch metal bath was found to be more anodic and showed 1.5-3 times better corrosion resistance in concrete pore solution and 2.5 times better resistance against aggressive chloride attack compare to the coating obtained from pure Zn bath. Both the coatings dissolved in faster rate in highly alkaline environment (pH = 13.6) where as dissolution rate decreased with decrease of pH in pore solution. The sacrificial as well as barrier protection of Zn-Al alloy coating was found to be more effective than pure Zn coating. Both types of coated bars showed reduction in bond strength in concrete structure. It is attributed by the faster dissolution of the coating, leading to hydrogen gas evolution thereby creating a gap between the rebar surface and concrete structure.     

Comparison of electrochemical corrosion behaviour of MgO and ZrO2 coatings on AM50 magnesium alloy formed by plasma electrolytic oxidation

Two types of PEO coatings were produced on AM50 magnesium alloy using pulsed DC plasma electrolytic oxidation process in an alkaline phosphate and acidic fluozirconate electrolytes, respectively. The phase composition and microstructure of these PEO coatings were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The corrosion behaviour of the coated samples was evaluated by open circuit potential (OCP) measurements, potentiodynamic polarization tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in neutral 0.1 M NaCl solution. The results showed that PEO coating prepared from alkaline phosphate electrolyte consisted of only MgO and on the other hand the one formed in acidic fluozirconate solution was mainly composed of ZrO₂, MgF₂. Electrochemical corrosion tests indicated that the phase composition of PEO coating has a significant effect on the deterioration process of coated magnesium alloy in this corrosive environment. The PEO coating that was composed of only MgO suffered from localized corrosion in the 50 h exposure studies, whereas the PEO coating with ZrO₂ compounds showed a much superior stability during the corrosion tests and provided an efficient corrosion protection. The results showed that the preparation of PEO coating with higher chemical stability compounds offers an opportunity to produce layers that could provide better corrosion protection to magnesium alloys.     

Corrosion protection of mild steel by applying TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticle coating via sol-gel method

TiO₂ nanoparticle coatings possess good thermal and electrical properties and they are resistant to oxidation, corrosion, erosion and wear in high temperature environments. This property is very important factor in the applications such as pipelines, castings and automotive industry. In this investigation a uniform TiO₂ nanoparticle coating has been applied on mild steel, using sol-gel method. The coating was deposited on mild steel substrate by dip coating technique. The morphology and structure of the coating were analyzed using SEM, AFM and X-ray diffraction. The anticorrosion performances of the coating have been evaluated by using electrochemical techniques. It is worthy to note that the film uniformity was retained in high temperatures and no crack and flaking off from the substrate was observed. The Tafel polarization measurements provide an explanation to the increased resistance of TiO₂ nanoparticle coated mild steel against corrosion and i_corr was decreased from 18.621 to 0.174 μA/cm². The article is published in the original.     

Performance Evaluation of a Commercial Polyurethane Coating in Marine Environment

A material evaluation study has been carried out to determine corrosion behavior of a commercial polyurethane coating system (Souplethane 5) in the marine environment. The coating system is solvent free, two-component polyurethane protective coating. The performance of the coating on steel and rebar concrete was evaluated by conducting different types of tests which include atmospheric exposure, immersion in 5% sodium chloride solution, exposure to splash zone in seawater, salt fog, sabkha soil burial, and electrochemical tests, which include potentiodynamic polarization and AC impedance measurements. Uncoated, coated, and coated scribed specimens were used in each study. In general, the coating showed good corrosion resistance in marine environment. However, the coated samples, when subjected to break under applied compressive load, showed partial or complete detachment from the substrate, e.g., steel and rebar concrete. This appears to be the major drawback of the coating while applying on steel and concrete structures.     

Corrosion resistance of TiO2 films grown on stainless steel by atomic layer deposition

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) films have been deposited onto stainless steel substrates using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Composition analysis shows that the films shield the substrates entirely. The TiO₂ films are amorphous in structure as characterized by X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical measurements show that the equilibrium corrosion potential positively shifts from − 0.96 eV for bare stainless steel to − 0.63 eV for TiO₂ coated stainless steel, and the corrosion current density decreases from 7.0 × 10^− 7 A/cm² to 6.3 × 10^− 8 A/cm². The corrosion resistance obtained by fitting the impedance spectra also reveals that the TiO₂ films provide good protection for stainless steel against corrosion in sodium chloride solution. The above results indicate that TiO₂ films deposited by ALD are effective in protecting stainless steel from corrosion.     

Long-term anticorrosion behaviour of polyaniline on mild Steel

Anticorrosion performances of polyaniline emeraldine base/epoxy resin (EB/ER) coating on mild steel in 3.5% NaCl solutions of various pH values were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for 150 days. In neutral solution (pH 6.1), EB/ER coating offered very efficient corrosion protection with respect to pure ER coating, especially when EB content was 5-10%. The impedance at 0.1 Hz of the coating increased in the first 1-40 immersion days and then remained constant above 10⁹ Ω·cm² until 150 days, which in combination with the observation of a Fe₂O₃/Fe₃O₄ passive film formed on steel confirmed that the protection of EB was mainly anodic. In acidic or basic solution (pH 1 or 13), EB/ER coating also performed much better than pure ER coating. However, these media weakened the corrosion resistance due to breakdown of the passive film or deterioration of the ER binder.     

Microstructure, spallation and corrosion of plasma sprayed Al2O3–13%TiO2 coatings

The electrochemical corrosion behaviours of the steel substrates coated with three different plasma sprayed Al₂O₃–13%TiO₂ coatings were studied in this paper. The three kinds of Al₂O₃–13%TiO₂ coatings were conventional ME coating, nanostructured NP coating and NS coating. There were micro cracks, laminar splats and straight columnar grains in ME coating. For the two nanostructured coatings, the laminar microstructure and columnar grains were not obvious. The NP coating had the highest hardness and spallation resistance. Electrochemical corrosion behaviour of the three coatings was mainly investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in aqueous Na₂SO₄ solution.     

The corrosion protection of mild steel by polypyrrole/polyphenol multilayer coating

Electrochemical synthesis of very thin polyphenol (PPhe) film was achieved on polypyrrole coated mild steel electrode (MS/PPy) and a multilayer coating was obtained, cyclic voltammetry technique was used for the synthesis. The corrosion performance of this multilayer coating and single PPy coating were investigated in 0.05 M H₂SO₄ solution by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), anodic polarization curves and open circuit potential (E_ocp)-time curves were used. It was found that the multilayer coating could provide much better protection than the single PPy coating for corrosion of MS for much longer periods and an efficiency of 98.3% was determined for this coating after 340 h exposure time in corrosive medium. It is proposed that the very thin PPhe film coated on top of PPy coating lowered the porosity and improved the barrier effect of the coating significantly.     

Initial corrosion protection of Zn–Mn alloys electrodeposited from alkaline solution

The effects of a deposition current density (c.d.) on the corrosion behaviour of Zn–Mn alloy coatings, deposited from alkaline pyrophosphate solution, were investigated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and measurement of corrosion potential (E_corr). XRD analysis disclosed that zinc hydroxide chloride was the main corrosion product on Zn–Mn coatings immersed in 0.5 mol dm⁻³ NaCl solution. EIS investigations revealed that less porous protective layer was produced on the alloy coating deposited at c.d. of 30 mA cm⁻² as compared to that deposited at 80 mA cm⁻².     

Effect of plating time for electroless nickel coating on rebar surface: An option for application in concrete structure

The ternary Ni-P-Fe alloy coating was developed by an electroless process using a citrate bath. During the steel sample dip in bath, Fe will first get dissolved from the rebar surface and would subsequently get introduced in the bath as Fe²⁺. This, in turn, would activate the surface and Ni, P and Fe are co-deposited on the activated rebar surface. The first deposition layer would act as catalyst for subsequent metal deposition. The coating was characterised using SEM, EDS and XRD techniques. The bath pH was found to play a strong role on process kinetics as well as composition of the coating but not on coating structure. The weight percentage of Ni, P and Fe in the coating was found to have a relationship with the bath pH. The Tafel and salt spray test were conducted to find out corrosion resistance performance of the coatings. Electrochemical behavior of the coated rebars in simulated concrete environment was influenced by the pH of the concrete pore solution and the ‘P’ content in the coating. Corrosion potential and the corrosion rate of the coating increased with increase in ‘P’ content in the coating and pH of the pore solution, whereas the resistance against chloride attack of the coating increased with increase in ‘P’ content. The marginal drop in the bond strength of the coated rebar with the concrete structure may be due to the higher ‘P’ content which is expected to provide improved surface smoothness.     

Influence of oxygen ion irradiation on the corrosion aspects of Ti-5%Ta-2%Nb alloy and oxide coated titanium

The corrosion resistance of Ti-5%Ta-2%Nb alloy and DOCTOR (double oxide coating on titanium for reconditioning) coated titanium by O⁵⁺ ion irradiation were compared and investigated for their corrosion behaviour. O⁵⁺ ion irradiations were carried out at a dose rate of 1 × 10¹⁷, 1 × 10¹⁸ and 1 × 10¹⁹ ions/m² at 116 MeV. The surface properties and corrosion resistance were evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), glancing-angle X-ray diffraction (GXRD) and electrochemical testing methods. The results of electrochemical investigations in 11.5 N HNO₃ indicated that the open circuit potential (OCP) of DOCTOR coated titanium is nobler than Ti-5%Ta-2%Nb alloy. The potentiodynamic polarization study of Ti-5%Ta-2%Nb alloy and DOCTOR coated specimen indicated decrease in passive current density with increase in ion doses (1 × 10¹⁷ to 1 × 10¹⁹ ions/m²) indicating decrease in anodic dissolution. Nyquist arc behaviour in the electrochemical impedance study substantiated the enhancement in oxide layer stability by O⁵⁺ ion irradiation. AFM results revealed that the DOCTOR coated Ti surface was dense without gross voids, and the surface roughness decreased by O⁵⁺ ion irradiation, but increased after corrosion test. EDX and GXRD patterns of DOCTOR coated Ti sample indicated that the coating was mainly composed of rutile TiO₂. Based on the above results, the O⁵⁺ ion irradiation effect on corrosion behavior of Ti-5%Ta-2%Nb alloy and DOCTOR coated titanium are discussed in this paper.     

Zinc modified polypyrrole coating on mild steel

Polypyrrole (PPy) films (∼ 1.7 μm thick) have been electrodeposited on mild steel (MS) substrates from 0.1 M pyrrole containing aqueous oxalic acid solution, by using cyclic voltammetry technique. Then, the polymer coatings were modified with deposition of zinc particles (∼ 1 mg/cm²), at a constant potential value of − 1.20 V in 0.2 M ZnSO₄ solution. The corrosion performance of zinc modified PPy coating has been investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution, by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and anodic polarisation curves. Also, the corrosion behaviours of zinc modified PPy coated platinum and single PPy coated MS samples have been investigated, for comparison. It was shown that zinc modified coating exhibited very low permeability and provided important cathodic protection to MS for considerably long immersion period. The voluminous zinc corrosion products are formed during exposure time in aggressive solution, giving rise to a blocking effect on the porous structure and led to effective barrier behaviour of zinc modified PPy coating, even after 96 h of exposure time to corrosive solution.     

Corrosion performance of epoxy coatings containing silane treated ZrO2 nanoparticles on mild steel in 3.5% NaCl solution

Clear epoxy coatings were modified by adding various levels of ZrO₂ nanoparticles. In order to achieve proper dispersion of nanoparticles in the epoxy-based coating and making possible chemical interactions between nanoparticles and polymeric coating, the surface of the nanoparticles was treated with amino propyl trimethoxy silane (APS). Corrosion performance of mild steel coated specimens was investigated employing EIS, electrochemical noise (ECN) techniques and salt spray test. Coatings with 2–3 wt% ZrO₂ nanoparticles possessed the best corrosion performance among the coating specimens. Possible chemical interactions between polymeric matrix and treated nanoparticles in nanocomposites cause high barrier properties and ionic resistances.     

Corrosion protection of magnesium alloy AZ31 sheets by spin coating process with poly(ether imide) [PEI]

In the present study, the potential of poly(ether imide) as corrosion protective coating for magnesium alloys was evaluated using the spin coating technique. The influence of different parameters on the coating properties was evaluated and the corrosion behaviour of the coatings was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The best corrosion protection was obtained preparing the coatings under N₂ atmosphere, using 15 wt.% solution in N′N′-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) which resulted in a coating of approximately 2 μm thickness, with an initial impedance of 10⁹ Ω cm² and of 10⁵ Ω cm² after 240 h of exposure to a 3.5% NaCl solution.     

Application of some ferrocene derivatives in the field of corrosion inhibition

Three ferrocene derivatives, namely 1,1′-diacetylferrocene (Diacetyl Fc), 1,1′-diformylferrocene (Diformyl Fc) and 2-benzimidazolythioacetylferrocene (BIM Fc) were synthesized and their inhibitive effects against mild steel corrosion in aerated 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1 M HCl solutions were evaluated. Corrosion measurements based on polarization resistance (R_p), potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicate that Diacetyl Fc, in most cases, accelerates mild steel corrosion in HCl while Diformyl Fc and BIM Fc act as weak inhibitors. In H₂SO₄ solution, ferrocene derivatives show good inhibition performance. The efficiency of the inhibitors follows the order: BIM Fc > Diformyl Fc ? Diacetyl Fc. Adsorption of both Diacetyl Fc and Diformyl Fc obey Langmuir adsorption isotherm with very low value of free energy of adsorption ΔG^° for the Diformyl Fc (physisorption) while adsorption of BIM Fc follows that of Frumkin with high negative value of ΔG^° (chemisorption). Both Diformyl Fc and BIM Fc act as mixed-type inhibitors with predominant effect on the anodic dissolution of iron. Analysis of the polarization curves and impedance spectra indicates that charge transfer process mainly controls mild steel corrosion in H₂SO₄ solution without and with ferrocene compounds. The mechanism of corrosion inhibition or acceleration by ferrocene derivatives was discussed in the light of the molecular structure of the additives.     

Comparative studies on the corrosion properties of a Fe-Mn-Al-Si steel and an interstitial-free steel

Recent developments in a group of super ductile Fe-Mn-Al-Si steels with high-manganese content demands for more research in the corrosion behavior of such steels. The corrosion properties of the Fe-Mn-Al-Si steel was studied in acidic (0.1 M H₂SO₄), alkaline (0.1 M NaOH) and chloride-containing (3.5% NaCl) environments, using immersion and polarization experiments and compared with that of interstitial-free (IF) steel. In acidic solution, the Fe-Mn-Al-Si steel exhibited significantly lower corrosion resistance than that of IF steel. Though the Fe-Mn-Al-Si steel showed lower corrosion resistance as compared to IF steel in chloride solution, the difference was not as substantial as observed in acidic medium. However, in alkaline solution, the Fe-Mn-Al-Si steel showed no significant difference in the corrosion resistance in comparison with that of IF steel, and moreover exhibited substantially high corrosion resistance than in acidic and chloride solution. The post-corrosion characterization studies showed higher corrosion attack of the Fe-Mn-Al-Si steel exposed to acidic solution as compared to that in alkaline and chloride solutions, which is consistent with the corrosion measurement data.     

Detrimental effect of particle sol-gel coating on the corrosion behavior of A380-SiC composite

In this study, the corrosion susceptibility of aluminum matrix composites reinforced with artificially oxidized SiO₂ and sol-gel Fe/TiO₂ coated silicon carbide particles (SiC_p) has been investigated. Corrosion behavior of the composites, fabricated by the liquid metal infiltration technique, was established in chloride containing alkaline environments by cyclic polarization (CP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. It has been found that, sol-gel coating of SiC particles with Fe/TiO₂ has a detrimental effect on the corrosion characteristics of A380-SiC metal matrix composite.     

Chloride threshold level for corrosion of steel in concrete

The steel rebar inside reinforce concrete structures is susceptible to corrosion when permeation of chloride from deicing salts or seawater results in the chloride content at the surface of the steel exceeding a chloride threshold level (CTL). The CTL is an important influence on the service life of concrete structures exposed to chloride environments. The present study discusses the state of art on the CTL for steel corrosion in concrete, concerning its measurement, representation, influencing factors and methods to enhance the CTL. As the CTL values reported in the majority of previous studies were varied with experimental conditions, corrosion initiation assessment method, the way in which the CTL was represented, direct comparison between the results from different sets and evaluation was subjected to the difficulty. As a result, total chloride by weight of cement or the ratio of [Cl⁻]:[H⁺] is the best presentation of CTL in that these include the aggressiveness of chlorides (i.e. free and bound chlorides) and inhibitive nature of cement matrix. The key factor on CTL was found to be a physical condition of the steel-concrete interface, in terms of entrapped air void content, which is more dominant in CTL rather than chloride binding, buffering capacity of cement matrix or binders. The measures to raise the CTL values using corrosion inhibitor, coating of steel, and electrochemical treatment are also studied.     

The EIS investigation of powder polyester coatings on phosphated low carbon steel: The effect of NaNO2 in the phosphating bath

The effect of different type of iron-phosphate coatings on corrosion stability and adhesion characteristic of top powder polyester coating on steel was investigated. Iron-phosphate coatings were deposited on steel in the novel phosphating bath with or without NaNO₂ as an accelerator. The corrosion stability of the powder polyester coating was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), adhesion by pull-off and NMP test, while surface morphology of phosphate coatings were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM).The adhesion and corrosion stability of powder polyester coatings were improved with pretreatment based on iron-phosphate coating deposited from NaNO₂-free bath.