Environmental influences on linear polarisation corrosion rate measurement in reinforced concrete

The linear polarisation resistance (LPR) method can be used to measure the active rate of corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete structures. However a single measurement may be sensitive to the ambient environmental conditions and thus may not be representative of the mean annual rate of corrosion. The LPR measurement may be dependent upon the temperature at the time of sampling and on any wetting/drying effects resulting from rainfall and wind or sunshine.Recent studies have examined the behaviour of a series of reinforced concrete specimens subject to chloride contamination or carbonation induced corrosion in a controlled laboratory environment. LPR measurements taken at frequent intervals have been related to a wet/dry cycle imposed upon the specimens to promote corrosion activity. In addition, similar studies have been carried out, of an in situ reinforced concrete specimen exposed to the ambient weather conditions. The study is only partly completed, but interim results show the variability of LPR measurements and the influences the environment may exert on single spot measurements.     

Steel corrosion and corrosion-induced cracking in recycled aggregate concrete

This study investigated four reinforced concrete mixtures with different replacement percentages of recycled coarse aggregate (RA). The corrosion rate was measured using an electrochemical workstation, and the corrosion-induced cracks on the concrete surface were observed using digital microscopy. The results show that the use of RA introduces more interfaces in concrete, which accelerates the steel corrosion process and corrosion-induced crack propagation in concrete cover. However, steel corrosion and the corrosion-induced cracking process in concrete are not significantly influenced by replacing a small amount (33% in the study) of coarse aggregate with RA.     

Steel corrosion behaviour in carbonated alkali-activated slag concrete

Steel bars embedded in an alkali-activated slag (AAS) concrete were exposed (after curing for 28 days) to an accelerated carbonation test (3% CO₂, 65% relative humidity (RH), and 25 °C temperature) and a laboratory environment (0.03% CO₂, 65% RH, and 25 °C). Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was also tested for comparative purposes and exposed to identical experimental conditions. The corrosion behaviour of uncarbonated and carbonated AAS and OPC concretes was tested for different times, performing corrosion potential, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Corrosion products were analysed using the Mössbauer technique. The main corrosion products found were magnetite (Fe₃O₄), wüstite (FeO), and goethite (α-FeOOH).     

Measurement of loss of steel from reinforcing bars in concrete using linear polarisation resistance measurements

The measured weight loss data for a number of mild steel bars contained in Portland Cement concrete, together with predicted weight loss values monitored using potentiostatically controlled linear polarisation resistance (LPR) measurements are reported. Three sets of reinforced concrete specimens, each containing electrically isolated mild steel bars, were subjected to either• chloride-induced corrosion,• carbonation-induced corrosion• a control nitrogen rich environment with minimal corrosion.Each set of specimens was initially exposed to a 22-hour dry, 2-hour wet controlled environment for a duration of between 1026 and 1085 days. This was later changed to a 6-day dry, 1 day wet cycle for the carbonation exposure specimens after the initial set of gravimetric testing. The weight loss for each bar due to corrosion was recorded. Instantaneous LPR measurements were also taken on each bar at regular intervals throughout the exposure period. These resistance measurements were then integrated over the exposure period to estimate total weight loss. The results show that weight loss evaluated from experimental LPR measurements gives a significant over-estimate of the weight losses measured gravimetrically.     

Considerations on reproducibility of potential and corrosion rate measurements in reinforced concrete

This communication analyses information supplied by the electrochemical parameters related to rebar corrosion in reinforced concrete structures (RCS). Corrosion potential and corrosion current density are determined for different sets of conditions. Tests are performed to gather data on conflictive aspects of the two electrochemical parameters, with regard to evaluating the results of RCS inspections. Consideration is made of the limitations of potential measurements if not accompanied by complementary indications such as concrete resistivity, rebar surface area involved in the measurements, or the instrumentally determined corrosion current. The capacity of galvanostatic pulses applied directly on large RCS to offer a reliable guide to corrosion rate of steel reinforcements is discussed.     

Quantitative measurements of corrosion rate of reinforcing steels embedded in concrete using polarization resistance measurements

Up to this time all the methods to measure the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels embedded in hardened concrete have been of the destructive type, which requires much time and materials and makes the full scale study of the phenomenon difficult. The authors have applied the polarization resistance method to bars embedded in hardened mortar and immersed in Ca(OH)₂-saturated solution, and have found an acceptable agreement between the gravimetric and the electrochemical weight loss data.     

Polarisation behaviour of steel bar samples in concrete in seawater. Part 2: A polarisation model for corrosion evaluation of steel in concrete

In the companion paper [Z.T. Chang, B. Cherry, M. Marosszeky, Polarisation behaviour of steel bar samples in concrete in seawater, Part 1: Experimental measurement of polarisation curves of steel in concrete, Corrosion Science 50(2) (2008) 357-364], influences of the experimental procedure on measured polarisation curves of steel in concrete in seawater were investigated. It was found that an undistorted full polarisation curve of a steel sample in concrete can be obtained by the two-test procedure to conduct separate anodic and cathodic polarisation tests and combine the two partial curves into one curve. However, polarisation curves of steel samples in concrete in seawater were found not to fit with the theoretical curves based on the kinetics of charge transfer reactions. This was considered to be due in the main to the influence of a passive film on the steel surface in concrete. This paper proposes an empirical model for the polarisation behaviour of steel in concrete based on the assumption of two major electrochemical processes taking place at the interfaces of steel/passive-film/concrete: one is the active corrosion process and the other is the passive film growth or dissolution process. Typical curve-fit results are presented using the proposed model to simulate the polarisation behaviour and to evaluate the corrosion rate and Tafel parameters of three types of steel corrosion in seawater: steel bars in concrete, new steel bars and corroded steel bars.     

Measuring the corrosion rate of steel in concrete – effect of measurement technique,polarisation time and current

Both on‐site investigations and laboratory studies have shown that different corrosion rates are obtained when different commercially available corrosion rate instruments are used. The different electrochemical techniques and the measurement parameters used, i.e. polarisation current and time, are in some studies considered the main reasons for the variations. This paper presents an experimental study on the quantitative effect of polarisation time and current on the measured polarisation resistance – and thus the corrosion current density – of passively and actively corroding steel. Two electrochemical techniques often used in instruments for on‐site corrosion rate measurements are investigated. On passively corroding reinforcement the measured polarisation resistance was for both techniques found to be highly affected by the polarisation time and current and no plateaus at either short or long polarisation times, or low or high polarisation currents were identified. On actively corroding reinforcement a large effect of the polarisation time was also found, but only a minor effect of the polarisation current. The effect of the polarisation time was, however, practically independent of the corrosion rate for actively corroding steel. For both techniques guidelines for polarisation times and currents are given for (on‐site) non‐destructive corrosion rate measurements on reinforcement steel in concrete.     

Steel corrosion inhibition by benzoic acid salts in calcium hydroxide solutions

The influence of salts of substituted benzoic acids on steel behavior in chloride-containing solutions Ca(OH)₂ was studied. It was shown that the studied compounds inhibit local metal depassivation, elevating its potential and extending its induction period. The efficiency of inhibiting protection decreases when both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substituents are introduced in the aromatic nucleus of benzoic acid. The possible mechanism of the influence of substituent nature on protective properties of the studied compounds was considered. Original Russian Text ? N.N. Andreev, E.V. Starovoitova, N.A. Lebedeva, 2008, published in Korroziya: Materialy, Zashchita, 2007, No. 5, pp. 29–31.     

Evaluation of the corrosion inhibition of salts of organic acids in alkaline solutions and chloride contaminated concrete

This paper summarizes the results of testing on salts of organic acids for evaluating their use as inhibitors of rebar corrosion in chloride‐contaminated concrete. Initially a screening based on electrochemical tests in alkalinized calcium hydroxide solutions was performed on a number of carboxylic acid salts with different number of carbon atoms in the chain and carboxylic groups, also covering substances with hydroxyl and amine group substituents. The screening was completed by testing on carbon steel rebars in concretes with chlorides and substances added at 1:1 molar ratio, focused on sodium lactate, sodium oxalate and sodium borate for comparison. The monitoring of free corrosion potential and linear polarization resistance of steel bars have confirmed significant inhibition only for lactate. Corrosion was only restricted to occluded zones where the access of substance was limited by disadvantageous geometry, producing shallow attacks. Results of further tests in saturated calcium hydroxide solution are reported in order to assess the inhibition ability of lactate as a function of its content, chloride content and pH.     

Influence of pH on the nitrite corrosion inhibition of reinforcing steel in simulated concrete pore solution

Measurements of corrosion rate of reinforcing steels have been carried out in solutions simulating electrolytic chloride environments in corrosion pits in the propagation period with sodium nitrite. A significant corrosion inhibition has been observed at relatively low chloride contents of 0.045 M due to the presence of nitrite in these systems, but its efficiency decreases when the pH is reduced. The corrosion intensity seems to be related to the [Cl⁻]/[OH⁻] ratio. Three different pH regions from acid to alkaline have been observed in terms of corrosion activity. An explanation on the behaviour of nitrite at different pH is given.     

Study and characterization by acoustic emission and electrochemical measurements of concrete deterioration caused by reinforcement steel corrosion

The durability of reinforced concrete structures becomes a matter of concern, due primarily to the increase of damage by the corrosion of steel reinforcements. This corrosion is not only related to the composition and to the procedure of concrete manufacturing (water/cement, sand/cement, etc.), but also to the aggressive agents as chlorides, carbon dioxide, etc. present in the surrounding medium (Cl⁻, CO₂, etc.). It is well known that the first kind of rebar corrosion (chloride) is more detrimental and that this process contains three basic components: chloride diffusion, electrochemical corrosion and concrete fracture. Therefore the early detection of possible degradation of structures by means of non-destructive testing is essential in order to ensure the functionality of these structures.

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the use of acoustic emission during the corrosion of steel rebars embedded in mortar and immersed in sodium chloride solution. The process of corrosion is accelerated by various imposed potentials and is followed by acoustic emission coupled to electrochemical techniques. The experimental results show that electrochemical techniques can evaluate the corrosive character of the medium used. The acoustic emission showed an activity characteristic of the corrosion initiation phase and the corrosion propagation phase. Thus, it was significantly possible to highlight the acoustic signature of the concrete damage related to the porosity of the mortar and to chloride concentration. The results also show a perfect correlation between the evolution of the acoustic activity and the current of corrosion density.     

The concept of floating electrode for contact-less electrochemical measurements: Application to reinforcing steel-bar corrosion in concrete

The concept of floating electrode is introduced for defining the common electrochemical behaviour of any non-connected, electronically conducting, body immersed in an electrolytic medium. The emphasis is put on both its own polarisation features and its influence on the d.c. and a.c. current and potential across the cell, hence the feasibility, among others, of contact-less electrochemical measurements on floating electrodes. Application to reinforcing steel bars in concrete is investigated by numerical computation of the a.c. current and potential fields in a broad range of concrete resistivity, interfacial resistance and capacitance. Impedance defined in a 4-electrode configuration, when rationalised against the concrete resistivity, is shown to provide, within a realistic range of parameters, a practical mean to access the properties of the bar–concrete interface.     

碳钢阳极电溶解中的电化学振荡现象

采用线性扫描伏安法和恒电位法研究了扫描速率、电解质浓度以及卤素离子的种类和浓度等对碳钢／H2SO4体系电流振荡现象的影响．结果表明,这些因素均对该体系的电流振荡产生明显影响．不同卤素离子对碳钢／H2SO4体系电流振荡动力学行为影响的强弱顺序为：Cl^-〉Br〉I^-．恒电位极化测试显示,卤素离子存在时碳钢阳极电溶解中可...     

Evaluation of corrosion rate from polarisation curves not exhibiting a Tafel region

Evaluation of corrosion rate by Tafel extrapolation is often impossible, simply because an experimental polarisation curve does not exhibit linear Tafel regions. This paper shows how such curves for the Fe/H₂O/H⁺/O₂ corrosion system can be accurately deconstructed to furnish both kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for the anodic and cathodic reactions. The curved anodic branch (due to film formation) is then amenable to correction for IR voltage drop and the resulting Tafel slope and other parameters are then substituted in the Tafel equation to accurately determine i_corr. An alternative method to obtain the anodic Tafel slope has been used to validate the above approach. Polarisation curves describing the inhibition of mild steel in industrial cooling water were scanned/digitised from the literature.     

Adsorption characteristics of corrosion inhibitors from corrosion rate measurements

Corrosion rate data have been used for the determination of the adsorption parameters of the Frumkin isotherm in the system steel/acid solution/inhibitor. The inhibitors are derivatives of benzimidazole. The maximal amount of adsorbed inhibitor, the interaction parameter a and the equilibrium constant B of the isotherm are found simultaneously by using the SOLVER option of Excel. The statistical analysis of the results shows that this isotherm describes well the adsorption behaviour in the systems studied.     

Steel corrosion in concrete: Determinist modeling of cathodic reaction as a function of water saturation degree

The prediction of the long-term behavior of reinforced concrete structures involved in the nuclear waste storage requires the assessment and the modeling of the corrosion processes of steel reinforcement. This paper deals with the modeling of the cathodic reaction that is one of the main mechanisms of steel rebar corrosion. This model takes into account oxygen reduction and oxygen diffusion through a diffusion barrier (iron oxide and/or carbonated concrete) as a function of water saturation degree. It is demonstrated that corrosion rate of reinforcement embedded in concrete with water saturation degree as low as 0.9 could be under oxygen diffusion control. Thus, transport properties of concrete (aqueous and gaseous phase, dissolved species) are key parameters that must be taken into account to model electrochemical processes on the reinforcement.     

Corrosion Protection of Steel Highway Bridges: II Characterisation of bridge locations by corrosion and environmental measurements

Abstract

Climatological and air pollution factors greatly affect the corrosion damage to steel highway bridges. This paper gives first results of a programme to define quantitative criteria by which the potential corrosivity of a prospective bridge location can be assessed.

At seven sites throughout the country, the corrosion rates of a special mild steel, a low alloy steel and zinc are being measured under both open and sheltered exposure conditions. Meteorological and air pollution data are also being collected.

To eliminate the considerable delays which can occur in negotiating the building of permanent test compounds, a mobile test rig has been developed, which can be easily transported to any prospective bridge location.From the first year's results, it is apparent that sheltered test specimens give a much closer indication of the corrosivity under a bridge deck than do open exposure specimens. Of the environmental factors, atmospheric chlorides and sulphur compounds are the major factors influencing corrosion rate. It was not possible, at this stage of the work, to produce a correlation between corrosion rates and meteorological data.     

Electrochemical measurements of cathodic protection for reinforced concrete piles in a marine environment using embedded corrosion monitoring sensors

This study developed a sensor to monitor the corrosion of reinforced concrete structures. Concrete pile specimens with embedded sensors were used to obtain data on corrosion and cathodic protection for bridge columns in a real marine environment. Corrosion potential, cathodic protection current density, concrete resistivity, and the degree of depolarization potential were measured with the embedded sensors in concrete pile specimens. The cathodic protection (CP) state was accurately monitored by sensors installed in underwater, tidal, splash, and atmospheric zones. The protection potential measurements confirmed that the CP by Zn-mesh sacrificial anode was fairly effective in the marine pile environment. The protection current densities in the tidal, splash zones were 2–3 times higher than those in underwater and atmospheric zones. The concrete resistivity in the tidal and splash zones was decreased through the installation of both mortar-embedded Zn-mesh (sacrificial anode) and outside an FRP jacket (cover). Considering the CP, the cathodic prevention was more effective than cathodic protection.