Towards understanding corrosion initiation in concrete – Influence of local electrochemical properties of reinforcing steel


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Date

2018

Publication Type

Conference Paper

ETH Bibliography

yes

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Abstract

The ageing of reinforced concrete (RC) structures in the industrialized countries increases the probability of durability issues. The mechanism of chloride-induced corrosion, the most common deterioration process in RC structures, is still not well understood. Improvement in the understanding of localized corrosion initiation is crucially required to allow for cost efficient and durable maintenance of the existing infrastructures and for service life design of new structures. This study reports results from localized electrochemical characterization of reinforcing steel surfaces taken with a local sensor positioned at different locations on the rebars. This permitted “mapping” the local Open Circuit Potentials for different rebars with different surface conditions. Moreover, local cyclic voltammetries on selected spots were also carried out. Subsequently, the samples were exposed to a chloride solution to provoke corrosion initiation. The corrosion initiation sites from visual inspection were correlated with the local electrochemical characterization. Results show a clear difference depending on the surface condition. Furthermore, for non-rusted surfaces, a spatial distribution of the local electrochemical behaviors seems to follow a pattern depending on the geometry of the steel bar and influencing the location of corrosion initiation.

Publication status

published

Editor

Book title

MATEC Web of Conferences

Volume

199

Pages / Article No.

4001

Publisher

EDP Sciences

Event

5th International Conference on Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting (ICCRRR 2018)

Edition / version

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Organisational unit

09593 - Angst, Ueli / Angst, Ueli check_circle

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