Title:
On-Site Measurements on Corrosion Rate of Steel in Reinforced Concrete
Author(s):
Hyoung Seok So and Stephen Geoffrey Millard
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
104
Issue:
6
Appears on pages(s):
638-642
Keywords:
corrosion; reinforcement; steel; temperature
DOI:
10.14359/18968
Date:
11/1/2007
Abstract:
The corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete is a dynamic process strongly influenced by the environmental exposure conditions. Thus, there can be difficulties in assessing the ongoing corrosion problem for reinforced concrete structures in the field due to fluctuating ambient conditions. A number of laboratory electrochemical techniques have been developed to directly measure the corrosion rate of steel in reinforced concrete. These techniques are still not extensively used, however, although some have now been developed sufficiently to enable the measurement of corrosion rate in the field. The focus of this study is the accuracy of using the linear polarization resistance (LPR) method for field assessment of the corrosion rate of steel in reinforced concrete structures. In this paper, the influences of climatic parameters on LPR corrosion rate measurements are discussed. Measurements of the polarization resistance of reinforcing steel were made on reinforced concrete specimens exposed to urban marine weather conditions in the UK. The results obtained show that the concrete resistance and, as a result, the corrosion rate, was significantly influenced by the ambient temperature and rainfall. Guidelines are suggested for using the linear polarization resistance technique to assess the corrosion of steel reinforcement of in-place concrete structures.