Title:
Investigation of the Rapid Chloride Permeability Test
Author(s):
Rolf F. Feldman, Gordon W. Chan, Rejean J. Brousseau, and Peter J. Tumidajski
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
91
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
246-255
Keywords:
chlorides; concretes; conductivity; corrosion; Materials Research
DOI:
10.14359/4330
Date:
5/1/1994
Abstract:
High-quality impermeable concrete as cover of reinforcing steel is one of the best methods of preventing chlorides from initiating corrosion. This has created a need for a test to rapidly measure permeability of concrete to chloride ions, and the AASHTO T 277 and ASTM C 1202-91 rapid chloride permeability tests have been developed. Some criticism of the tests has been made, mainly concerning the fact that conditions under which the measurements are made may cause changes to the specimens. This work was designed to observe how changes in the procedure of the test affect results. Factors such as temperature, A.C. impedance, initial D.C. current, charge passed, and chloride ion profiles were monitored during polarization of four different concretes. It was found that simple measurement of initial current or resistivity gave the same ranking as the conventional test for the four concretes and can replace the rapid chloride test with a considerable time savings.