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Title: Comparative Evaluation of Traditional and Innovative Corrosion Protection Methods in Cracked Reinforced Concrete Exposed to Chloride Environment

Author(s): F. Tittarelli, G. Moriconi, G. Gasparri, and R. Fratesi

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 192

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 613-628

Keywords: chlorides; corrosion resistance; cracking; steel construction

DOI: 10.14359/5774

Date: 4/1/2000

Abstract:
The corrosion resistance of cracked concrete specimens reinforced with bare, stainless, or galvanized steel plates are compared with the corrosion behavior of bare steel reinforcement embedded in concrete specimens coated with a flexible polymer--cement based mortar both before and after specimen cracking. The results in terms of corrosion electrochemical potential and short-circuit electric current measured on the different steel reinforcements are also compared with those related to galvanized reinforcement embedded in hydrophobic concrete specimens. Reinforced concrete specimens were manufactured for each protection method considered and cured before exposure to the test environments. Some specimens were previously cracked by applying flexural stress. The specimens were exposed to increasingly aggressive environments; forty days of full immersion in a 3.5% NaCl solution, simulating a marine environment, were followed by five months of wet-dry cycles using a 10% NaCl solution, simulating a bridge deck treated with deicing salts. The results for the full immersion condition show that negligible corrosion rates were detected in all the cracked specimens, except those treated with the flexible polymer-cement mortar before specimen cracking and the hydrophobic concrete specimens. On the other hand, for the cracked specimens exposed to wet-dry cycles, high corrosion rates were measured for both bare and galvanized steel reinforcement. This was in contrast to the constantly good behavior of stainless steel reinforcement and also of the galvanized steel reinforcement embedded in the hydrophobic concrete.