Electrochemical Behavior of Steel in Concrete as a Result of Chloride Diffusion into Concrete: Part 2

Abstract

Abstract Penetration of chloride salts into concrete from sources such as deicing-salts or sea water causes a severe corrosion problem to reinforcing steel. In this paper, the effect of salt penetration into concrete on the corrosion process was investigated by electrochemical techniques such as anodic and cathodic polarization. The potential measurements of steel in concrete were also made to compare the data with the results obtained from the polarization curves. Concretes made of Type I and Type V Portland cement were used. It was found that corrosion of steel in Type I Portland cement concrete is more rapid than in the Type V Portland cement concrete when the steel is exposed to salt solutions. This may be due to the differences in alkalinites which exist between the Types I and V Portland cement, whereas steel in the concrete with high pH can tolerate more Cl− than in concrete with lower pH. Corrosion of steel is more severe in the presence of chlorides added externally to hardened concrete than in the presence of chloride mixed with fresh concrete. Anodic and cathodic current densities for steel in concrete made of Types I and V Portland cement increase with the time that the concrete remains in the salt solutions.