Abstract
Seawater and sea sand concrete (SWSSC) is an environmentally friendly alternative to ordinary Portland cement concrete for civil construction. However, the detrimental effect of high chloride content of SWSSC on the corrosion resistance of steel reinforcement is a concern. This study undertook the electrochemical corrosion behaviour and surface characterizations of a mild steel and two stainless steels (AISI type 304 and 316) in various simulated concrete environments, including the alkaline + chloride environment (i.e., SWSSC). Open circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed. Though chloride is detrimental to the corrosion resistance of mild steels, a simultaneous presence of high alkalinity in SWSSC negate the detrimental effect of chloride. In the case of stainless steels, a high level of alkalinity is found to be detrimental, whereas chloride seems to have less detrimental effect on their corrosion resistance.
Highlights
In response to the shortage of resources caused by huge increase in demand for infrastructure and construction materials in the large-scale industrial world, seawater and sea sand concrete (SWSSC) is an attractive alternative to the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete [1,2,3,4,5]
Because the mining of river sand for use in concrete aggregate has a negative impact on river ecosystems, navigation and flood control, SWSSC will be beneficial to the environment [6]
This study investigates the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of a mild steel and the two most common stainless steels, 316 and 304, in simulated solutions of seawater, concrete and seawater sea sand concrete (SWSSC) environments
Summary
In response to the shortage of resources caused by huge increase in demand for infrastructure and construction materials in the large-scale industrial world, seawater and sea sand concrete (SWSSC) is an attractive alternative to the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete [1,2,3,4,5]. SWSSC is deemed as a new concrete type, which uses seawater to replace fresh water, and sea sand to replace river sand [6,7]. The design of SWSSC can reduce the over-use of fresh water and river sand. SWSSC can be sea water and sea sand normal concrete (SWSSNC) that uses Portland cement, or sea water and sea sand high performance concrete (SWSSHPC) that uses fly ash or slag. The alkali-silica reaction has an adverse effect on ordinary Portland cement concrete, further destroying the integrity of the structure [13]
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