Electrochemical method to assess the absorption of NaCl solutions in OPC and SRPC mortars

Abstract

One of the most important factors with regard to the corrosion of reinforcements is the presence of chloride ions which can be introduced to the mix with the raw materials or from the environment. Absorption of chloride containing solutions is the fastest mechanism of penetration in non-saturated concrete. Therefore, special consideration must be taken. The need to set up reliable methods to assess the performance of mortar and concrete mixes with regard to their chloride penetration and afterwards the influence on the corrosion propagation has been recognised and is addressed in the present work. Two kinds of cement were compared in the present study, ordinary portland cement (opc) and sulphate-resistant portland cement (srpc), with two water–cement ratios of 0.4 and 0.5. The results showed clear differences between the cement types and water-cement ratios studied. Thus, the method reported here is shown to be a useful tool to assess the chloride uptake over the threshold level for corrosion to be initiated in the steel rods.