Indirect Galvanostatic Pulse in Wenner Configuration: Numerical Insights into Its Physical Aspect and Its Ability to Locate Highly Corroding Areas in Macrocell Corrosion of Steel in Concrete

Romain Rodrigues,Stéphanie Betelu,Julien Gance,Stéphane Gaboreau,Ioannis Ignatiadis

doi:10.3390/cmd1030018

Abstract

The use of indirect electrical techniques is gaining interest for monitoring the corrosion of steel in concrete as they do not require any connection to the rebar. In this paper, we provide insights into the physical aspects of the indirect galvanostatic pulse (GP) method in the Wenner configuration. Considering uniform corrosion, the instantaneous ohmic drop is decreased due to the presence of the rebar, which acts as a short-circuit. However, we observed that this phenomenon is independent of the electrochemical parameters of the Butler–Volmer equation. They are, however, responsible for the nonlinear decrease of the current that polarizes the rebar over time, especially for a passive rebar due to its high polarization resistance. This evolution of the resulting potential difference with time is explained by the increase of the potential difference related to concrete resistance and the global decrease of the potential difference related to the polarization resistance of the rebar. The indirect GP technique is then fundamentally different than the conventional one in three-electrode configuration, as here the steady-state potential is not only representative of polarization resistance but also of concrete resistance. Considering non-uniform corrosion, the presence of a small anodic area disturbs the current distribution in the material. This is essentially due to the different capability of anodic and cathodic areas to consume the impressed current, resulting in slowing down the evolution of the transient potential as compared to uniform corrosion. Hence, highly corroding areas have a greater effect on the transient potential than on the steady-state one. The use of this temporal evolution is thus recommended to qualitatively detect anodic areas. For the estimation of their length and position, which is one of the main current problematic issue when performing any measurement on reinforced concrete (RC) structures with conventional techniques, we suggest adjusting the probe spacing to modulate the sensitivity of the technique.

Highlights

Reinforced concrete (RC) is a durable material that allows the construction of safe and strong structures
Irrespective of the position of the device, a clear polarization is observed. This polarization is related to the rebar and not to the concrete, as only an ohmic drop is observed on unreinforced specimens (Figure S1A)
As shown in Section 4.2.1, the instantaneous ohmic drop obtained on reinforced concrete is related to concrete resistivity and results from a rebar effect [75,76]

Summary

Introduction

Reinforced concrete (RC) is a durable material that allows the construction of safe and strong structures. RC degrades over time, the main cause being corrosion of the steel rebars [1,2] This is an electrochemical process that involves the anodic oxidation of iron and, generally, the cathodic reduction of oxygen, whereby the concrete pore solution acts as electrolyte to close the electrical circuit. The volume expansion of the corrosion products can result in concrete cracking, spalling, and delamination, which progressively decreases the performance of the structures and can lead to their collapse. To prevent such disasters, we need monitoring devices that can detect an early stage of corrosion without altering the integrity of the structures

Results

Discussion

Conclusion