Abstract
This paper studies the effect of water as an oxidation agent and also of oxygen on zinc corrosion kinetics in active state in concrete, using high-sensitivity electrical resistance sensors. It was proven that zinc corrosion in active state is strongly affected by the presence of water at its surface. Zinc corrosion in real concrete in the absence of water can be misinterpreted as salt passivity. The presence of oxygen results in an increase of zinc corrosion rate, however at pH 12.6, passivity can occur. It was verified that corrosion products consisting primarily of Ca[Zn(OH)3]2·2H2O cannot effectively passivate zinc surface in concrete, even after 1800 h of exposure and zinc, or hot-dip galvanized steel can corrode at an unacceptable corrosion rate (more than 4 µm·a−1).
Highlights
Reinforcement with steel profiles is a process necessary to ensure sufficient tensile strength of concrete
The goal of this paper is the precise description of zinc corrosion kinetics in real concrete
High-sensitivity electrical resistance sensors consist of a reference and sensing part (Figure 1)
Summary
Reinforcement with steel profiles (rods, rebars, braidings) is a process necessary to ensure sufficient tensile strength of concrete. Steel in concrete corrodes in passive state with an acceptable, that is, a very low corrosion rate (rcorr < 0.1 μm·a−1 ). This corresponds to the formation of a very thin passive layer from amorphous hydrated iron oxides (only a few monolayers) [2,3]. Activation of the surface of the reinforcement (rebar) is tied to pH reduction of the concrete covering layer, due to interaction with atmospheric CO2 (very slow process) [4]. An unacceptable rate of corrosion (rcorr > 2.0 μm·a−1 ) is usually caused by contamination of the covering layer by chlorides (from deicing salts or from aerosol in coastal areas) [2,3]
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