Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, 1991, 24, 346-350

On-site detection of corrosion in reinforced concrete structures

J. A. G O N Z A L E Z , S. F E L I U
CSIC National Centre of Metallurgical Research, Av. de Gregorio del Amo 8, 28040 Madrid, Spain

C. A N D R A D E , I. R O D R I G U E Z
Instituto Eduardo Torroja of Construction and Cement, CSIC, CL Serrano Galvache, s/n 28033 Madrid, Spain
The availability of on-site methods of diagnosis of the deterioration rate in reinforced
concrete structures is a pressing technical need all over the worht. Two new methods are
proposed in this paper which are derived from the polarization resistance method, but which,
differing from this method, are applicable to full-size structures, in spite of the non-uniform
distribution of the electric signals in them. The two proposed procedures are of a simplicity
and reliability comparable with those offered by direct measurement of polarization
resistance.

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
The enormous number of reinforced concrete structures
in a deficient state of preservation is creating serious
problems of inspection, diagnosis and maintenance in the
most varied climates. Generally, the useful life of such
structures is limited by corrosion of the reinforcement.
For some years there has been great interest in technical
and scientific circles, linked to the building sector, in the
development of methods of detection and diagnosis
which will allow the condition of structures and the
deterioration rate to be known.
At the present time there does not exist any easy nondestructive technique for determining the condition of a
reinforced concrete structure. Although each country and
organization fixes its own research priorities according to
local circumstances, if there is one item in the building
sector on which there is a priority agreement in all
countries, it is the need for development of on-site
methods for measuring and diagnosing corrosion.
Collaboration between CENIM and IETcc in Spain
has recently resulted in the establishment of theoretical
bases and practical methodology for the application of
electrochemical methods for estimating the corrosion rate
in one- and two-dimensional structures made from
reinforced concrete [1-4]. In that research the
steel-concrete system has been modelled by an equivalent
circuit (Fig. 1) similar to that used for explaining current
leakages on electric transmission lines and in porous
electrodes.
The mathematical resolution of the model in the case of
two-dimensional structures leads to the following expression I-3]:
R - Ro

t-~-

RT = ~ Rt

(2)

where a is the total surface area of the interconnected bars

and b is the surface area of the slabs (on one side).
Usually, it is not possible to apply the Stern equation

[5]
B

/~o,, = R--~

(3)

(symbols in Table 1) to real structures due to the lack of

uniformity in the distribution o f the electric signal applied
from a comparatively small counterelectrode (CE). The
electric signal cannot be referred to a given surface area,
and only an apparent polarization resistance (R'p) is
obtained, which on occasions may differ by several orders
of magnitude from the true one (Rp) for the same surface
area of working electrode (WE).
Previous papers [1-4] have shown that RT calculated
by Equations 1 and 2 leads to correct values of I~or, when
the denominator of the Stern equation is replaced with
RT. The only condition required is that the current lines of
the applied signal run parallel to the reinforcement
network, and this condition is fulfilled in the large
Rel

Rez

Re3

I~en

Re4
.

Rpn

(1)

where R t is a term connected with the polarization

resistance per unit slab surface; R e, with the ohmic
resistance of the concrete; and e is a function of the
0025-5432/91 ~) RILEM

apparent polarization resistance (R'p). For a precise

definition of the terms see Table 1. R t can be converted
into the value of the polarization resistance per unit area
of reinforcing bars surface (RT) from the expression

Fig. 1 Model of equivalent circuit in transmission line for

interpreting the response of the reinforcements to a smallamplitude electric signal.

Materials and Structures

347

Table I Key to symbols

Rp

R;
R t

RT

Re
R
tort

a/b
(a/b)ScER'~

Value of the quotient AE/AL AE being the step of

potential applied to the working electrode and AI
the current response, in the case of there being a
uniform distribution of the electric signal
Value of the quotient AE/AI, in the event of there
being a non-uniform distribution of the electric
signal applied
Value of polarization resistance per unit area of
slab surface
Value of the true polarization resistance per unit
area of reinforcing bar surface
Ohmic resistance of the concrete in a direction
parallel to the slab surface, for a section I cm in
width and 1 cm in length
Ohmic resistance of the concrete between the
reference and working electrodes
Corrosion current per unit area of reinforcing bar
surface, estimated from the Stern formula:
Ir = B/RT
Polarization resistance constant in the Stern
lbrmula
Ratio between the total surface area of reinforcing bars and the surface area of the slab (on one
side)
Apparent polarization resistance referred to the
reinforcing bar surface under the CE projection,
where SeE is the counterelectrode area

majority o f reinforced concrete structures with reinforcements situated at a shallow depth.

Aware that the acceptance and spread of procedures
for on-site measuring o f corrosion rate is an exponential
function o f its simplicity, an effort has been made in this
research to propose experimental methods that are
simplified to the maximum. Two procedures are described
to facilitate application o f Equations 1, 2 and 3 to real
structures o f reinforced concrete. The results are contrasted with measurements o f R v realized in ideal
conditions, that is, when a uniform distribution o f electric
signals is secured.
2. M A T E R I A L S A N D M E T H O D S

2.1 Material used

The same concrete slabs, 133cm x I 3 3 c m x 7cm, that
were used in previous studies [3,4] have been tested.
These slabs were m a n u f a c t u r e d with a mixture o f
cement/sand/water in the proportion o f 1/3/0.5. A series
o f slabs was manufactured without additives and another
with the addition o f 3% CaC1 z by cement mass.
Each slab contained 13 corrugated steel reinforcements
0.7cm in diameter, separated one from another by a
distance o f 9 cm (Fig. 2). The short-circuited reinforcing
framework made up the WE. Steel discs were used as the
C E with diameters of 4.5, 9, 10, 34 and 45cm, with a
perforation o f 0.8 cm t h r o u g h which a reference electrode
o f saturated calomel, R E (Fig. 2), was introduced.

L.

133 c r n

7/

7'

"r

~/

/ /

LWE

Fig. 2 Reinforced concrete slab with the electrode

arrangement to apply the electric signal and the idealized
critical length for current lines.
Evidently, this arrangement gives rise to a n o n - u n i f o r m
distribution o f the signal applied to the slabs.
The a t t e n u a t i o n o f potential with distance was
determined with a second reference electrode. This
electrode was displaced over the surface of the slab at
different distances from the CE, which was always 4.5 cm
in diameter. To improve the sensitivity, 100 mV polarizations were applied, instead o f the 10 mV normally used
for determining Rp.
F o r comparative purposes, some o f the measurements
were made with one o f the steel bars electrically isolated
from the remaining bars and the help o f a long CE o f the
same length as the bar (Fig. 3). In this way a uniform
distribution o f the applied signal was achieved.

2.2 Graphical determination of the critical length

The signal applied from a small CE suffers a progressive
weakening with distance from the CE. F r o m observing
the circuit in Fig. 1, it is easy to deduce that the lateral
spreading o f the electrical signal increases as the
resistance o f the medium decreases (i.e. smaller values o f
the R e elements) and the corrosion resistance o f the
reinforcement increases (i.e. higher values o f the Rp
elements). In practice, it is useful to assume that the
electric signal extends no further than some critical length
(Lr on the surface of the W E (Fig. 2).
Equation 1 takes into account the lack o f uniformity in
the distribution o f the current lines through the parameter
c~. In the case o f two-dimensional structures, c~ m a y be
determined in terms o f the ratio R'p/R e (Fig. 4) [3], or from

RE

CE

Fig. 3 Way of obtaining a uniform distribution of the

electric signal on one isolated steel rod in the concrete.

348

Gonzalez, Feliu, A n d r a d e a n d R o d r i g u e z
1.0

Lo=3,OOcrn"~'~Lo : 0.6r

-\

~c>'.,

"-'"

/I

~/,'

~~'"

l!
J I

Lc

~"

///

///

0.I0

WE

Fig. 5 The area affected by the lateral spreading of the

electric signal (defined by L~) diminishes as the CE size
increases.

0.010

____0.003

......

, , ,

U~"

, , ,,,
"-:

R'p I Re

Fig. 4 Values of ~ in terms of the ratio R'~/R~ for CE radii

of 0.6, 1.5, 2.25 and 3.0cm.
the attenuation of the potential with distance, by means of
the expression

,4,
where u(xl) and u(xz) are the variations experienced in the
WE potential at distances xl and xz from the CE when a
step voltage is applied to it.
The value of R~, which is also necessary for application
of Equation 1, may be obtained by different procedures,
for example, from the expression

p 2RD
Re = h = h

(5)

in which R represents the ohmic resistance (instrumentally compensated by the potentiostat) between the
working and the reference electrodes, D the diameter of
the CE, p the resistivity of the concrete and h the thickness
of the concrete slab (i.e. the thickness of the electrolytic
conductor).
Equation 4 supposes the acceptance of certain simplifications which do not affect calculation accuracy when the
values of L c are small or moderate. However, the accuracy
is progressively impaired as L~ increases, such as in the
case of damp passive concrete structures, for which values
of ~ close to zero may be obtained. In such conditions
Equation 4 leads to values of ~ which are erroneous by
default, and Equation 1 leads to values of R t which are
excessively high.
The above-mentioned problems in ~ determination
could be avoided if L~ was experimentally accessible. On
the basis of mathematical treatments [1-4] used in
developing Equation 1, it can be shown that

L~ = 2(Rt/Re) 1/z

(6)

This approximate expression is particularly useful since it

relates R t (and, therefore, RT) to Lr
Rt = 0.25R~L 2

(7)

It will be seen below that the plotting of the variations in

potential versus the distance to the CE furnishes an easy
procedure to determine L~.
2.3 Use of counterelectrodes of different sizes

In real structures it is not viable to use counterelectrodes

of the same size and geometry as the WE to force a
uniform distribution of the lines of current. However,
there is the possibility of using smaller, more convenient
counterelectrodes, from which the electric signal is
dispersed towards the WE.
One might suppose that the WE surface affected by the
electric signal is that determined by the projection of the
CE upon the WE. But this is only a rough approximation,
since the area directly situated under the CE should be
supplemented with the WE area affected by the lateral
spreading of the electric signal, which depends on the
parameter L~. As the magnitude of L~ in every
metal-medium system depends on the values of R t of the
metal and R e of the medium (Equation 6), and not on the
size of the CE, the error resulting from that assumption
diminishes as the size of the CE increases (Fig. 5). By
repeating the measurements of polarization resistance
with counterelectrodes of increasing size, the R'p values
(referred to the unit of W E surface) approach the R T
value, and permit it to be deduced.
The results obtained with this technique will be
compared with those obtained in the ideal condition of
uniform current distribution (Fig. 3).
3. RESULTS AND D I S C U S S I O N
Fig. 6 shows the typical variation in potential as a
function of the distance from the CE for slabs manufactured with and without the addition of 3% CaC12. L c is
taken as the distance at which the signal is reduced to a
hundredth part (at large distances, the response of the
system is unimportant). Thus, the value of Lc is found to
be 10-15cm in the case o f active reinforcement, and
40-50cm in the case of passive reinforcement.
The resistance between the WE and the RE, which is
compensated by the potentiostat, leads to the value of Ro
by application of Equation 5. This value, together with

Materials and Structures

349
10 6

~j
\

> I00

\o~

~ ........

- -9
O--

~E 105

z"

L)

m~ mzx __. m~

~._.

p--

<

2~-10 4

Ca./

<
d

---

--

TIME, DAYS
0.I

,'0

'

i
I

I
I

2'0

3'0

2o

s'o

Fig. 8 Comparison for passive structures (without chlorides)

Go

DISTANCE TO CE, c m

Fig. 6 Graphic determination of L~ from the attenuation of

the potential with distance from the CE. Typical behaviour
of passive and active reinforcements. (O) Without chlorides;
( O ) 3% CaCI 2.
that of Lr gives the value of R, through Equation 7 and,
finally, the value of RT by Equation 2. Figs 7 and 8 show
the RT values thus determined during a period of several
days in slabs with and without chlorides, respectively.
Very dry slabs were used at first which were wetted by
progressive waterings. As the figures prove, the agreement
between the values of RT thus calculated and the reference
values, obtained for the uniform distribution of electric
signals, is very satisfactory.
Fig. 9 shows the variation of apparent polarization
resistance with the size of the CE. In the active structures,
the apparent polarization resistance almost coincides
with the true polarization resistance (uniform distribution) for CE surface areas equal to or greater than
1000cm 2. On the other hand, in the passive structure it
would be necessary to use a CE of some 10000cm 2
surface area to obtain values of RT similar to the values of
the reference. But even in the passive reinforcements, it is
very simple to estimate R T with counterelectrodes of a size
which can be easily handled, i.e. not greater than
1000cm 2, since the linear disposition of the data in a

between RT estimated by the two proposed procedures and

the true RT obtained with a uniform current distribution.
(O) From L c value; (A) CE of 34cm diameter; (O) uniform
distribution.
log-log plot is clear (Fig. 9), allowing reliable extrapolations. For example, the data obtained with three
counterelectrodes of 40, 200 and 1000 cm2 would indicate
the correct value of R v for active and passive reinforcements. This value for active reinforcements coincides with
that determined with the larger CE (Fig. 9). For passive
reinforcements, the R T value may be obtained indirectly
in this case, but in a very approximate form, by
extrapolating the line that passes through the three points
to a surface of 10000cm 2 (Fig. 9).
The results obtained for a circular CE of 34cm
diameter (910cm 2) have been included in Figs 7 and 8. It
can be seen that they are directly usable in the case of the
slabs with additives.
The simplicity ofaII these measurements is evident. The
only additional complication to the classic polarization
resistance measurement is the use of an extra RE for

i0 ~
1,9

/J

//

,0

.d
O
LLI
.O_

rr

%0%
%

U_

%0

~, ~ ~ - - - o- - - o _ . . o _ _

J
<

4
6
TI ME, DAYS

Fig. 7 Estimates of R T by the two proposed procedures and

comparison with the ideal case of uniform signal distribution
for active reinforcements (3% CaC12). In very dry slabs the
estimates obtained from L~ values are significantly higher
than the true RT values. (O) From Lr value; (A) CE of
34cm diameter: (O) uniform distribution.

i rii111[

101

i i ,~,lll

10 2

!l,llpl

103

i i~111,

10 4

CE SURFACE AREA crn 2

Fig. 9 Effect of CE size on the value of the expression

R'pScE(a/b), i.e. value of the quotient AE/AI per unit area of
reinforcing bars (ScE = counterelectrode area; a/b = ratio of
surface area of reinforcing bars and surface area of slab, on
one side). (O, [-1) Different CE sizes; (0) uniform
distribution; (D) without chlorides; (O) 3% CaCI 2.

350
determining the potential variation with distance in one
case. In the other case, various counterelectrodes of
different sizes have to be used, but this is manageable.
Given the rapidity of the measurements, this is not a
significant complication. On the other hand, both
procedures appear amenable to automation without any
difficulties greater than those offered by polarization
resistance measurements.
4. C O N C L U S I O N S
1. The determination of the value of L~ by measuring
the potential attenuation with distance allows a very
rapid, simple and reliable method for corrosion rate
estimation in real reinforced concrete structures.
2. The value of the Lr gives, in itself, useful information
on the corrosion rate, since this is inversely proportional
to R~/2.
3. Repeating the apparent Rp measurements with three
easily handled counterelectrodes of different sizes also
allows an approximate estimation of the corrosion rate.
4. The exactitude of the two methods proposed is
comparable to that offered by the polarization resistance

RESUME
D6tection in situ de la corrosion dans le b6ton arm~
Le besoin pressant se fait sentir partout dans le monde de
disposer de mbthodes in situ pour dOtecter le taux de
d~t~rioration dans les constructions en b~ton arm& Darts
cet article, on propose deux nouvelles m~thodes dOrivOes de

G o n z a l e z , Feliu, A n d r a d e a n d R o d r i g u e z
method applied in the ideal conditions of uniform
distribution of the electric signal on the WE.

REFERENCES
1. Feliu, S., Gonz~lez, J. A., Andrade, C. and Feliu, V., 'On-site
determination of the polarization resistance in a
reinforced concrete beam', Corrosion 44(70) (1988)
767-765.
2. Idem., 'Posibilidades de estimar la velocidad instant~.nea de
corrosi6n en estructuras reales de hormig6n armado.
Caso de una viga', Rev. Iberoam. Corros. Prot. 18(2-6)
(1987) 177-183.
3. Idem., 'Determining polarization resistance in reinforced
concrete slabs', Corros. Sci. 29(19) (1989) 105-113.
4. Feliu, S., Gonz~.lez, J. A., Andrade, C., Escudero, M. L. and
Macias, A., 'Posibilidades de estimar la velocidad
instant/mea de corrosi6n en estructuras reales de
hormig6n armado. Caso de un tablero', in Proceedings of
COLLOQUIA 88, IETcc-CEDEX, Madrid, May 1988,
Vol. 2, pp. 5-22.
5. Stern, M. and Geary, A. L., 'A theoretical analysis of the
shape of polarization curves', J. Electrochem. Soc. 104(1)
(1957) 56-63.

la m~thode de r~sistance de polarisation, mais qui diffOrent

de celle-ci en ce qu'elles peuvent s'appliquer aux structures
elles-m~mes, malgrk la distribution non uniforme des
signaux blectriques dans ces derniOres. Les deux m~thodes
proposbes sont d'une simplicitk et d'une s~tretk comparables
h celles offertes par la mesure directe de rOsistance de
polarisation.