ID : SEM-051

2nd International Conference on Advances in Civil Engineering 2014 (ICACE-2014)

26 28 December, 2014
CUET, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Methodology for Assessing Corrosion of Reinforced Concrete in Marine

Environment
Md. Ibrahim Mostazid1*, Md. Refatul Karim Chy1, Mohammed Morshedul Hoque2,
Md. Moinul Islam3, Md. Saiful Islam4
1
Undergraduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET, Chittagong-4349
Bangladesh, mostazidibrahim@gmail.com, rehfatzamshed@yahoo.com
2
Post Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET, Chittagong-4349
Bangladesh
3
Professor, 4Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET, Chittagong-4349
Bangladesh
*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the corrosion of steel reinforcement has become a major problem in the construction
industry especially when exposed to aggressive environment including marine environment. The
progress of corrosion cannot be visually assessed until a crack or a delamination appears. The
expansion of the corrosion products (iron oxides) of carbon steel reinforcement may induce
mechanical stress that can cause the formation of cracks and disrupt the concrete structure. The
corrosion process can be tracked using several electrochemical techniques of which the half-cell
potential measurement technique is the most common and is a non-destructive test. Half cell potential
techniques has been chosen for assessing the probability of rebar corrosion in structural concrete
exposed to a marine environment. A laboratory investigation of reinforced concrete samples exposed
to saline water of three different concentration 1T, 3T and 6T is considered. Reinforced concrete
samples were exposed for 365 days in mentioned exposure condition. The experimental results
indicate that the half cell methodology can be successfully used to assess the probability of corrosion
in concrete structures. Results also indicate that for equal period of exposure, nominal corrosion
current density (icorr) values were reported to be higher for rebar in concrete exposed to high
concentrated salt solution than those for lower concentration.

Keywords: Reinforced Concrete, Corrosion, Marine Environment, Half Cell Potential.

INTRODUCTION

Concrete is the most widely used material in construction due to its attractive physical and mechanical
properties and its economic advantages over other materials. In the past decades, it has become well
known that the corrosion of reinforcement is the most harmful damage that occurs in reinforced
concrete structures. Corrosion of steels in concrete is a global problem for concrete structures and it is
a natural process in which a metallic element is transformed into a more stable compound, usually an
oxide. Reinforced-concrete structures in the marine environment often deteriorate in the early stages
of their service life and the main cause is corrosion of the reinforcing steel and the concrete, which
may interact adversely with each other. Damages on concrete induced from environment are due to
the migration across the net of pores in concrete, of aggressive agents such as chloride (Cl-), sulfate
(SO42-) and others ions, as well as oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in pore solution.
When these deleterious substances reach critical concentrations at the surface of steel reinforcement,
the corrosion process starts. The study described in this paper covers the assessment of rebar
corrosion in the reinforced concrete structure exposed to artificial aggressive marine environment for
1 year.
When steels corrode, there are usually signs of deterioration on the concrete surface such as rusting,
cracking and spalling etc. However, once these signs of corrosion appear, it may be too late to prevent
the advance of deterioration by repair works. Half-cell potential measurements are simple,
inexpensive and virtually non-destructive techniques to assess the corrosion risk of steels in concrete.
These measurements can be used to assess the corrosion risk of steels even if there are no signs of
corrosion/distress on the concrete surface, which is a significant advantage of this technique for
inspecting existing concrete structures. This study highlights/analyses the changes in concrete
corrosion and steel-concrete interface in samples exposed to saline water of three different
concentration 1T, 3T and 6T, continuous immersed, alternate wet in saline-water and dry at
atmosphere and continuous weathering at atmospheric condition under one year laboratory
observation. This paper reports a practical application of half-cell potential measurements for
assessment of rebar corrosion in reinforced concrete samples in above mentioned exposure condition.
Some samples show no signs of deterioration on the concrete surface. However, the negative potential
shows high chloride content and localized corrosion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

1. Sample preparation and exposition

A set of cubical reinforced concrete specimens of size 444 in were prepared using ordinary
Portland cement (Type-I), sand and coarse aggregates. Water/cement (w/c) ratio was 0.46. Samples
were cured for 28 days in plain water under submerged condition. 33 samples were used for each
exposure conditions and two reinforcing bars were embedded in each sample.
Samples were exposed to three different types of environments:
The first 33 samples were immersed on 1T saline water which contains exact amount and
proportion of different salts present in normal sea water. (Fig.1)
The second 33 samples were immersed on 3T saline water which contains salt amount
enhanced to 3 times of that of 1T saline water.
The remainders were immersed on 6T saline water which contains salt amount enhanced to 6
times of that of 1T saline water.

Fig.1: Reinforced Concrete Samples under Curing Fig.2: Half Cell Test configuration
(for showed concrete samples)
2. Half-Cell Potential Measurement Technique
 The simplest way to assess the severity of steel corrosion is to measure the corrosion potential,
since it is qualitatively associated with the steel corrosion rate. The survey procedure is firstly to
locate the steel and determine the bar spacing using a cover meter. Fig.2 illustrates the basics for such
a measurement, also called half-cell potential measurement. The reference electrode is connected to
the negative end of the voltmeter and the steel reinforcement to the positive. In these samples the
electric wires are laid partly in concrete and partly of it remains outside. This instrument measures the
potential and the electrical resistance between the reinforcement and the surface to evaluate the
corrosion activity as well as the actual condition of the cover layer during testing. The dependence
between potential and corrosion probability are shown in Table1.

Table 1: Dependence between Potential and Corrosion Probability

Potential Ecorr Probability of corrosion

< 350mV Greater than 90% probability that reinforcing steel corrosion is
occurring in that area at the time of measurement
200mV to350mV Corrosion activity of the reinforcing steel in that area is
uncertain. % Change of Steel Corrosively Active is 50%.
> 200 mV 90% probability that no reinforcing steel corrosion is occurring
in that area at the time of measurement (10% risk of corrosion).

The experiment was conducted in order to clarify the fluctuation of the half-cell potential due to
various factors: the temperature, and the pre-wetting time. To do this, the half-cell potential was
measured in two different weather, summer, and winter. The temperature was approximately 33C in
summer and 23C in winter. There are three different types of reference electrode generally used for
potential measurement namely: a silver/silver chloride electrode, a lead electrode and a copper/copper
sulphate electrode. For this study a silver/silver chloride electrode was used. The measurement of
potentials for samples was taken under continuous immersion condition of 1T, 3T, 6T concentrated
saline water and hence the moisture content of concrete was sufficient.

3. Visual inspection

Before half cell potential measurement the samples were taken out from water tank primarily for
visual inspection. By visual inspection, any sign of corrosion, distress in the form of cracks/surface
erosion/change in color etc. were observed. Based on this visual inspection, the corrosion state of
specimens/rebar was assessed.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Half-cell potential, and corrosion state of steels

The laboratory investigation of RC specimens showed no signs of deterioration or corrosion.

However, the potential mapping showed alarming results for the reinforcement, as contrary to the
visual inspection which showed no signs of corrosion. The measurement was conducted with the
silver/silver chloride electrode. All the measured values of half cell potential are shown in Table 2.
The measured values of the half-cell potential in summer were more negative than those in winter.
The most negative potential observed as: - 420 mV for 1T solution, - 490 mV for 3T solution and
- 590 mV for 6T solution in summer. The measured values are observed to be decreased in winter.
Again the lowest negative potential was obtained as: - 190 mV for 1T solution, - 280 mV for 3T
solution and - 305 mV for 6T solution for winter. Fig.3 shows the potentials vs time graph using
average value of the measured potential data. These facts imply that the half-cell potential fluctuated
due to the change of corrosive environment of the exposed concrete depending on the temperature.
The corrosive environment became more critical as the temperature increased.

Table 2: Measured Potential Data

Month Sample in 1T SW Sample in 3T SW Sample in 6T SW

(Starts from January) (-ve) mV (-ve) mV (-ve) mV
1 190 230 270
2 200 285 310
3 305 290 315
4 300 310 390
5 310 330 405
6 350 390 490
7 420 490 590
8 390 450 510
9 310 420 450
10 280 340 390
11 245 310 310
12 240 290 315

The half-cell potential of steel embedded in concrete specimens in laboratory tests was periodically
measured and related to the visual observation of concrete cracking. It was observed that, when the
half-cell potential values were more negative than - 450 mV to the saturated calomel electrode, 60
percent of the reinforced concrete blocks were seen cracked for the corrosion of the steel. At values
between - 525 mV and - 420 mV, the steel was corroded and always enough to cause concrete
cracking. In the cracked concrete, the maximum half-cell potential of the steel was measured to be
- 590 mV. Changes in corrosion of steel rebar on samples exposed at the three different exposure
conditions vs exposure time is presented in Fig.3 which provide information about corrosion
probability.

Fig.3: Half Cell Potential vs Time.

The specimens were opened and the reinforcing steel was examined for signs of corrosion. Very little
corrosion activity was found in portions of uncontaminated concrete that were free of cracks. In the
current research work, all measured values were more positive than - 350 mV, which is the
numerical boundary of a greater than - 90 % probability of corrosion in ASTM C 879. From Fig.3, it
is observed that the rate of corrosion increases with temperature i,e, during summer the rate of
corrosion increases and decreases in winter. The half cell potential in summer was shifted by
approximately 40 mV to more negative values than in winter. These facts imply that the half-cell
potential fluctuated due to the change of corrosive environment of concrete depending on the
temperature.

CONCLUSION

Based on the present study, the following conclusions can be drawn regarding the application of half-
cell potential measurement to assess the corrosion risk of rebar in concrete in marine exposure
condition:
(1) Corrosion rate values are dependent on the environmental conditions and the area on which
the current is applied.
(2) Temperature and humidity conditions have a significant influence on the measured corrosion
rate values. It is seen that the corrosion rate increases with increasing temperature and it is
higher in summer and the rates decreases during winter.
(3) All the structures in the maritime conditions should be monitored during their service life, to
avoid high repair costs.
(4) It is essential to combine the on-site corrosion rate measurements with other NDT methods so
as to reliably predict the concrete integrity and state of the reinforcement in concrete.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Department of Civil Engineering, Chittagong University of
Engineering and Technology for providing every necessary arrangement for the completion of the
research work.

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