DAVID DARWIN, Consulting Engineer

Structural Engineering 1901 Camelback Drive

Engineering Materials Lawrence, Kansas 66047

7 785-864-3827
7 785-841-2888

February 9, 2009

Salem Faza, Vice President

MMFX Technologies Corporation
2415 Campus Dr, Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92612

Subject: Effect of crack width on corrosion of reinforcing steel

Dear Salem:

You have asked my opinion as to “what would be the effect of initiation of corrosion
when you have a 0.45 mm crack width in reinforced concrete piles under tension” in comparison
to a pile with a crack width of 0.30 mm. The piles will have a cover of 75 mm. To limit my
response, I will site just six papers. More are available.

Within the range of 0.1 to 0.6 mm, crack width does not affect the corrosion of
reinforcing steel. Corrosion is, however, affected by concrete cover, water-cement ratio, and the
orientation of the crack with respect to the reinforcing steel.

The corrosion of reinforcing steel is a process that involves regions on the bars that act as
anodes – where iron is oxidized – and regions that act as cathodes – where oxygen and water are
reduced. Metal loss occurs at the anodes.

Initially, steel in concrete is passive (not corroding) due to the formation of a gamma-
ferric oxyhydroxide coating that helps seal out oxygen and water and reduces the solubility of
ferrous ions. This passive protection is lost if the pH of concrete drops below 11.5 due to
carbonation or the concrete is exposed to chlorides above a threshold level.

When a crack forms, oxygen, water, and (if present) chlorides have access to the steel at
the crack and, given time, will initiate corrosion. Over the years there has been much discussion
as to the affect of crack width on corrosion. The results overwhelming indicate that, for cracks
width in the range 0.1 to 0.6 mm, there is no correlation between crack width and corrosion. This
lack of correlation is due to several things.

First, the region exposed by the crack will act as the anode. But the rate of corrosion is
controlled by the cathode, the region of steel covered by the concrete, which is large compared to
the crack. The cathodic reaction is controlled by quantity of oxygen and water that can access
the steel – and that quantity is controlled by the cover thickness and the permeability of the
concrete, which is, in turn, controlled by the water-cement ratio of the concrete. More cover and
a lower water-cement ratio result in a slower rate of reaction. This point has been well accepted
for over 20 years (Darwin 1985, Schießl and Raupach 1997, Mohammad et al. 2001).
Faza, February 9, 2009
Page 2

Second and perhaps more specific to your current concern, it has been shown that within the
range of 0.1 to 0.6 mm, crack width does not affect the rate of chloride ingress into concrete
(Rodriguez and Hooton 2003). Thus, corrosion initiation will not be affected by crack width. It
will, however, be affect by the critical chloride corrosion threshold of the steel.

Third, 75 mm of cover is quite substantial and provides protection against not only
corrosion in the presence of cracks abut also against carbonation (Darwin 1985, Matta 1993,
Schießl and Raupach 1997). Even in the presence of cracks, added cover provides added
protection to chloride ingress (Lindquist et al. 2006). The key is to make the most of the cover by
limiting the water-cement ratio of the concrete and thus limiting the rate of the reaction at the
cathode (Darwin 1985, Schießl and Raupach 1997). For severe chloride exposure conditions, the
ACI Building Code limits the water-cement ratio to a maximum of 0.40.

In summary, to answer your question, there should be no measurable effect on either the
initiation or the progression of corrosion in concrete piles under tension with 0.45-mm cracks
compared to piles with 0.30-mm cracks.

Yours truly,

David Darwin, Ph.D., P.E.

daved@ku.edu

References:

Darwin, D., moderator and editor, 1985, “Debate: Crack Width, Cover, and Corrosion,”
Concrete International, Vol. 7, No. 5, May, pp. 20-32.
Lindquist, W. D., Darwin, D., Browning, J., and Miller, G. G., 2006, “Effect of Cracking on
Chloride Content in Concrete Bridge Decks,” ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 103, No. 6, Nov.-Dec.
pp. 467-473.
Matta, Z. G., 1993, “Deterioration of Concrete Structures in the Arabian Gulf,” Concrete
International, Vol. 15, No. 7, July, pp. 20-32.
Mohammed, T. U., Otsuki, N., Hisada, M., and Shibata, T., 2001, “Effect of Crack Width and
Bar Types on Corrosion of Steel in Concrete,” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE,
Vol.13, No.3, May/June, pp. 194-201.
Schießl, P. and Raupach, M., 1997, “Laboratory Studies and Calculations on the Influence of
Crack Width on Chloride-Induced Corrosion of Steel in Concrete,” ACI Materials Journal, Vol.
94, No. 1, Jan.-Feb., pp. 56-62.
Rodriguez, O. G. and Hooton, R. D., 2003, “Influence of Cracks on Chloride Ingress into
Concrete,” ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 100, No. 2, Mar.-Apr., pp 120-126.