~

CEMENTAND
Pergamon CONCRETE
RESEARCH
Ceillent 'lild Co ncre te Resc,,,cil 29 (199 9) t 5-1 1- 154~

A novel interpenetrating polymer network coating for the

protection of steel reinforcement in concrete

K.K. A thana*, L.K. Aggarwal, Rajn i Lakhani

Or.':iln;c BIf;ldillg !\Ilillaiills Dil·isiml. Celllrul Bllilding RfSfOJ'cil /lIsliIIlIC . [(oor!;('(' 247007. /1I"iu

Received 6 NO'~lllb~ r 1997; Jccerled I'; 'vlay 1999

AI> tract
A cost-effec li ve better performing epoxy/ phen(llic interpLnelrating polymer net work ( I PN ) coat ing fur the protection o f s!Le l rein ­
forcemcnl in co nc rete exposed to aggressive environment (marinc a nd indust rial ) has been developed. Physicomcehanica l properties
along with chem ical rcsislan ce ag a in st som c acid s, alkalies. rcrlili/.crs, and waleI' have been dct e rmined. To asse ss the corros io n prote c­
tion erlicaey from end use application, [loint or vicw c hemica l res islance. ild hesioTl bv bend tcst. bond stre ngth by pull-out test meth o d ,
a nd acce lerated corros ion cyclin g tcst by weig ht c ha nge method have bee n performed On th e basis or th e d'lta. it ma y be conc lu cled th a t
the lP N -coa ted reinforci ng reba rs have acceptable bond stren gth wilh concrete, ancl ha ve betkr corrosi ol1 res is ta n ce liJ<l1l oth er co mmer­
cia ll y <Ivai lable trealm e nt used [or similar a[lp li catio ns. The eco nomics o f the Ireatm e nl is qui te allracli ve s in ce trea tmcnt CO '. l ': about 1-;
to 2()O/" of Ih e cos t of Sled H c nc(: il may be said tllM lPN-coated reinforc in g stee l bars fulrill the minimum requireJ11elllS laid d own in val'­
iOlls stand ard specifi Gltioos. © Illll,) E lsevie r Science Ltd. A U rights I("crve cl.

!<n·l\·orc!.,: lnte rpe ncl riltillg: Reinforce lil e nl : Cor rosion : Po lymcr: Acce lerated

1. Introduction case of unserviceab le factory buildings and hazards to hu ­

man li ves as a res ult of co llapse of residentia l and publi c
From the beginning of twenti e th cent ury, I'einforced co n­
buildings.
crete has become one of the most I,vide ly used material of
Concrete normall y provides a high degree of protection
constru cti on due to its inlll::f'eot propert ies , es pecial ly its
to embedded stee l against corrosi on This is due to highly
stre ngt h to slIstain imposed loading conditions. It is be­
alkaline environment provided by concrete at th e co ncrcll:­
li eved that reinforced concrete struc[Ures are dlll'able and
maintenance-fl'ee for th e whol e of its design li fe, dPproxi­
mately more than 60 years ll -3 J. Jlowev et', th e corrosio n of
reinforcing stee l in concrete exposed to aggressive environ ­
menL affect ~ th e li fe of the concrete and thus has rapi dly be­
come a seriolls proble m through out Llle world. l':Jt-king
structures, bridges, buildings, and other reinforced concrete
stru ctures exposed to marine and industrial env ironments
are being seve re ly damaged due to co rrosion of reinforcing
steel within pe ri ods as short as 10 to 20 years [4,5 1. From
these instan ces, it ca n be realised th at the free life of con­
crete s tructure~ is far h;..\ in comparison to tile clesign life
unl ess some effecti ve protective measures are taken at the
initial stages. Protecti on of steel reinforcement in marine
1 ancl industrial e nvironmen ts is essen tial, since lack of pro­
tection may ca use direct loss due LO loss of production in

1,
nn e'pondi ng uuthor. Tel.: +9 1- 1112-72 2:\:'; , exl. 4481: faA: +9 1­
IH2-7'27 2. Fig. I. Schemutic view of a part of IPI'\ $JlOwing entangl emen t of poJym er
[C_I//uil wl"res.l: generaI 0' c,cOr i.rc)l.nic.in (K.K . "'than'l) " (t hin lin e'.! wilh pol Y111el' B (thick lil\c,).

IH)( )S-Rl\ -\fl/9'1/S - , ec front llr alter ID 1999 EI, cv ier Science Ltd. Al l l ighl , reserved
Pil S () () () ~ - 1> g 4 (, (99) () () I I 1- I
1542 K. K. A.Ilhol/a el 01. / Ceml'11 l olld CO l/erel" Rc\('orch 29 (1999) 1541- 154/\

T ab le I
P ilysico ill ec hilni ca l properti e s of the coating

Epoxy Epoxy/ph enolic Standards

"y ... tc rll (lPN) foll owed
'1 t' llsik strength ( (/111 111 1)
22 .4 244 ASTM 0-2370- 7
Elongati o ll (ie)
8.0 21 .0 ASTM 0- 2370-7
Modulus 01 c laqi c ity (N/l11m")
12-14.4 103 1 0 ASTM 0- 2370-7
Specific p-onn-o"biJity (lll g/clll ~!m m /24 hI')
0.2043 0 . LlS4 A STM D-1 653-74
G la" transition te mperature (OC)
107.0 940 DSC M ethod
CoeffiClcllI of linear ex p:.ns ioT) , °C X I ()
'(30- 80)OC 1.7 14 (J.S85 AST M 0 -696-7
Shea r stre ng th (Kg/cm2)
5800 7700 AST M D 1002-64
Bo nd stre n ~t l l (K £!k m2 ). steel substrate
2500 30.00 BS :l900 -C- I0-79
fmpact re ,islance (fa llin g we i ~ ht meth od)
No failure No fail ure BS 3900-E-7- 7-1
Sc ru b re s istanc e ( 10.000 cycle)
No failul'e No fai lure A STM 0-2468 -79
Salt fo g (72 0 h )
No fa ilure No fa ilure AST'v1 B-1 )7 -73
Scratch hardness (J 500 £! lo ad)
No failure No fa ilure BS 3900-E-2 -7 0

steel interface res ultin g in the formation of a protec li ve film Th ese chemica ls diffu se throu gh the concrete and lower the
on the steel [61. This protectiv e film is stable when pH is pH value of the water in the pores o f concrete. As a result,
more than 12.0 and becomes unstabl e when pH is less than prolective ox ide film is pi e rced by these che mi cals, which
11.0 [7] The pH may become lowe red if the co ncrete con­ will th eo attack the reinforcement 12,8 ].
ta ins chl orides, su I phales, and other deleteriou s chemicals. Normal precautions such as ensuring proper mi x propor­
tion, com paction of concrete, adequate thi ck ness of the COll ­
crete cover, and curing may not be suffi cient to give proper
protection to concrete and adequate reinforcement when uscd
2 , - - - - ­ -------------------------------
in an aggres sive environment. Su ch structures need some
1.0 o rho" ./\cld
protecti ve measures like addilion of inhibitor or admi xture in
?f. 1.6 · - x- Di st t.Water
. • Sulpll.Aeld
c 1.4
Q 0 - 30 % NaOH
e-o 1.2 .
-6 - Diamm.Ph os.
(j)
.0 - . Sat.Urea sol.
<{ 0 .8
~ 0.6 """'--::I""--'--- + -,..--- R e i n fore i n g
E
OJ
s::.
0.4
...ct ··· · · · · · · bars
U 0.2 ·· 15 I ~ ...
E .. '
o E
20 70 120 170 220 270 320 CJ
CJ
Time in days
Fi £!. 2. Percent <lbsorpti on uf c hemi ca ls in e pux y sys te m.

VIEW

£ ::
c
II : :',:::;:::

• Sulph Aeld
/

~ 0.8 -0- 30 % NaOH E Reinforcing

o -{;­ D,amm Phos E
CJ

bars
.2 0.6 - A- Sat .Urea sol. CJ

~ 04 ~~
.~ 0.2 ~.~
o o - --
~-O
t - - - 1 - - --+-- - -1-- --1 lOOmm
20 70 120 170 220 270 320 '.
Time in days PLAN

F ig. 3. Pe rcent ab sorpti o n ot' c hemica ls in epoxy phenolic system. Fig . 4. De wils of placellle nt of rei nforcin g ba rs in co ncrete cubes.

 K. K. As/lillI/a 1'/ (I i. I Celllelll (ll/d COI/CI"Ne Research 29 ( 1999) 154 1-1548 1541

Tab le 2
C he mical resistance leS I as per IS: 13620

C he mi c als
Co ating __ 3 M CaU : 3 M N aO H Sa turate d Ca(OH) , Dis till e dwatcr

IP No fail ure up to 6 1110nlh s
Epo xy No failure up to 6 mo nth s
PU N o fa ilure
Z in c -ri c h epoxy coa lin g D iscolo llration a ft e r 2 mo nths
and blisters after 5 month~
o fa ilure up to 6 111 0111h s
No fai lure up to 6 l11 0 nth s
COil ting filil e d w ithin 7 days
Some bli ste rs after 15 da ys
o fa ilure up to 6 month s
N o failure up to 6 months
N o failure up to 6 lllO nth s
No fa ilure up 10 6 mo nths
One bl.isre r after 6 months
So me blisters & Discolollrati o n
afte r 4 m o nths
So me b li s te rs debondin g w ith
s u bst rate a fte r 5 m o nth s
Som e bli, tc rs after 5 1110 mh s

concrete, sud'ace coatin g of concrete, or coatin g of the rein­
forcement stee l [9-15] , Surface coating of the concrete re­
duces the ingress of oxygen, wa te r, gases, a nd c he mica ls
present in the atmosphe ri c and industrial e nvironments and
coating of re inforce ment is an effective method of inc reasi ng
the life of reinfo rcement steeL But the corrosio n protection
efficiency of the coating system depends upon a number of
factors, such as choice of polymer, composition of the coat­
ing, method of ap plication, and, moreover, the environment
in which it is go ing to be used, Th erefo re, a detailed study
was needed for the deve lopment of a su itable coating system
for the protection o f re inforcing bars ,
Central Building Resea rc h In stitute in Roorkee has de­
vel o ped an "interpe ne trating pol ymer ne twork sy stem (lPN
polyme r)"-based coating for the protecti on of concrete
structures that are ex posed to an aggress ive envi ronment.
The basic coating sys tem has been modifi ed to make it suit­
able for the protection of reinforcing stee l in concrete, The
salient features of the developed two-compo ne nt coating
designated as " IPN-R," along with its corros ion protection
efficacy fo r the p ro tec tion o f re inforc ing stee l, are hi gh­
li g hted in thi s pape r.
2. De,'elopment of coating system
phenolic resin (based on cashew nut she ll liquid, a by-product
of the cashew industry and a re newab le resource) are made to
polyrneri le wi th their respec tive harde ners in such a manne r
that the pre polymers cross-links s imul taneo us ly with the ir re­
specti ve harde ners by a separate no ninte tfering mec hani s m
(Fig, 1)_ The IPN system thu s deve loped has been eva lu ated
for its physicomechanical properties and chemical resistance
(aga in st saturated urea so luti on , diammonium phosphate.
30% sulphuric acid, 30% phosphoric acid. 30% sodium hy­
dro x ide solution, and distilled water) as per the relevant stan­
dard s and has been compared w ith epoxy coatin g und e l' a
s imil ar set of co nditions (T able 1, Figs, 2 and 3)_ A coating
for the protection of stee l re in fo rce me nt was de veloped by in­
corpo rating ce rtain additi ves, such as reacti ve dilue nts, pig­
me nts, fillers, tlow contro lling agents, wettin g agents, and
thicken in g agents, among others,
3. Experimental
3, J, Co rrosio/1 protectio/1 efficacy of' deveLoped
('oa ling srstell1
To assess the efficacy of the developed IPN-R coa ting
fo r corrosion protection of steel reinforcement in co ncrete ,
fo ll owing te sts were conducted,

A cost-effective better perform ing epoxy/phenolic IPN

coating t'or the protection of stee l reinforcement in concre te
Q

exposed to aggress ive environmen t (marine and industrial )

- O - IPN

has been developed, In the present deve lopme nt a prepolymer 7 - )( - EPOXY

of e poxy res in (based o n diglycid yl ethe r of bisphenol A) and 6
- . -Zn EPO XY
0 PU
Do MS
5
-e-CRS
4 -
Table :\

Bond , trengtl1 of coa te d and uncoate d reba rs wi tll co ncre te

~
--l
:c 3
Diam e te r o f tile Bond stress 3t '"
-0;
5: 2
rebar, ( mill) Condition of rebar' I-upture (k ~lc m l )
;f!.
12 Che mical rc;istan ce >Ice I 11 4
12 Mild ;teel I I .)
12 lP N-coated MS rebars 11 0
,.
90
12 F us io n-bo nded ~ poxy - coa t ed re ba I'; 109
Nos, of Accelerated Corrosion Cycle
12 E poxy-coated MS rebars 109
12 Poly ure thane -coa te d MS re bars 106 Fig_ 5 _ We ig ht loss (Cfr) VS, num ber o f acce le ra li o n corros io n cycle wh e n
12 Zi nc-ri c h ep oxy-coa te d re baI'; I 10
re bars are e mbe dde d in M -25 COllc rete a t 15 -l11m cover.
15-1-4 KK /lSI /U/ I/O ('I tI / Cell1el/l "I/il COII('l"l'Il' Nne" ,."h 29 (1999) 154 I- J.)48

0 8
o IPN 7 - O- IPN
(;
:t: Er' OXY - X­ EPOXY
+ - Zn EPOXY 6 - +- Zn EPOXY
4 - O - PU - O- PU
'"~
---'
- o ­ MS ~
o
5 - 0 MS
...J - A - C RS
:crn 3
Qj
?;
~~
2

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 o
Nos. of Accelerated Corrosion Cycle 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Nos . of Accele rated Corrosion Cycle
Fi )! . 6. V.';:i ,; ht h,, ~ (elr) YS. number o f accc i.; r"ti()1l corrosioll cyd c w hen
reb" r, me c m bcdded ill 1\,1-25 ,;Cllicretc at 25- llllll cove r. Fig. ~. \Vei g hl loss ( '7i) vs. Il llill be r of "cce lerati on corros io n cye le \\ i1cn
rebars ;He embedded ill iVJ-20 con cre te at 25- Il1Jll cove r.

I. Cl1emica l tes i ~ lam ._' thol'Oughl y ck ,\l1cd an d two coats oi IP. coati ng were ap­
2. ad hesion by bend k "l plieci. Th e coa ted bars were cured at room tcmpernture fo r 3
0
3. bond SlCt;llgth wi th CO llCTl'le by pull uut method days and then tl:sted for adhesi on by bendin g thc bars 120
4, ac ce le rated corro.,ion test by 'v\cight loss measurements arou nd the I OO-mm diamder ma ndrel, Then the bars were
inspected for an y sign s of failure, such as cracki ng or debond­
3.2. Chl'lI'I imf /'('.I/.IIOllce II'SI
in g of the coatin g.
Samples for th e chemi ca l resist ance test were prepared by
3.4, Bond Slrl'lIg lh br puff-ow fl'SllIIl' f/w d
applying two coah of the coatings selt:cted fOl' study on thor­
oughl y cl eaned I-e in i'urcing bars. After curing the coati ng for A pull-out test as described ill lS 2770 Part J -1 976 11 7 1
3 days at room temperature, these sa mpl es were sl!hj 'J' ted for was llsed for dete rmining the bo nd stre ngth of reinforcin g
che l1lic,li res istance test as pcr IS 13620-1993 116J . In thi s bars with con crete, ~ J ) ~cim e n s for the pull-out test wne pre­
test. coated rein forcing bars we re immersed in disti I.led wate r, pared in such a way that coaku and uncoated ddur med bars
saturated so luti on PI' calcium hydroxide, 3-M so lu tion of so­ were placed centrall y in co ncrete cubes. A Conc rl:te mi x of
cliu m hydrox ide. and 3-M solution of calcium chloride fOt' Cl
peri od of 180 day s, Visual ubservations were reco rded after
different intervals and arc reported in Tab le 2.
3,3. Adhesion hI' /J l' lId In!

Th e ad hes ion tl:st was carried out by bend tL'l as de­

~cr ibc J in IS 13620- 1993 11 61. The reinforcing bars were

8
0 · II'N

~i
- :I( E POX Y
6 •
· 0 - PU
·Zn EP OXY

~ 5

/.~
o -M S
-'
- A- CRS
~4
iii

~~"~
?; 3
'#
2
x
~--::(5-
[ )~ ~ -
x~O
0
0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Nos. of Accel erated Corrosion Cycle

Fig. 7. We ig ht lo ~ ... (01) vs. nUlll bcl" () C <Jccel erali on corrosion cyck when
re b; !!', are em hedded ill M-20 concre le al I'\-mm cover. Fig. 9. Con cre iL' c ube ha ving Ullco;lIc d iVl S reb;ll', (-1-5 cycles ).
 K. K. , \slh{p 1fI cl 01. / C ( 'II / (' II/ lIlid ('(J/lUCl t! N t!st!lI rcl, :29 ( I YIIY) /541- 15.18 IS-l5

Fi g. 10 . Co ncre le Cline having uncm,led CRS rebar., (50 evck , ;.

r ig. 12, Concrele c ul lL' h;1\ illl! lIllwaleu CRS re b,,,', { ~() c ycle,,,

1-25 grade (comprcssi ve strcngth. 270 Kg/~' 1ll 2 ) was used

to Pi' pare the ~ pec im ens, After castin g, the c ubes were de­ 3.5. Acce/emted C() 'T(),li ()n lesl hr weighl
moulded ancr 24 h and then cured in water for 28 days and loss /111!(/SIt relllellis
dried . Bond strength after 28 da ys wus dete rmi ned lI sin g a Loss of we ight of coated and uncoated ~ t c e l reinfmce ­
univer. al te<;ting mach ine , Load at break was de tcrmined me nt bars embedded ill co ncrete specime ns was c1 ' t rmined
and res ults are re pon ed in Table l . The bond ~ trc ngth at
rup ture was calculated by dividing the load at break with the
surface area of th e mbedded length of the bar,

'.
Fi g, 13 . Concre le c ube ha ving I. inc-ri ch epoxy-coaled MS rebar, (X{l
F ig , 11. COIlUe l1'! c ube h:1\ i n~ unc";Jled MS rch" rs (80 cyc le s ), e yck , ),
 K.K. !l11/1lI11t1 " a/. / Ci'li ll'lI l lllld CO II ,rel e Ncw(/ )'c" 29 (/')99) /54/ - / 548
Fi g. 14. COIlU..:t..: cube having po lyuretlwne-coated \IS re ba r,; (lW cycles).
before and a ft e r ex posin g the conc re le sp c ime ns ( 0 acceler­
ated corrosion (est. The following me thod for the prepara­
lion or s[1ccim e ns. th eir ,.:xposur> 10 acce le ra ted corrosion
test [i .e .. I d ;ty of il11 nll' r:;ion in 3Cj'r sod iu m chlorid e so lu ­
tion fo ll owed by 3 day at room te mperalure (27 := 2°(,) and
Fii! . 15 . Concrete c ube having l PN -coated lVI S rebars (SO cycles!.
Fig. 16 . Co nc retc cube hav in g epoxy -coated ," IS rebars (80 C) cil'sl.
3 cl 3yS at 60"C in an a ir-c irc ul at ing ovenl was used. F us ion­
bonded e poxy-coa ted ..cbars were also used in o ur studies.
On ly visual ob. c rvat io l1s were record ed becau (' the initial
we igl1t of the reinforcing b3fs could nol h e determi ned s in ce
the ~c are fac tory made .
Fig . 17. Conc re te cube ha ving rusio n- bond ed c poxy-coated rebars (80
cycle!.
 K. K . A,'Ii{{/ /(/
"' g. I t\ . Cond lti on or MS lU lcoatcu re har' " rk r 60 cyc les .
3. 6. Prepa Ull io ll (I f Il'sl .ljJnim ol s
For we ight loss llle:;tSUI"{'l11ents. rcinfprcement bars of re­
quir~d siLes were thoroughly cleaned ::mJ the initial \veight of
each bar was rc ·orded. Two coalS of tlle: coatings under .:tudy
were: applied on the cleaned bars. In this study two types of
sleel bars. corros ion resistant ~lec l (CRS) and ordinary mild
steel (MS ) hars, along with fusi on-bonded epo xy -coated bars
were u. ed. After curing the coated bars for 7 days at 27 :::
2°C, the bars were embedded in concrete cubes in such a way
that concrete covers of IS and 25 mm were obUl ined. Two
type of conCl't' te t' li xes. M-25 ( co mpressive ~ tn: n g t h of the
con crde cube is 270 K g/c m2) and t -20 (compressi ve
sircng:th is 230 K g/cm2 ), \-\·..:re used. Concrete specimens for
G; rrying out tbc accel erated corrosion tests were cast in a
100-mm ;,teel mould and pl aced on the vibrating table , using
each type of above-men tioned concrete mi x. Detail s of the
placement of the re inforcement bars arc sho wn in Fig. 4 . All
the ~e ts 01 concrete c'l)cc im ens for accelerated corro. ion lest
were cast and cured in the same way. After dry ing, the ~pecj­
mens \-vcre su bjected fo r accelerated corrosi on cycling test.
On completi on of rc ~ p e ct ive cycl es, rebars were removed
from the concrete. After the r':l11oval of ad hered co ncrete, the
Fig . 19 . Cond iti o n o f l PN-coate d rebars ~ fter
el "r I C f nlell l "lid C OII C(e l l! R('.\('{f rch 2') ( 19,),) ) I ~-I I - I 5-18 15.. 7
, amples were lh 'ustecl and fi nall y w;J"hed with di stil led wa­
Change in weight al ong with vislial ohservati on afll:r 20,
l eI'.
40, (l0. and 80 cycles were recorded and p rcent change in
wei ght a tel' differellt inten'al" is ~h ()wl1 in Fi g ~. 5, 6. 7, and 8.
Conditions of the cu b s aftcr difk rcnl cycles ar..: shown in
Figs . 9. 10. I I, 12, 13. I-t 15. 16. and 17 and rebars after 60
cyc le, arc shown in F i g~ . 18, 1Y, and 20.
~. Results ancl discussion
Table I shows that the propert ie s of the epoxy/phenol ic
IP "ystem is belt I' than the ep xy re~i Jt alone . Permeabil ­
ity of IPN is reduced. whi ch s ho w ~ the reduction in ingress
of detrim cntal ions, an I p rcent e longati on is al so betler
than the epox y system. This sho ws the ret enti on of adbes ion
e ve tl at hig her fatig ue limit s is bell er. Bond stren gth of the
lP. s y ~ t ~m , botb in shear as well as p rpendi clI];lr to sur­
face. is better than epoxy. From Figs. 2 and 3 it is obse rved
that the chemic al resistance again!-.t ac id\. <JlkaJi es, and fer­
tili 7.ers is bette r than epoxy al one . The abo ve- menti oned
pro p C rli e~ co mbined with exce llent chemi cal resistance
ma ke the IP system ideal for the protecti on of stee l rein ­
forcement in co ncre te.
The chemic al resistance of the de vel opL'd coatin g was
determined hy exposin g the coated panel s to \ arious chcmi ­
cals as descrihed in IS 13620-1 993 116]. IPN and epoxy
coating passes th e chemical resi stan ce les t. Polyure tha ne
and zinC-ri ch epoxy-coated sample s f<l iled in 3 M 1 aOll
soluti on, but p<.l ssed in three other chemi cal s, :I .M ca lc ium
chloride soluti on , saturated calcium hydrox ide solution. and
distill ed wa ter. Thu s, IPN and epoxy-coated ~ a rnpl e s satisfy
the requirements laid do wn in IS J 3620- J 993 .
Bo nd streng tll of the coated and uncoated bars were deter­
mined as per IS 2770 Part r- 1976. Bond s tr~ n g th data given
in Tahl e 3 show that tbere is slight fe(l uction in the case of
coated specimens. Reduction in bond streng th in the case of
coated rebars vari s fro m 90-95% in com par ison to uncoated
bars. As per IS 1362( 1993 the critica l bond 5trength of tbe
coated rebars should be 80% of the mean bond strellgth for
60 cy c les . F ig. 2U. Co nditi on of fusio n-bond ed epox y-coated reba rs a fter- flO cyc les.
 K . K. A s/luI/ /(! C'/ n /. I C,', ,,,·,,/ {}"'/ C(}I/<T(' /e Re.l'C'((Idl 29 (/999) / 54 / - / 548
uncoated bars. Tllere f(J, c the reduction in bonO ',trc'llgth in
this case is \' ilh i.llJi.',.li1iss ihk limits.j ·mln thi:;, clata it may be
concludcd that IPN-coaied l" illforcing bars have acceptable
bond f. trenglh with conn·etc and hence the coating can be
L!' .:·o for the protcction of :: ic, 1 reinfol'cement in concrete to
Ix useJ in a hi ghly c'!:,gressi vc ~,l\ i'·onillent.
R"sults o f ~lc('dcTdlCcl co rrosion test by weight chang.t:
method has bel'll shown ill j ·i,gs. 5, 6, 7. and R. From tl"
curv,' ; show n. it is observed that the di fCcrcnce in 10' ". of
\vt:ight of coated and uncoated bars is very sma ll afl c:r 20
cyck .·.. However, it continues to increa <:c with all increase in
th e numl,..-r or cycles. Loss of weight of uncoated bars be ­
comes excessively high with the increase in number of ac­
celerated cyc les for both the cover thicknes of 15 mm and
25 mm, indicating loca li zeu corros ion. In contrast, in the
case of IPN- and epoxy-coated rebar samples. the weight
losse s are small for both the cover thickn sses. ill compari­
son to uncoated rebars. Howe ver, in the case of Line -rich
epoxy and poly urethane coatings. weight loss afwr 40 cy­
cles is quite high and match uncoated re bar';, and hence are
unsafe as protective coating ror steel re inforcement in an
aggressivc environment, while IPN and epoxy coating are
fou nd to be safe as steel reinforce ment in concrete . T hc
tr':lld shown in l.' igs. S, 6. 7, and 8 ind icates that the JPl\:
coati ng is better than tbe epoxy coating. In comparison to
mild <,lcd-re inforcing b , l' ~, CRS rebars me found to be su­
perior up to 60 cycle: , but ali,,')' 80 cyc le: bo th arc found to
be almost saLlK·. General condition of the co ncrete cubes
and rein fOI'l.:f1 tlent after 20. 40. 60. ancl RO cycles of acceler­
ated corrosion test was also recorded. All the cubes were in­
tact up to 40 cyclcs but in case of cubes of M-20 concrete
having MS ' teel reinforcement. a hair crack was scen after
-1-5 cycles (Fig. 9). while with CRS a very ~Jl1all hair crack
v. as , e n after 50 cycles (Fig. 10). In th e casc of M-25 con­
crete cube that had MS rei nforceme nt , a hair crack was see n
aft ' r 50 cycles, while in the case of CRS a very small hair
crack was seen after 55 cycles . All th e ~ e cracks were further
wick-ned ,l fte r 80 cycles (Figs. II and 12). A similar crack­
ing pattei'll was also seen in the case of cubes that had poly ­
urethane-c oated rebars and zinc-rich epoxy-coated rebars
(F i g ~ . I. and 14). and hence are not suitable for the protec­
tion of sicel reinforce ment in a hi ghly aggressive condition.
All the cubes having lPN-coated (Fig. 15) aod epoxy -coated
(Fi .!. : . 16 ) rebars were intact and hence can be used as a pro­
tectiVe' coating. Tn the con erel cubes that had fusion­
bonded epoxy -coated bars, a small hair crack was seen in
the concre te surface after 80 cycles of accelera ted corrosion
cycles (Fig . (7). The condition of coated and uncoated I l' ·
bars after 60 cycles is sho wn in Figs. 18. 19, and 20.
5. Field applications
T he laboratory studies carried out have ge nerated consid­
erab le interest and therefore the work was carried out in the
fielcl. ma inl y for marine structures in the west coast. Somc
of the work included use of IPN coat ings in bridge:;, cu l­
verb. and marine structu res in Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh pile cage oj' tran s mission towers located in marshy
cree k ~ in omhay. A rec ' nt de ve lopment that points to the
promi ~inh prospects for thi s techno logy is that olls- oyce
Indu strial Power (I ndia ) Ltd ., a multinational company, ha:-;
se lec ted this material for usc in the prestigious Godavari
Gas Power Project near Kaki ada .
6. Conclusiolls
It can he concluded from the above stud ies thar the IPN­
coated stee l reinforcement rebars would have a more ex­
tended life in comparison to uncoated reinforceme nt. In JPN
coating , part of the epoxy resin has be ' n rcplaced by low­
cost lc<;in. and hence is less costl y than epoxy. Moreover,
the economics of the treat l1l l:nt is quite alt ractive "ince treat­
ment costs abo ut J 5 to 20 0k of the cost of steel.
Acknowledgment
The authors arc th ankt"ul to the director of CBRl. Roo r­
kee, for his perm ission to publish this p<tjJer.
References
III F. E TUrileursure. E.R. iVlaurcr. Principi.--· or Reinforced Concrele
Conslruction" John Wilcy and Sons, Ncw York . J lJ5.~.
l:!l tluilding Research E,rabli , hmcnl . Our"hilily orslee l in concrele, ParI J.
M:chanisl11 of prolection and corrosioll, BRE Dig",! ~6.1 ( I<) X2) 1-8.
11 1 1·.:V1. Lea. Chel11islry ofCemenl & Concrel\,. Edward 1\'-"0111 Publish­
ers Ltd .. London. 1<)56.
1-11 Proceedings of tnlelniltional Congrc" <If Na v i~ali()n. London 192:1 .
Venice. IYJ I. ,",d Lishall . 19-1<).
1"1 Seminar on pile roundaliolls, corrosion delailing and ground unchors.
Repon IABS L MJdras. Sept. 197\).
161 G.J . Ve rbeck. Mechanisl11 of corrosion of' ' lcel in conerele. ACI De­
troi t. SP-49-J.
171 A.M. ev ille. J.J. Brook>. Conerel" Tcc·llI1ol ogy. John Wiley and
Sons. cw York 19X7.
181 M.S. Khan. Corrosion ,lal e of reinforcing ,lccl ill concrete al CJrl y
abc. AC I Maler J RX( 1991 ) ~ 7 ' 0.
f')1 C L Birll. 1.F. Slratl", Metallic coaling for reinrorc ing ' l<.:c l. />.1<1h.:ri­
ai , PerfOrl)l:tnce 6 (7) (I<)6 7) 18- 52.
1101 H. Okamura. '(. Hasamahu. Elk cl of u,e or galvaniscd slee lon lhe dur,,·
hililyof reinforced concrete. Malerials Perrorm"nce 15 (7 ) (1\)76) 4} 54 .
I111 R.J. Hi ggens. Fw,ion bonded epoxy coaling' for rebar rrolec tion .
Polymer Painl Colour J I7S (41 53 ) ( 19RS) 717 7J R.
ll 21 D.B. Cleary . .I.A. Ralllirez. Bond slreni!lh ofefJoxy coaled reinrorcing
bell'S. AC I Maler.l Xc, (2) (1989) 167- 174.
1131 S.R. Ycon1<,n. COlllpamtive 'ludi" of g;dvani ' <.: d Jnd epoxy coaled
'lee I reinf()rCenlenl in concrele. D," :,bilil y of Concrele- Seconcl In­
ICfIlJliona l Cun rerence SP·1 26, ACt Delroil 19<) I. pp. 335 -.170.
[141 JT Lundquist. A.M. Rosenherg . J. M. G:,iJids. Calciull1 nilrale as all )
inhibilor of rebar corro,ion in chl oride conlaining conerele. Maler 1\ ;1'1'
l!l (llJ7<)) 36-40.
11 51 K. Gouda. G.E. MOl1fo,'e, Rapiclll1elhod for , lutlying corrosion inhi­
\
bition of ,le, 1in (Onerele . J PCA Res Dev Lab 7 D) ( 19(5 ) 2-1- .11 .
ll 61 IS 13620·11)93. Fu ~ i o r) bonded epoxy coaled reinforcing bar'- Spcc- ,
ificalioll. 1\)\)3. •
11 71 IS 2770-P"n 1- 1%7. Method OII ~ ,til1 g hond , lrlenglh in I'einf'ol'ced
concrele. 1967.