CORROSION ENGINEERING

Reinforced Concrete Durability in Marine

Environments DURACON Project:
Long-Term Exposure

O. Troconis de Rincón,‡,* J.C. Montenegro,B R. Vera,CH A.M. Carvajal,CH R.M. de Gutiérrez,CO S. Del Vasto,CO E. Saborio,CR
A. Torres-Acosta,M J. Pérez-Quiroz,M M. Martínez-Madrid,M M.G. Lomeli-González,M N. Araujo-Arreola,M W. Martinez-Molina,M
E. Alonso-Guzmán,M P. Castro-Borges,M M. Balancan-Zapata,M T. Pérez-López,M M. Sosa-Baz,M M. Baltazar-Zamora,M
J. Genescá-Llongueras,M M. Salta,P A.P. de Melo,P I. Martínez,S N. Rebolledo,S G. Rodríguez,U M. Pedrón,U V. Millano,V
M. Sánchez,V E. de Partidas,V and K. MendozaV

ABSTRACT
This paper presents the results, after a long-term evaluation
in marine environments, from an Ibero-American project called
“Effect of the environment on reinforcement durability”
(DURACON). This project correlates the influence of urban and
marine meteorochemical parameters on the performance of
reinforced concrete structures in nine countries (Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, Portugal, and
Venezuela). The environment was evaluated using ISO Stan-
dard 9223 and the concrete was characterized physically by
measuring compressive strength, elastic modulus, total and
effective porosity, as well as the effective porosity and re-
sistance to water absorption using the Fagerlund method. To
that effect, concrete specimens (with and without reinforce-
ment) were prepared for electrochemical and physical/
mechanical/chemical tests using the existing materials in
each participating country, following strict procedures that
enabled the preparation of similar concrete specimens. Two
water/cement (w/c) ratios (0.45 and 0.65) were selected, where
0.45 w/c ratio concrete had a minimum cement content of
400 kg/m3 and the one with 0.65 w/c ratio had a minimum 28-d
compressive strength of 210 kg/cm2. Type I Portland cement,
siliceous sand, and crushed rock as coarse aggregates (13-mm
Submitted for publication: August 26, 2015. Revised and accepted:
March 13, 2016. Preprint available online: March 14, 2016, http://
dx.doi.org/10.5006/1893.
‡
Corresponding author. E-mail: oladis1@yahoo.com.
*
Centro de Estudios de Corrosión, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo,
Zulia, 4007, Venezuela.
B
Bolivia; CHChile; COColombia; CRCosta Rica; MMexico; PPortugal;
S
Spain; UUruguay; VVenezuela.
ISSN 0010-9312 (print), 1938-159X (online)
824 16/000119/$5.00+$0.50/0 © 2016, NACE International
maximum nominal size) were used. The results showed that
the atmospheric aggressiveness was higher in tropical coun-
tries, especially when temperature rises above 25°C, with La
Voz station (marine) in Venezuela being the most aggressive.
Also, the chloride concentration threshold for rebar depassi-
vation onset was much lower (≈0.42%) in a marine tropical
environment, such as La Voz in Venezuela, compared to a
nontropical one, such as Cabo Raso in Portugal (≈0.89%),
with this concentration dependent on rebar depth and
influenced by environmental factors such as time of wetness
and ambient temperature, and not only from physical con-
crete properties.
KEY WORDS: carbonation, chloride threshold, corrosion,
marine environment, reinforced concrete, tropical environment
INTRODUCTION
Reinforcement corrosion has been negatively affect-
ing the civil construction in the world, causing both
economic and human losses.1-4 The main causes of
rebar corrosion are the penetration of chloride ions
into concrete porous network in marine environment,
and concrete carbonation in rural and urban
environments.
The presence of chloride ions can induce localized
corrosion of rebars, hence leading toward premature
and unexpected failures of structures. Chloride
penetration phenomenon can proceed by two
mechanisms: (i) diffusion into water-saturated
CORROSION—JUNE 2016

concrete and (ii) alternated absorption-desorption in
cyclic wet-dry periods. These cycles produce faster
chloride-ion ingress mechanisms because, besides dif-
fusion, capillary absorption or saline mist phenom-
ena also induce higher moisture diffusivity. When
making predictions, Fick’s Second Law is currently
the most used for finding the diffusion coefficient (D)
both in real and laboratory structures. However, more
and more data consistently reveal the limitations of this
equation—especially manifested in the scant and
limited relationship found between laboratory and real-
life structures.5-7
With regard to the limit of chlorides that could
produce depassivation of the reinforcement, either 0.4%
in cement weight8 is accepted as the limit value in
the water used for mixing the concrete or a ratio of
Cl−/OH− = 0.6 if it is a case of chlorides penetrating from
the outside. However, other studies9-14 on mortar and
concrete have questioned these values because they
have always found higher thresholds, ranging from 1% to
2% chlorides with regard to cement weight and from
2 to 8 for the Cl−/OH− ratio. From the few studies per-
formed, a great amount of scattering can be seen, even
under apparently identical conditions. Several factors
have been identified as indicating that there is no single
chloride threshold value that produces reinforcement
depassivation: (1) cement type and content, (2) condi-
tion of steel surface, (3) porosity of the concrete,
(4) temperature, (5) Cl− penetration rate (aggregates,
penetration), and (6) prevailing meteorochemical condi-
tions in the surrounding area, among others. Some of
these factors are very difficult to control in isolation, which
ultimately entails that the study should be performed
through statistical treatments that would allow a defini-
tion of the variation ranges in accordance with one of
the factors described above. Therefore, chloride penetra-
tion problems have a direct relationship with meteor-
ochemical variables of the environment under which the
structure is exposed. A very large variety of climate-
microclimates can be found in Ibero-America,15 which
could, if thoroughly studied, allow a more accurate
definition of chloride ion thresholds causing rebar cor-
rosion, as a function of the exposure environment, as
well as the specific effects that tropical environment may
have on the development of these corrosion
phenomena.
Since 1990, a group of Ibero-American
researchers, through CYTED (The Science and Tech-
nology for Development Program), have been studying
the effect of environment in the durability of materials,
not only metallic,15 but also concrete.16 CYTED, one
of the most successful programs of scientific and
technological cooperation in the world, was founded
in 1984 through an interagency framework agreement
between 21 countries of Spanish and Portuguese
speaking language on either side of the Atlantic. CYTED
has been a tool that has facilitated technological
development and innovation, through the coordination
CORROSION—Vol. 72, No. 6
CORROSION ENGINEERING
of existing resources and cooperation between uni-
versities, research centers, and innovative Business
Development from the Ibero-American region. It has
been a means to promote the production modernization
and improve the quality of life of this region. It also
acts as a cooperation bridge between Latin America and
Europe. The objectives of this program include pro-
moting cooperation in the field of applied research and
technological development, for the production of
scientific and technological results, transferable to
productive systems and social policies in Latin
American countries. Thus, since 1993, the CYTED
approved (under subprogram XV “Corrosión/Impacto
Ambiental sobre Materiales”) a first network called
DURAR (Durabilidad de la Armadura), where a group
of 10 Ibero-American countries (Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Uruguay, Peru,
Portugal, and Venezuela), through brain-storming in
fundamental and applied research, succeeded in
publishing a manual of techniques and procedures to
evaluate, diagnose, and repair structures with
corrosion problems, under durability criteria.8 After-
ward, in 2000, in order to continue with durability
studies, CYTED also approved DURACON (“Influencia
de la Acción del Medio Ambiente en la Durabilidad del
Concreto Armado”), the only project in the world (in the
reviewed literature) where the influence of meteoro-
chemical parameters on the performance of reinforced
concrete is evaluated, not only in marine and coastal-
marine environments, but also in urban environments
(tropical and nontropical). There are other works,
such as the ones published in Japan17 and in
Mexico,18-19 but those are specific to each country
and for 5-y and 25-y exposure, respectively. The same
Ibero-American countries mentioned earlier partici-
pate in DURACON, with the addition of Bolivia, Chile,
and Costa Rica; sampling data were collected from 37
installed monitoring stations, 13 of which are located in
marine environments, and the others in urban
environments. The present work has the objective of
showing and discussing the results obtained in this
DURACON project, in the monitoring stations
installed in marine environments, after a long-term
exposure.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Preparation and Characterization of
Concrete Mixes
Concrete mixes with water/cement (w/c) ratios of
0.45 and 0.65 were prepared for each site per country.
The following tests were performed to characterize the
concrete mixes physically and mechanically, in each
country involved: compressive strength (where com-
pressive strength is denoted as fck, ASTM Standard
C39)20 and water capillary absorption (Fagerlund
technique: m/resistance to water penetration,
k/capillary absorption coefficient, and ε/effective
825
CORROSION ENGINEERING
Mold
4.0
1.5
15.0 cm
2.0
Mold
2.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
15.0 cm Free face
Cast face
FIGURE 1. Schematic diagram of the configuration of the reinforced
concrete prisms (not to scale).
porosity).21 All tests were performed after 28 d of curing,
and only compressive strength was also evaluated
after 90 d of curing, using 15 × 30 cm cylinders cast at
the same time the prisms were prepared.
Six concrete prisms (15 × 15 × 30 cm) of each
concrete mixture were placed in each exposure site
(total of 12 prisms per exposure site).22 Three were
plain concrete (nonreinforced concrete prisms) and the
remaining three were reinforced with six rebars
(9.5 mm in diameter). The prism was cast with the
rebars in bilateral symmetry (Figures 1 and 2) to
obtain concrete covers of 15, 20, and 30 mm (two rebars
per cover, giving six rebars per prism). The specimens
were oriented with one of the 15 × 30 cm faces toward
the prevailing winds, and the other in the opposite
direction. The nonreinforced prisms were used for
performing physicochemical tests on the concrete,
such as chloride profiles and electrical resistivity
under water-saturated conditions. The reinforced
prisms were used for electrochemical tests such as
half-cell potentials and corrosion rate. A typical test
station in one of the marine test sites is shown in
Figure 3.
Environmental Parameter Tests
Evaluation of the climatic and environmental
parameters in each of the exposure sites during the test
period was based on the methodology established by
ISO Standard 922323 for classifying atmospheric ag-
gressiveness. The most important parameters used in
this investigation to classify the environments were
environmental humidity, time of wetness (TOW),
Cl− concentration, sulfur compounds concentration,
wind speed and direction, rainfall, and temperature.
†
Trade name.
826
Corrosion Parameter Tests
The evaluation of half-cell potential (Ecorr) and
corrosion rates (icorr) were conducted monthly, using the
rebars in the reinforced prisms. GECOR6†,24 was
1.5
used to measure these variables. This equipment
obtains the corrosion rate from the linear polarization
Mold
2.0 resistance (LPR) technique by means of the Stern-Geary
relationship (icorr = B/Rp), where B is a constant (in
the equipment, the value 26 mV has been assigned).
3.0 This equipment compensates for the IR drop as a
0 cm result of the high resistivity of the concrete and is able to
30. accurately confine the area of measurement by the
use of a sensor-controlled guard ring.25 This means that
Direction of the corrosion rate measurements are not performed over
prevailing winds
an undefined area, but show the true corrosion rate at
the place of measurement. In this particular case, the
area evaluated was 313 cm2 (10.5 cm of the 15 cm
exposed bar, Figure 2). The electrochemical evalua-
tion was performed on both lateral faces (prevailing
winds face and opposite face). The cast face of the
prism, showing the higher porous content, was placed
downward to avoid preferential ingress of aggressive
agents from the environment.
Chemical Tests on the Nonreinforced Concrete
Prisms
Chemical alteration of the concrete as a result of
its exposure to the environment was determined using
the nonreinforced prisms, analyzing them yearly or
even at earlier times if any of the rebars in at least two
out of three of the prisms became activated. A 5-cm
thick slice was cut from each of the nonreinforced
concrete prisms using a special custom-made
device (guillotine), details of which can be found else-
where.26-27 The new freshly cut face of the prisms was
then protected with epoxy paint. The carbonation front
was measured on the freshly broken face of speci-
mens (15 × 15 cm) using an aqueous pH indicator
(phenolphthalein), as explained elsewhere.8 Profiles
of free-chloride (water-soluble) were determined in those
slices for the sample exposed to marine environments
according to the procedure indicated in RILEM TC
178-TMC.28 The chloride concentration was deter-
mined using potentiometric titration or a chloride ion
sensitive electrode; the chloride concentration is
expressed as a percentage of the weight of cement. With
this data, the apparent diffusion coefficients were
calculated by using Fick’s Second Law.29
RESULTS
Physical-Mechanical Characterization of the
Concrete Used in Each Country
Tables 1 and 2 show the physical characteriza-
tion of the different types of concrete prepared in each
country of this project. It must be noted that, al-
though an attempt was made to use the same Portland
CORROSION—JUNE 2016
 CORROSION ENGINEERING

Exposed area of the bar for

electrochemical tests
15 cm Cu
cable

30 cm
Plastic tube

Epoxy coating
FIGURE 2. Prisms’ cross section, showing bars used for electrochemical evaluation (not to scale).

Characterization of the Exposure Environments

FIGURE 3. Typical test station in marine environment (La Voz,
Venezuela).
cement and aggregate type, the final characteristics of
the concrete were different in each country, which may
affect concrete quality, both from the mechanical and
durability standpoints.16
ISO Standard 9223 classifies the atmosphere in
accordance with TOW and the deposition rate of
atmospheric pollutants: sulfur compounds (P) and
salinity (S). Figure 2 shows the expected relative ag-
gressiveness at the different test sites analyzed.
However, considering that, unlike carbon dioxide and
chloride ions, the sulfur dioxide (SO2) content in the
atmosphere does not significantly affect the reinforce-
ment corrosion, CO2 instead of SO2 content is plotted
as the ‘‘Y’’ axis in Figure 4. This figure shows the results
from all of the test sites analyzed in this paper, for the
first year of evaluation. Notice the wide range of envir-
onments, from moderate to very high corrosiveness,
not only for the marine environment, where the chloride
ion content in the atmosphere is one of the most
important factors to consider, but in urban and rural
environments, where CO2 content is one of the
important factors in causing carbonation of concrete
and therefore corrosion of the steel reinforcement.

TABLE 1
Concrete Properties for w/c = 0.45 Mixtures
Compressive Resistance to Water Capillary Absorption Effective Admixed Cement
Strength, Penetration, Coefficient, Porosity, Content
Country fck (MPa) 28 d m (s/m2) k (kg/m2·s½) ε (%) (kg/m3)

Bolivia 26.63 3.21 × 107 0.0054 3.05 400

Chile 43.6 2.50 × 107 0.0027 1.4 387
Colombia 52.3/62.0 15.26/10.70 × 107 0.0060/0.0066 7.4/6.8 400
Costa Rica 39.1 3.25 × 107 0.021 11.97 400
Mexico 51.5 3.48 × 107 0.0147 8.7 411
Portugal 63.9 - 0.0020 - 400
Spain 43.2 10.5 × 107 0.0054 5.5 400
Uruguay 44.3 3.3 × 107 0.0196 11.2 400
Venezuela 33.8 8.68 × 107 0.0082 7.6 414

CORROSION—Vol. 72, No. 6 827

CORROSION ENGINEERING

TABLE 2
Concrete Properties for w/c = 0.65 Mixtures
Compressive Resistance to Capillary Absorp- Effective Admixed Cement
Strength, Water Penetration, tion Coefficient, Porosity, Content
Country fck (MPa) 28 d m (s/m2) k (kg/m2·s½) ε (%) (kg/m3)

Bolivia 16.81 2.12 × 107 0.0202 9.3 320

Chile 19.8 2.25 × 107 0.0341 16.1 323
Colombia 28.0/36.1 7.28/4.50 × 107 0.0122/0.0085 10.4/5.7 306/335
Costa Rica 20.1 3.73 × 107 0.026 15.88 350
Mexico 40.0 3.60 × 107 0.0199 11.9 285
Portugal 35.4 - 0.0069 - 260
Spain 27.0 6.1 × 107 0.0091 7.1 300
Uruguay 28.4 3.2 × 107 0.0267 15.0 323
Venezuela 26.8 3.71 × 107 0.0250 15.2 355

1.6
Mx.3. Chihuahua
1.5 (τ3,S0) C3

1.4 Ch. Santiago

(τ3,S0) C2
1.3
1.2
HIGH
CO2 Concentration (mg/L)

Bo1. La Paz
1.1 (τ3,S1) C2 Ve. La Voz
(τ4,S2) C5
1.0
Ch. Valparaiso
Es. IETcc
(τ4,S0) C3 (τ5,S1) C4
0.9
Mx3. Progreso
Mx1. Merida (τ4,S2) C4
0.8 (τ4,S1) C2 Ve. Maracaibo
(τ4,S1) C3
0.7 Ve. Pto.Cabello Po. Cabo Raso
(τ5,S1) C4 (τ4,S3) C5
Po.Lisboa
0.6 (τ4,S1) C3 MODERATE Ur2. La Paloma
Co. Cali (τ4,S3) C5
0.5 (τ2,S0) C1 Co. Buenaventura
(τ5,S1) C4 Es. Vigo
(τ4,S2) C5
0.4
0.3
0.2 LOW
0.1

0
1 2 3 10 30 50 60 150 300 800 1,000 1,200 1,400
S0 S1 S2 S3
Chloride Deposition Rate (mg/m2.d)
FIGURE 4. Environmental corrosiveness in the test stations according to CO2 and chloride content in the atmosphere
(ISO 9223).

It is important to highlight that to date, no corrosion in the first available test sites was performed
regulations have been defined to characterize the after the first year of data collection;16,22 afterward,
exposure environment for reinforced concrete struc- once the rebars became active (according to electro-
tures; thus, the ISO norms for metallic materials chemical evaluations), the accuracy of those predic-
were used. tions were assessed. For this purpose, the countries
Based on concrete properties and environmental that first installed their monitoring stations were
aggressiveness (Tables 1 and 2 and Figure 2), a rough chosen: Chile, Colombia, Spain, Portugal, and
estimation of potentiality and probability(1) of rebar Venezuela. All of this work was conducted in order
to state future criteria to define atmospheric
(1)
These terms are understood in the manner used in references 8, 16, aggressiveness classification standards for concrete,
22, and 33. which to date are nonexistent. A proper data analysis

828 CORROSION—JUNE 2016

 CORROSION ENGINEERING

for this research accurately demonstrates the high (a) 100

aggressiveness of tropical environments. Results for
the monitoring stations where rebars are active are 0

discussed next for concrete with w/c = 0.65.

Ecorr (mVCu/CuSO4)
–100
Concrete mixtures from Venezuela (Table 2) are
among those showing the highest potential of rebar –200
corrosion, resulting from their low quality (capillary
–300
absorption of 0.025 kg/m2·s1/2 and effective porosity
15.4%), as well as those from Uruguay, Costa Rica, –400
and Chile, although the first is not the one with lower
compression strength. On the contrary, concrete –500
mixtures from Portugal show the best quality because (6) (12) (18) (24) (30) (36) (42) (48)
–600
even though they do not have the highest compres- Nov-01 May-02 Nov-02 May-03 Nov-03 May-04 Nov-04 May-05 Nov-05

sion strength, they do show the lowest capillary Time (month)

absorption. P1_E P2_E P3_E
Once more, all of the data demonstrate that the (b) 10
quality of concrete for a specific environment should not
be assessed only through its compression strength,
but other variables also should be considered, with 1
capillary absorption and effective porosity among the

more important ones.
An analysis of environmental potentiality of rebar
corrosion, in a cooperative way with concrete potenti-
ality allowing the penetration of aggressive factors (as
a result of its physical properties), demonstrates16 that
although the concrete mixture from Portugal pos-
sesses good quality, it also shows the highest probability
of rebar corrosion in Cabo Raso station because this
environment has a very high concentration of chloride
ions (1,392 mg/m2·d).
Comparing the cases of two others monitoring
stations, La Voz (Venezuela) and Vigo (Spain), which
show similar environmental corrosiveness, it was
noticed that although cement from Venezuela has a
higher content of C3A (10% vs. 0.4% for Spanish
cement), it also shows the highest effective porosity
(>7%) and capillary absorption (0.082 kg/m2·s1/2), as
well as the lowest compression strength; hence, La Voz
would be expected to show the second highest
probability of rebar corrosion initiation, followed by
Vigo. Other important variables to consider in cor-
rosion onset are annual average temperature and
rainfall regime. La Voz station (Venezuela) shows the
highest annual average temperature (29°C), with high
relative humidity (90%), which increases the chloride
penetration rate into the concrete as a result of the
increase of its diffusion coefficient. Although this
effect is also observed in Buenaventura station
(Colombia), its atmospheric chloride content
(29 mg/m2·d) is low compared with the values found
in La Voz station (514 mg/m2·d). Additionally,
Buenaventura station rainfall is frequent all year, which
constantly washes out chloride ions from the surface
of concrete, decreasing their penetration rate. There-
fore, it was estimated that the probability of rebar
corrosion would be as follows: Cabo Raso (Portugal) >
La Voz (Venezuela) > Vigo (Spain) > Buenaventura
(Colombia) > Valparaiso (Chile).
μA/cm2)
icorr (μ 0.1
0.01
(6) (12) (18) (24) (30) (36) (42) (48)
0.001
Nov-01 May-02 Nov-02 May-03 Nov-03 May-04 Nov-04 May-05 Nov-05
Time (month)
P1_E P2_E P3_E
FIGURE 5. Electrochemical measurements. (a) Potential variation
and (b) corrosion rate for the reinforcement during the exposure time
at the marine atmosphere of Cabo Raso, Portugal. w/c = 0.65, rebar
at 15 mm depth. Exposed face.
Electrochemical Evaluation
In the present work, data from more than 3 y of
evaluation is shown, but only from those countries that
showed early rebar activity; this is done to make a
comparison of those results with the predictions of rebar
corrosion probability, predictions made based upon
physical concrete characteristics and environmental
aggressiveness in the different countries. Figures 5
and 6 show rebar potentials and corrosion rates of
concrete samples with w/c = 0.65, after more than 3 y
of exposure in the stations Cabo Raso (Portugal) and
La Voz (Venezuela).
It is worth noting that in Cabo Raso station,
corrosion of rebars at 15 mm deep initiated only
after 10-month exposure (Ecorr < −250 mVCu/CuSO4
and icorr > 0.1 μA/cm2).22 La Voz station was second
in aggressiveness, resulting from rebars at the
same depth and near to the surface exposed to a
preferential orientation of winds, showing activity
after 20-month exposure. These results match
the predictions made based on the analysis of

CORROSION—Vol. 72, No. 6 829

CORROSION ENGINEERING

(a) 100 Figures 5 and 6 show an excellent correlation

0
between corrosion potential evolution and corrosion
rate, which allows a clear identification of the moment
Ecorr (mVCu/CuSO4)

–100
when rebars become active (Ecorr < −250 mVCu/CuSO4
–200 and icorr > 0.1 μA/cm2).22
–300 Table 3 shows a summary of data taken from
Cabo Raso and La Voz stations. Free-chloride concen-
–400
tration threshold for rebars depassivation can be
–500 seen, as well as the depth where these rebars were
(10) (20) (30) (40) (50) (60) (70) (80)
–600 located and exposure time for concrete with w/c =
Nov-01 Sep-02 Jul-03 May-04 Mar-05 Jan-06 Nov-06 Sep-07 Jul-08 0.65. The high concentration of free-chloride into the
Time (month) concrete exposed at Cabo Raso station is a result of its
P1_E P4_E P6_E
high environmental chloride content (1,392 mg/m2·d),
(b) 10 compared to La Voz station (514 mg/m2·d). None-
theless, it is important to note that chloride concen-
tration threshold for rebar depassivation at 15 mm
1
depth was lower in La Voz (0.4% vs. 0.89% for Cabo
μA/cm2)

Raso), and chloride diffusion coefficient (Dap) was

0.1 threefold higher (37.95 × 10−12 m2/s vs. 10.09 × 10−12
icorr (μ

m2/s for Cabo Raso). This may be a result of (i) lower

quality of concrete used in La Voz (k = 0.025 Kg/m2·s1/2),
0.01
(ii) higher annual average temperature (29.3°C vs.
17°C for Cabo Raso), and (iii) higher TOW (0.67 vs. 0.46
(10) (20) (30) (40) (50) (60) (70) (80)
0.001 for Cabo Raso), which increased the diffusion rate of
Nov-01 Sep-02 Jul-03 May-04 Mar-05 Jan-06 Nov-06 Sep-07 Jul-08
chloride into those concrete samples.
Time (month)
In the case of the rebars located at 20-mm depth, a
P1_E P4_E P6_E
lower free-chloride ion concentration threshold was
FIGURE 6. Electrochemical measurements. (a) Potential variation
needed to activate depassivation in both stations (0.68%
and (b) corrosion rate for the reinforcement during the exposure time
for Cabo Raso and 0.3% for La Voz). This may be a
at the marine atmosphere of La Voz, Venezuela.
result of a higher humidity inside the concrete at this
depth, where a high amount of oxygen is still available
to activate rebar corrosion. In shallow rebars, corrosion
potentiality and probability of rebar corrosion (in the form of pits) was ruled by humidity content in
(Tables 1 and 2 and Figure 2). Additionally, for concrete, i.e., concrete resistivity, which is dependent
w/c = 0.45, the behavior between the two stations on chloride content. On the other hand, greater depth
(not shown) was similar. into the concrete also keeps internal humidity high,

TABLE 3
Results of the Rebars that Have Undergone Depassivation After 2-Y Exposure to the Marine Environments of La Voz,
Venezuela and Cabo Raso, Portugal
Ecorr(A) Time(B) to Initiate
Dap (10−12) icorr(A) Cu/CuSO4 Depassivation Free-Cl−(C)
Station Mixture (m2/s) Probe > 0.1 μA/cm2 < −250 mV (month) (%)

La Voz 0.65 Exposed face 37.95 1 15 15 19 0.42

20 20 29
2 15 15 20 0.42
20 20 28
3 15 15 19 0.42
20 20 20 0.30
Cabo Raso 0.65 Exposed face 10.09 1 15 15 10 0.89
20 20 - -
2 15 15 10 0.89
20 20 11 0.68
3 15 15 10 0.89
20 20 11 0.68
(A)
Rebars depassivated.
(B)
Taken from Figure 3, when Ecorr ≤ −250 mV and icorr ≥ 0.1 μA/cm2.
(C)
Average free-chlorides which produce depassivation (La Voz: taken at the same time the rebar depassivated; Cabo Raso: estimated by using
Fick’s Second Law).

830 CORROSION—JUNE 2016

 CORROSION ENGINEERING

10 preventing access of oxygen (diffusion control) and

causing a lower chloride concentration to induce the
1
breakup of a passive film. Although oxygen is needed
for the corrosion of rebars, it is also required to keep
μA/cm2)

their passivity.
0.1 Another marine environment test station where
icorr (μ

rebars showed corrosion activity (installed after Cabo

0.01 Raso and La Voz) is La Paloma (Uruguay) (Figure 7,
nontropical). It is noticeable that, although having a
(07) (14) (21) (28) (35) (42) (49) (56) concrete similar to the Venezuelan test station
0.001 (Table 2) and higher atmospheric chloride concentration
Jan-04 Aug-04 Mar-05 Oct-05 May-06 Dec-06 Jul-07 Feb-08 Sep-08 Apr-09
Time (month) (Figure 4), time for the rebars depassivation onset was
P2CE15 P4CE15 P6CE15 similar. Figure 8 shows a comparison between the ac-
FIGURE 7. Corrosion rate measurements for the reinforcement
cumulative corrosion rate in the three test stations for
during the exposure time at the marine atmosphere of La Paloma, the rebar at 15 mm depth, where a higher slope of the
Uruguay: w/c = 0.65, rebar at 15 mm depth. Exposed face. curve, after the rebar activates, was observed for the
station located in Venezuela. This is a confirmation of
the greater aggressiveness of tropical environments
such as La Voz (Venezuela). Also, the diffusion coeffi-
cient of chloride ions (6.25 × 10−12 m2/s) determined
Accumulate Corrosion Rate (w/c = 0.65)
Exposed Face, Concrete Depth 15 mm
in this station was lower than in Venezuela and Cabo
Marine Station Raso, given the lower temperature (16°C compared
50
with 29°C and 17°C).
Cabo Raso La Paloma La Voz
It is important to note that these three marine
40
∫ icorr (μμA/cm2) Month

exposure sites were the only ones where the reinfor-

cing steel showed signs of corrosion activation after
30
more than 10 y of exposure to the environment, as
shown in Figures 9 and 10. These figures show how
20
results from other marine exposure sites are not
showing this change in slope in the cumulative corro-
10 sion rate vs. time estimates; this behavior is because
(70) (84) (98) these other sites have lower chloride levels in the
0 atmosphere and/or temperature lower than 25°C.
Apr-01 Jun-02 Aug-03 Oct-04 Dec-05 Feb-07 Apr-08 Jun-09 Aug-10
Time (month) It is also important to remark that, even though
these results verify the adequacy of the analysis of
FIGURE 8. Comparative behavior between the accumulative corro-
sion rate in Uruguay (La Paloma), Venezuela (La Voz), and Portugal potentiality and probability to estimate the relative
(Cabo Raso). aggressiveness of an specific atmosphere, it is
necessary to wait until the activation of rebars in all

200 15 mm WF 20 1
15 mm WF

100
∫icorr (μA/cm2) Month

0.1
Ecorr (mVSCE)

0
icorr (μA/cm2)

–100 10 0.01

–200
0.001
–300

–400 0 0.0001
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time (month) Time (month)
Valparaiso Progreso Vera Cruz Valparaiso Progreso Vera Cruz
FIGURE 9. Comparative behavior between corrosion potential, corrosion rate, and the accumulative corrosion rate in Chile
(Valparaíso) and Mexico (Progreso and Veracruz).

CORROSION—Vol. 72, No. 6 831

CORROSION ENGINEERING

40 80

35 15 mm WF 70 15 mm LF

30 60

∫ (μA/cm2) Month
∫ (μA/cm2) Month

25 50

20 40

15 30

10 20

5 10

0 0

100
110
120
130
140
100
110
120
130
140

10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

0
0

Time (month) Time (month)

Valparaiso Progreso Vera Cruz Valparaiso Progreso Vera Cruz
Cabo Raso La Paloma La Voz Cabo Raso La Paloma La Voz
FIGURE 10. Comparative behavior between the accumulative corrosion rate in La Paloma, La Voz, and Cabo Raso, where
the rebar is active, and Chile (Valparaíso) and Mexico (Progreso and Veracruz), where the rebar is still passive.

stations under study to determine free-chloride ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

concentration threshold, as a function of environmental
variables of exposure, as well as the best models to fit The authors would like to thank their National
the different conditions found in Ibero-America; work is Councils for Science and Technology (ONCYTs) for the
ongoing in an advanced stage.30-33 partial support to this project, to the CYTED Program for
promoting and financing the interchange of ideas and
CONCLUSIONS knowledge within the Ibero-American researchers, and
finally to their institutions (permanent affiliations) for
From the data observed and analyzed in the the partial support and facilities to perform this project:
present study, after 10 y of exposure, the following Bolivia (IIMETMAT-UMSA), Chile (PUCV, PUC), Colom-
conclusions can be drawn: bia (Univ. del Valle), Costa Rica (ICE), México (IMT,
v The atmospheric aggressiveness was higher in U. Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, CINVESTAV-
tropical countries, especially when temperature rose Mérida, U.A. Campeche, U. Veracruzana, U.N.A.M.),
above 25°C, with La Voz station (marine) in Venezuela Spain (IETCC), Uruguay (Univ. de la Rep.), Portugal
being the most aggressive. (LNEC), and Venezuela (CEC-LUZ, UCLA).
v The chloride concentration threshold for rebar
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