Radhakrishna G Pillai

Currently, highway/railway bridges are designed for the service life of more than 100 y. In such reinforced concrete structures, fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE) coated steel rebars are being used in anticipation of delayed initiation of reinforcement corrosion. However, the FBE steel rebars get exposed to sunlight/ultraviolet rays during prolonged storage and delayed/staged construction. This paper presents microanalytical and electrochemical data (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion x-ray diffraction, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and shows the adverse effects of sunlight/UV exposure on the corrosion resistance of FBE-coated steel reinforcement in concrete construction. Based on tests on steel-mortar specimens, the mechanisms of UV-induced chemical changes, shrinkage, and cracking of FBE coating, and the resulting steel corrosion mechanisms are proposed. Also, the adverse effects of sunlight/UV exposure on chloride threshold and reduction in the service life of FBE-coated steel in cementitious systems are presented. The paper recommends to minimize the exposure of FBE-coated steel rebars to sunlight/UV rays to less than one month.

Fusion-bonded-epoxy (FBE)-coated steel rebars have been used in many concrete structures in anticipation of better corrosion resistance. However, due to premature corrosion observed, FBE-coated rebars are banned in many parts of the world. On the other hand, such rebars with damaged coating are still used widely in some other parts of the world. This paper discusses the thickness, continuity, flexibility, and chemical composition of coating. Also, the performance indicators such as electrical resistance, UV-resistance, moisture resistance, and chloride diffusion coefficient of coating, and the chloride threshold of FBE-coated rebars are discussed. Laboratory tests adopted techniques (EIS, LA-ICP-MS, and EDX) on samples of coating peeled-off from coated rebars and specimens of coated steel rebars embedded in cement mortar, indicate that more comprehensive and stringent specifications are required to promote the use of quality epoxy materials, FBE-coated steel rebars, and construction practices are recommended.

This paper investigates the corrosion and bond characteristics of steel reinforcement with Cement-Polymer-Composite (CPC) coating, which is widely used worldwide to prolong the initiation of corrosion. CPC coating is supposed to be applied on sandblasted or cleaned surface to exploit its full potential. However, CPC coating is generally applied on the rusted or uncleaned surface, which can lead to premature corrosion initiation and associated degradation of the bond between coated steel and concrete. For corrosion studies, 20 lollipop specimens with as-received and sandblasted steels, and with and without CPC coating were cast. These were exposed to chlorides and tested using a recently developed test method based on the linear polarization resistance technique. It was found that as-received, CPC coated steels had 50% less chloride threshold than sandblasted, CPC coated steel. For bond studies, 16 pull-out specimens with CPC coated steel rebars were cast. It was found that even negligible corrosion can lead to ≈50 to 70% reduction in bond strength. This indicates that the corrosion propagation period in the case of CPC coated rebar systems would be negligible. Based on the corrosion and bond results, a new service life model for RC systems with CPC coated steel rebars is proposed. The results highlight that if preventive maintenance is not employed, many structures with CPC coated rebars can experience premature corrosion initiation and significant bond reduction.

Concretes with fly ash, slag, limestone calcined clay, etc. exhibiting high resistivity are being used to enhance the chloride resistance of structures – to achieve durability. Prior to use, the engineers need to determine the chloride threshold (Cl th ) of such highly resistive steel cementitious (S-C) systems (a key parameter to estimate service life). Most Cl th tests involve repeated measurements of polarization resistance (R p ) and detection of corrosion initiation of steel embedded in hardened cementitious system (a sol-gel structure with partially filled pores). The high resistivity of such systems should be considered while interpreting the electrochemical response to determine R p . This paper experimentally evaluates the suitability of LPR and EIS techniques for assessing R p of steel embedded in highly resistive systems. Experiments were conducted with lollipop type specimens (steel reinforcement embedded in mortar cylinders). The following three types of mortar having various resistivities were prepared: (i) ordinary portland cement (OPC), (ii) OPC + fly ash, and (iii) limestone calcined clay cement. Experimental observations on how the following three factors affect the electrochemical response in highly resistive S-C systems are provided: (i) resistivity of concrete covering the embedded steel, (ii) electrode configuration, and (iii) electrochemical test parameters. It was found that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) can detect corrosion initiation in highly resistive systems at earlier stages than the linear polarization resistance (LPR) technique. Also, the guidelines on how to use EIS technique to determine the R p of steel embedded in highly resistive S-C systems are provided.

This paper evaluates the suitability of various techniques such as half-cell potential, macrocell corrosion, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to detect corrosion initiation of fusion-bonded-epoxy (FBE) coated steel rebars in concrete. It was found that EIS is the best technique for this purpose. Then, a new test method (named as “cs-ACT” test) using EIS is developed to detect the initiation of corrosion and determine chloride threshold at the coating-steel interface, which was not a practice in the literature. Also, the reduction in the resistance of the FBE coating was monitored and a a 4-stage degradation process and corrosion initiation process are identified and discussed using SEM, EDAX, and statistical analysis of the change in the polarization resistance of steel (from repeated EIS tests - Nyquist/Bode plots). Then, a new method that uses the properties of epoxy coating, steel-coating interface, and concrete cover to estimate the service life of reinforced concrete systems with FBE coated rebars is demonstrated. Modifications to the existing specifications to achieve target service life are also proposed.

Corrosion is one of the major deterioration mechanisms of reinforced concrete structures. The conventional patch repair without addressing the root cause of the corrosion can lead to repeated repairs. Therefore, a form of cathodic protection (CP) using galvanic anodes is a viable electrochemical technique to mitigate corrosion. However, practitioners hesitate to adopt CP for repair due to the lack of evidence and limited knowledge on the long-term performance of galvanic anodes in concrete systems. For this, two reinforced concrete panels with and without discrete galvanic anodes were cast with admixed chlorides and exposed to a natural environment for 12 years. Electrochemical measurements, such as depolarized corrosion potentials and corrosion rate of the rebars, and output protection current density of the galvanic anodes were measured. In addition, physico-chemical characteristics such as elemental composition, residual lithium content, pH, pore volume, and pore size distribution in the encapsulating mortar were determined on a 12-year in-service galvanic anode. This paper indicates that the alkali-activated galvanic anodes can protect the steel rebars from corrosion for at least 12 years. Analysis after 12 years showed that the pores in encapsulating mortar were partially filled with zinc corrosion products, resulting in substantial pore blockage surrounding the zinc metal. This led to a reduction in the pH buffer in the vicinity of the zinc metal. Also, characteristics of tie wire-zinc metal interface may affect the long-term performance of galvanic anodes. Based on this study, specifications are proposed to help manufacturers to design durable galvanic anode systems.