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Investigations on the influence of oxygen on corrosion of steel in concrete—Part 2

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Abstract

In Part I of this article, potentiostatic tests on reinforced concrete specimens under different environmental conditions have been described. The results of these tests have shown that it is possible to define four cases related to the humidity, in which different dominant parameters influence the corrosion rate for the reinforcement, discussed in detail in Part I. The main result is that the diffusion of oxygen is only a significant limiting factor for the corrosion rate when the concrete around the reinforcement is water-saturated and most of the oxygen within the concrete near the reinforcement has been consumed by the cathodic reaction of the corrosion process. As a consequence, the corrosion rate is only influenced by oxygen diffusion through the concrete cover in structures which are submerged or exposed to long term or cyclic water application, thereby causing water saturation of the concrete around the reinforcement for periods of several weeks.

In Part II of this article, the determination of cathodic current-density/potential curves is described. Using the results of these tests and a simplified equivalent electric circuit model for the corrosion process, it is possible to calculate the influence of oxygen diffusion on the corrosion rate of the reinforcement quantitatively for defined conditions. One interesting consequence of this work is that the thickness of the concrete cover does not influence the corrosion rate by reducing the oxygen diffusion rate significantly when the concrete is not water-saturated. However, a sufficiently thick concrete cover is essential due to several other reasons (ingress of chlorides, carbonation, etc.).

Résumé

Dans la première partie de cet article, on a décrit des essais potentio-statiques dans des conditions ambiantes diverses. Les résultats de ces essais ont montré que, pour ce qui regarde l'humidité, on peut définir quatre cas où différents paramètres dominants influent sur la vitesse de corrosion de l'acier. Il apparaît essentiellement que la diffusion d'oxygène ne limite de façon notable la vitesse de corrosion que si le béton enrobant l'acier est saturé d'eau et que la plus grande partie de l'oxygène qui se trouve dans le béton à proximité de l'acier a été consommée par la réaction cathodique du processus de corrosion. En conséquence, la vitesse de corrosion n'est influencée par la diffusion d'oxygène au travers de la couche de béton que dans les ouvrages submergés ou bien en contact répété ou prolongé avec l'eau en sorte que le béton autour de l'acier est saturé d'eau pendant des périodes de plusieurs semaines.

Dans cette deuxième partie de l'article, on présente des courbes densité du courant cathodique/densité du courant potentiel. À l'aide des résultats d'essai et d'un modèle simplifié de circuit électrique pour le processus de corrosion, il est possible de calculer quantitativement et pour des conditions définies l'influence de la diffusion d'oxygène sur la vitesse de corrosion de l'acier. Une conséquence intéressante ressort de ce travail: l'épaisseur de l'enrobage de béton n'a pas d'influence notable sur la vitesse de corrosion due à la réduction de la vitesse de diffusion de l'oxygène quand le béton n'est pas saturé d'eau. Cependant, une épaisseur suffisante de l'enrobage est essentielle pour un certain nombre d'autres raisons (pénétration de chlorures, carbonatation, etc.).

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  1. Bauingenieur Sozietät Aachen, Sasse. Schießl. Fiebrich. Raupach Steppenbergallee 226, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    M. Raupach

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Raupach, M. Investigations on the influence of oxygen on corrosion of steel in concrete—Part 2. Mat. Struct. 29, 226–232 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02485944

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