Damage of Reinforced Concrete Structures due to Steel Corrosion

Abstract:

Reinforced concrete (RC) became one of the most widely used modern building materials. In the last decades a great interest has been shown in studying reinforcement corrosion as it became one of the main factors of degradation and loss of structural integrity of RC structures. The degradation process is accelerated in the case of RC structures situated in aggressive environments like marine environments or subjected to de-icing salts. In this paper it is shown how steel corrosion of the embedded rebars occurs and how this affects the service life of reinforced concrete structures. Also, an experimental study regarding the combined effect of carbonation and chloride ingress was realized. Samples with and without rebars were drilled from a RC slab which was stored in the laboratory for two years. Non-steady state migration tests were realized in order to determine the chloride profile, while the carbonation depth was measured using the colorimetric method based on phenolphthalein spraying. It was concluded that carbonation has a significant effect on chloride ingress, increasing it.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 1111)
• Pages: 187-192
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1111.187
• Online since: July 2015
• Authors: Corina Sosdean*, Liviu Marsavina, Geert de Schutter
• Keywords: Carbonation, Chloride Ingress, Corrosion, Reinforced Concrete, Steel Rebar, Structural Integrity

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