THE GECOR6 CORROSION RATE METER for steel in concreteCONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION 2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION 2.1 CORROSION RATE METER (JAMES CS-5100) 2.2 SENSOR A (JAMES CS-5200) 2.3 SENSOR B (JAMES CS-5300) 3. INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATION 3.1 SET UP PROCEDURE 3.1.1. Selecting Measurement Locations 3.1.2. Environmental Conditions 3.1.3. Surface Preparation 3.1.4. Connections between equipment and structure 3.2 TAKING A MEASUREMENT 3.2.1, CORROSION RATE MEASUREMENT 3.2.2. RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT 3.2.3. RESISTIVITY MEASUREMENT 3.2.4, EDITING MEASUREMENT PARAMETERS 3.2.5. DATAFILE SYSTEM EDITING 3.3 DATE AND TIME ADJUSTMENT 4. TRANSMITTING DATA TO A HOST COMPUTER 5. MAINTAINING YOUR EQUIPMENT 5.1 BATTERIES 5.2 SENSORS 6. TROUBLE SHOOTING ANNEX. - INSTRUCTIONS ON THE RK6 PROGRAM FOR DOWNLOADING TO A DESKTOP PC. 10 10 10 15 16 21 21 22 23 25 25 28 28 28 301. INTRODUCTION GECOR 6 (*) was developed to measure the corrosion rate of steel in concrete by the “polarization resistance" or "linear polarization" technique. This is a non destructive technique that works by applying a small current to the reinforcing bar and measuring the change in the half cell potential. The polarization resistance R, is the change in potential, measured by GECOR 6, divided by the applied current. The GECOR 6 obtains the corrosion rate from the polarization resistance Rp by means of the "Stern and *egkE ys relationship: B Icorr = Rp B is a constant (in GECOR 6 the value 26 mV has been assigned). GECOR 6 is able to accurately confine the area of measurement by the use of a sensor controlle: ar in (1). This means that corrosion rate measurements are not carried out over a undefined area, but show the true corrosion rate at the place of measurement. GECOR 6 also calculated the concrete resistivity by means of the formula (2): Resistivity = 2 -R- D where: R is the resistance by the "Ir drop" from a pulse between the sensor counter-electrode and the rebar network. D is the counter-electrode diameter of the sensor GECOR 6 has three major components, the rate meter and two separate sensors. The LG-ECM-06 meter controls the system, collects the measurements and processes the data. The meter and the sensor A measure the corrosion rate, in uA/cm* over a defined area of rebar, the corrosion potential measured relative to a copper/copper sulfate half cell (CSE), and? the electrical resistance of the concrete as required for the calculation of I,g;;. The meter and the sensor B measure the concrete resistivity, the ambient relative humidity and temperature. (*) GECOR 6 was developed by GEOCISA in collaboration with two leading Spanish Research Centres (Inst. Torroja and CENIM) under EUREKA/EUROCARE project EU-401 with the involvement of the Swedish Cement and Concrete Research Institute (CBI). Also evaluated and recommended by SHARP.The complete system (James CS-5000) is portable (5.2kg or 11 1/2 1b) and easy to use. A measurement will take 2 to 5 minutes depending upon the corrosion condition. The microprocessor control system, selects the correct parameters and carries out the measurement. It can store 100 data points (about one day's worth of data collection), which can be down loaded to a host computer through a standard RS232 interface for further data processing and report writing. Measurements are taken by placing the sensor on the surface and making an electrical connection to the reinforcing steel. The sensors include a sponge pad which is wetted to ensure a good electrical connection to the surface. Fig. 7 (see 3.1.4) is a schematic of the system set up to take a measurement. References (1) FELIU, S.; GONZALEZ, J.A.; FELIU S. Jr. and ANDRADE, C. "Confinement of the electrical signal for in situ measurement of Polarization Resistance in Reinforced Concrete" ACI Materials Journal, Sept.-Oct 1990 pp 457-460. (2) NEWMAN J. "Resistance for flow of current to a disk" J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol. 113, pp 501, 1966.2. PECHNICAL SPECIFICATION 2.1 CORROSION RATE METER LG-ECM-06 (fig. 1) James CS-5100 CURRENT OUTPUT + 10 pA, + 100 pa, + 1.00 ma, MULLIVOLTMETERS No. 2 INPUT IMPEDANCE: 1019 9 RANGES = + 2500 mv; + 100 mv RESOLUTION: 12 BITS + SIGN PROCESSOR EPROM: 64 kilobytes RAM: 16 kilobytes BACK UP RAM: 16 kilobytes REAL TIME CLOCK + 1 minute per month accuracy. DISPLAY 2 LINES: 16 character/line supertwist L.C.D. CHARACTER SIZE: 4.84 K 9,66 mm. KEY BOARD 16 KEYS (Fig. 2) Fig 1. - GECOR 6 Rate MeterCONNECTOR IN FUNCTION Central Counter Electrode External Guard Ring Electrode Central Reference Half Cell Inner Guard Ring Confinement Half Cell Quter Guard Ring Confinement Half Cell Sensor A OB wR HD Sensor B PIN FUNCTION 1 Counter Electrode 3 Reference Half Cell POWER Power source 4X "D" or "R20" type nominal 1.5V cells. Battery Options - Dry Alkaline batteries 24hrs continuous operation - Rechargeable Ni/Cd 400 mA.h capacity 16 hours continuous operation — Standard batteries 4 hours operation Power 1 watt consumption: SCREWS TO FIX BATTERY COMPARTMENT LID CONNECTOR TO PC BATTERIES COMPARTMENT CONNECTOR TO SENSORS Figure 2. - Key Board of Corrosion rate meter GECOR 6 DIMENS [ONS 30 x 20 x 16 cm (12x8x6.5 inches) WEIGHT 4 kg (9 pounds)ACCESSORIES - 30m (100 £t) cable for sensor to meter connection — Verification Box - RS232 interface cable - Software for downloading data to host computer DOWNLOADING SPECIFICATION Rate: 9600 bps; Parity: None, Word Length: 8 Bit Storage capacity: 100 set of measurements (see Section 4, page 25). 2.2. C§-5300 A SENSOR (The "A Sensor") (Fig. 3 and 4) ELEMENTS. - Cu/CuSO, central reference electrode - Cu/CuSO4 confinement sensor electrodes (two) - Stainless steel counter electrodes — Methyl Methacrylate body - CuSO, solution reservoirs (three, 15 ml capacity each) - Cable connector to meter - Detachable handle to enable sensor to be strapped, propped or fastened to concrete surface (see figures 3, 8, 9 and 10 which illustrates several ways of fixing the sensor during measure- ment). DIMENS TONS 18 cm diameter x 2 om (7 x 0.8 inches) WEIGHT 0.9 kg (2 pounds) when full of Cu/Cus0, solution Figure 3. - Sensor AREFERENCE SzAmaess ‘STEEL RLECTRODES AND ITS STOPPERS COUNTER ELECTRODE CIRCULAR RETAINING ‘STAINLESS STEEL PIECE FOR EXTERNAL SPONGE PAD COUNTER ELECTRODE WARNING !! IF SOLUTION LEAKS OUT OF STOPPERS, LIQUID COULD CREATE CONTINUITY BETWEEN TWO ELECTRODES. THIS ‘WILL GIVE ERRORS IN THE RESULTS CIRCULAR RETAINING PIECE FOR SPONGE PAD SPONGE PAD THREE INDEPENDENT Cy SO, SOLUTION RESERVOIRS OF 15 ml CAPACITY, (SEPARATORS NOT SHOWN) Figure 4. - Scheme of Sensor A2.3 €S-5300 B SENSOR (The "B sensor") (Fig. 5 and 6) ELEMENTS - Cu/Cuso, electrode - Stainless steel counter-electrode - Capacitative Relative Humidity probe 3 to 95% - Solid state temperature probe -10 to 80° C - Methyl methacrylate body containing Cu/CuSO, reservoir - Cable connector - Cu/S6, solution reservoir ~ Printed circuit board DIMENSIONS 3.5 com diameter x 26cm (1.4 * 10.2 inches) WEIGHT 0.3 kg (0.6 pounds) when full of Cuso, solution Figure 5. - Sensor B7 26cm. CIRCULAR RETAINING PIECE FOR SPONGE PAD TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY PROBES WARNING 1 AVOID SUBSTANCES ENTERING AS RELATIVE HUMIDITY PROBE, TEMPERATURE PROBE AND CIRCUITS BE DAMAGED Figure 6.- Scheme of Sensor BOPERATING INSTRUCTIONS SETUP PROCEDURE 3.1.1, Selecting Measurement Locations Before starting a corrosion rate survey it is important to select the number and location of points where corrosion rates will be measured. The number of points will depend upon the amount of time available, access, size of structure and the information available either prior to the survey or collected from the survey. Each reading takes 2-5 minutes depending upon the actual corrosion conditions. There is also a set up time of 2-5 minutes so the operator must allow 5-10 minutes per location. The operator must also account for time taken to get access to each location, other measurements taken and other logistical factors associated with site work. This will control the total number of readings that can be taken. Obviously experience is important in being able to collect the most useful data for a reasonable expenditure of time and effort. Chloride concentration, staining, cover, carbonation depths etc. can also be used where appropriate. Measurements may be taken at strategic locations chosen because they represent one or more of the following: - High or low readings from other measurements such as half cell potentials or resistivity which can be measured rapidly using the GECOR device. If resistivity measurements are to be used to select the corrosion rate measurement locations, see section 3.2.3 Note that the connection to steel must be made and checked before making resistivity measurements. - Features of interest (different elements, construction joints, sources of water or chloride, the ground, water level etc.). Measurements can be taken on a grid. It is recommended that readings are taken over a rebar so the grid size is partly dependent on the rebar spacing. A 0.5m grid spacing would be the closest spacing, except on smal] structures or units with severe changes in condition. Measurements may be taken on a line, if corrosion condition is likely to vary with distance along an element. Stra curren - The flow of external (stray) currents into and out of the reinforcing network can change the polarization of the steel giving fluctuating half cell readings. This can occur near DC power lines or rails (railways, metros or tram systems), cathodic protection systems or other DC power sources. Corrosion rate measurements can only be made if the stray