CONCRETE, REPAIRING MATERIALS AND PROTECTIVE COATING:

EMBEDDED STEEL METHOD, CHLORIDE PERMEABILITY UDC 691.32:658.588

Key words: Repairing materials, concrete, protective coating, test method

SUMMARY 5 SAMPLING
The chloride ion permeability of concrete repairing materials Two or three cylinder specimens of each material are cast in
and concrete protective coating is determined by an acceler- molds with inner diameter 100 mm and height 200 - 300 mm.
ated laboratory test where a direct current voltage is applied A reinforcing steel rod of diameter 10 mm is placed according
between a steel rod embedded into the specimen and the to Fig 1.
specimen surface in order to evaluate the effect of concrete
repairing materials.

1 SCOPE
This method specifies an accelerated laboratory test pro-

0
cedure to determine the resistance against chloride
penetration through concrete repairing materials and
concrete protective coatings in order to evaluate the effect of 0
concrete repairing materials. It consists of monitoring the time
to failure or reinforced concrete specimens exposed to an
electric field.

2 FIELD OF APPLICATION
The method can be used to compare both concrete repairing
materials and concrete protective coatings.
.
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In

3 REFERENCES b 100mm -

Brown, R. P. and Kessler, R. J.: "An Accelerated Laboratory

Method for Corrosion Testing of Reinforced Concrete Using
Impressed Current", Florida Department of Transportation,
Office of Materials and Research, Report No Florida 206, Oc-
tober, 1978, (26 p).
4 DEFINITIONS
Chloride permeability is quantified as the ability of chloride
ions to migrate in an electrical field through a concrete speci-
men of 51 mm thickness.
Fig 1
The specimens to be tested are compared with a reference
concrete made of 300 - 350 kg Ordinary Portland Cement (or
equivalent) per m 3 concrete, water to cement ratio
0.60 ± 0.01, slump 120 ± 20 mm and well graded aggregate
with d max 16 mm. A melamine based plasticizer may be used
if necessary. No air entraining admixture should be used. The
molds are placed on a vebe table and worked until the mix is
properly placed and compacted.

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NORDTEST METHOD NT BUILD 356 2

The specimens are stripped 1 day after casting, and cured in UR

I=
water, 20 ºC ± 2 ºC until 14 days of age, then cured in air, 10 ohm
50 ± 5 % RH, 20 ºC until 28 days of age before testing.
U R = Potential difference over resistance logged
Ready mixed repairing mortar should be cured according to by voltmeter (volt)
the specifications from the producer.
I = Current in circuit (ampere)
When a concrete protective coating is to be tested, it is
6.2 Apparatus and equipment
applied on cured reference concrete. The coating is allowed
to cure according to the specifications from the producer. The Smooth bottomed container of a nonmetallic material.
reference specimens should be kept in air, 50 ± 5 % RH,
20 ºC ± 2 ºC while the coated specimens are cured. A salt solution of 3 % NaCl.

Voltage logging equipment.

Polymer latex modified mortar or concrete is stripped 2 days
after casting, and then cured in air, 50 ± 5 % RH, 5V constant DC voltage power source. Stainless steel plate
20 ºC ± 2 ºC until 28 days of age before testing.
(ca 200 x 300 mm).

Coupling plate with 10 ohm resistance for each circuit.

6 METHOD OF TEST Thermometer.
6.1 Principle
Hygrometer.
The specimens are partly immersed in a solution of 3 % NaCl.
A constant direct current (DC) potential of 5 volt is applied ac- Wires and clips.
ross the specimens, the steel rod being the positive electrode,
(see Fig 2) and a stainless steel sheet the negative electrode. 6.3 Procedure
The test is carried out in standard athmosphere of

:-$&II,.
20 ºC ± 2 º C and a relative humidity less than 60 %, to prevent
5 any short circuiting tendency in the system.

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0
The water level should be maintained at 30 mm below the top
of the cylinder. The electrical circuit is connected as shown in
Fig 2. The stainless steel plate is immersed in the sea water
and connected to the negative terminal of the DC voltage
power source, while the steel rod is connected to the positive
terminal.

After the current is switched on, the voltage over the

resistance (U R) is logged every 12 hours until the cylinder
cracks which marks the end of the test.

6.4 Expression of results

The selected parameters may be expressed as follows:

Fig 2 Parameter Symbol Dimension

Relative humidity RH %
The chloride diffusion is recorded by measuring the current
which passes through the specimen. The current is increased Temperature T ºC
by the chloride permeability and rises when the chloride ions Time t days
reach the steel rod. Some time after the rise of the current, the A Ampere
Current
specimen will crack and/or brown colored water will be seen
on the top surface, along the steel rod. This is because the Voltage V Volt
chloride will initiate corrosion of the steel rod and the expan- Resistance R Ohm
sive effect of the corrosion products will cause the cylinder to
crack. The results are expressed as the time in days needed for the
chloride ions to reach the steel rod. This is defined as the time
The current is measured by means of the voltage (VR) over a until chloride penetration of the specimen, and a rise in current
10 ohm resistance. The current is calculated from the equa- is observed. The rise in current can be detected graphically as
tion for the electric circuit: shown in Fig 3.
NORDTEST METHOD NT BUILD 356 3

Current
(A)

& Time (days)

Time to Visible crack
cloride in cylinder
penetration

Fig 3

The results should also be given as the durability of the speci- b) Identification number of the test report
mens compared with that of the reference, expressed as a Name and address of the organization or the person
c)
factor: who ordered the test
Durability of test specimen in days d) Purpose of the test
Q=
Durability of reference specimen in days e) Method of sampling and other circumstances (date and
person responsible for the sampling)
f) Name and address of manufacturer or supplier of the
6.5 Accuracy of the test tested object

The rise in current of the circuit can usually be detected with g) Name or other identification marks of the tested object
an accuracy of ± 1 day. In the case of a concrete repairing h) Description of the tested object
material of very low chloride permeability, the accuracy in de- Date of supply of the tested object
i)
terming the rise in the current may be as low as ± 3 days.
However, in these cases the duration of the test is so high that j) Date of the test
the accuracy in percent will be of the same order. k) Test method
l) Conditioning of the test specimens, environmental data
When concrete or mortar of poor quality is tested, the rise in during the test (temperature, time, RH, etc)
current may coincide with the appearance of visible cracks in
the cylinder. Identification of the test equipment and instruments
used
Any deviations from the test method
6.6 Test report
Test results (use SI units)
The test report shall include the following information, if rel-
evant: Inaccuracy or uncertainty of the test result

a) Name and address of the testing laboratory Date and signature.