World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

The Successful Use of Galvanized Rebar for Corrosion Protection

of Concrete Reinforcement.
W. M. Marques
International Zinc Association, São Paulo, Brazil.

ABSTRACT: Hot-dip galvanized (HDG) reinforcing steel is bare reinforcing steel coated with a
protective layer of zinc metal. The zinc coating serves as a barrier to corrosive elements that the
rebar is exposed to when embedded in concrete. In addition to the barrier protection that the zinc
provides, it also provides a level of cathodic protection where the zinc will preferentially corrode
when in contact with bare steel (e.g. a void or hole on the surface of the galvanized will be protected
by the surrounding zinc.) Zinc (galvanized) also possesses other favorable corrosion characteristics
when embedded in concrete which make it an effective coating material for corrosion resistance. The
mechanisms of rebar corrosion in tunnel environments will be reviewed. The benefits of use of
galvanized rebar will then be introduced.

1 INTRODUCTION about 1,100 g/m2 (~150 microns thick). The

Galvanizing is one of many techniques used
to extend the life of steel-reinforced concrete
structures exposed to aggressive environments
that promote reinforcement corrosion (Yeomans,
S. R. 2004). It is very effective in combating the
effects of carbonation-induced reinforcement
corrosion and increases resistance to chloride
corrosion both by increasing the threshold chlo-
ride level where corrosion begins and also by
slowing the rate of corrosion after that threshold
is exceeded. Galvanizing reinforcing steel has
been an established practice for some 70-80
years in many countries. The last decade has
seen a growing interest and demand for this
product.
Steel reinforcement can be in the form of
wire, prestressing strand or reinforcing bar (re-
bar). In the case of rebar, the most widely used
method to apply the zinc is by the hot-dip meth-
od. It involves the immersion of single or batch-
es of cleaned steel bars into a bath of molten
zinc at 450 °C. This allows a metallurgical reac-
tion to occur between the steel and the zinc, and
produces an intentionally thick coating on the
steel made up of a series of zinc-iron alloy lay-
ers, which grow from the steel/zinc interface
with a layer of essentially pure zinc at the sur-
face. These coatings can have a mass of up to
1
composition of these coatings, including the
thickness of the zinc surface layer, can vary as a
function of the chemistry of the steel being
coated and the operating parameters of the zinc
bath. The initial corrosion behavior of the coat-
ing when embedded in concrete is affected by
the chemistry of the surface layer (Tan, Z.Q.,
Hansson, C.M. 2008). A coating with a pure zinc
layer is known to be more corrosion resistant
than one that is an intermetallic zinc-iron phase.
Sometimes however, with the “batch” hot-dip
process, a coating comprised entirely of zinc-
iron is produced.
2 UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT
TYPES OF CORROSION THAT AFFECT
CONCRETE
When mild steel is used as reinforcing in
concrete, a protective oxide layer is naturally
formed on the surface of the steel due to the
alkalinity of the concrete. As long as this film is
maintained, the reinforcement will indefinitely
remain in a passive state. Once corrosion is
initiated, it is only a matter of time before the
expansive pressures from steel oxidation causes
concrete cracking, spalling and delaminations. If
the on-going corrosion activity is not addressed,
section loss of the reinforcing will occur and
 World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
significant structure repair or replacement may
eventually be required.
2.1 Chloride Contamination
In most cases, the protective oxide film on the
reinforcing steel is destroyed by the presence of
elevated levels of chloride ions. The chloride
threshold to initiate corrosion is generally
considered to be around 0.59 to 0.83 kg of water
soluble Cl- per m3 of concrete (at the level of
the steel). This chloride threshold will vary
depending upon the pH of the concrete. For
example, concrete that has experienced a loss of
alkalinity will require fewer chlorides to initiate
corrosion. Chloride-induced corrosion can be
commonly found in structures exposed to de-
icing salts, a marine environment, or certain
industrial processes. On some structures,
sufficient quantities of chlorides to cause
corrosion were introduced in the original
construction by the use of chloride-containing
admixtures or contaminated aggregates. A table
showing maximum chloride ion content for
different types of concrete is at ACI 318-83,
“Building Code Requirements for Reinforced
Concrete”
2.2 Carbonation
The passive oxide film can also be destroyed by
the loss of alkalinity in the concrete matrix
surrounding the reinforcing steel. The reduction
in alkalinity is generally caused by carbonation,
a reaction of atmospheric carbon dioxide with
calcium hydroxide (in the cement paste) in the
presence of water. The result is a reversion of
the calcium hydroxide to calcium carbonate
(limestone) which has insufficient alkalinity to
support the passive oxide layer. The amount of
time for the carbonated zone to reach the level
of the reinforcing is a function of the amount of
concrete cover, concrete porosity, humidity
levels, and the level of exposure to carbon
dioxide gas. Carbonation-induced corrosion is a
particular threat to older building structures.
3 CORROSION OF GALVANIZED
REINFORCING BAR IN CONCRETE
The threshold for zinc corrosion in concrete
pore solutions is at a pH of between 12.8 and
13.2 +/- 0.1. Above this limit the corrosion rate
2
is so high that there is a risk of complete disso-
lution of the coating (see figure 1). The relation-
ship between cement alkali content and zinc
corrosion rate may help explain the observed
different behaviors and life of galvanized coat-
ings in concrete. The pH of cement on contact
with the galvanize coating is very important as
it controls the formation of a compact and ad-
herent passive layer of calcium hydroxyzincate
(CaHZn), a compound that, after being formed,
greatly slows corrosion of the zinc surface layer.
Figure 1 Corrosion Rate (from Author)
The passivation layer develops during the
first few hours after mixing when the pH of the
concrete solution is lower than 12.8 +/- 0.1. If
pH is between 12.8 and 13.2 the layer develops
slowly and the galvanized coating may continue
to dissolve until the passivating layer is formed.
If the pH is greater than 13.2, the passive
layer will not developed and the galvanize layer
is dissolved completely. pH levels greater than
13.2 do not develop in concrete pore solutions
during the first few hours if sulphate is used as a
settling regulator, or enough alkaline sulphates
are present.
The nature of the different alloy microstruc-
tures in HDG rebar has a significant effect on
the performance of the galvanize coating in al-
kaline solutions - primarily because it's the outer
pure zinc layer (eta) that provides the most ef-
fective passivation, while the underlying Fe-Zn
layers are less stable, particularly in the pres-
ence of chlorides, by which they are selectively
attacked. It is therefore concluded that galvanize
coatings should have a sufficient reserve of the
pure zinc layer (> than at least 10 microns) to
enable the development of a perfect, and so pas-
sivating, film of CaHZn.
 World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
With batch HDG coatings, higher strength
(500 MPa) galvanized rebar has a thinner pure
zinc layer than 400 MPa bar (because of its
higher reactivity in the zinc bath), so has a high-
er corrosion rate in chloride-bearing or car-
bonated concrete. When the aggressive species
(carbonation front, or chloride ions) reached the
galvanized reinforcement, in order to initiate
corrosion they have to disrupt the physical bar-
rier of the CaHZn film. Carbonation lowers pH
from highly alkaline to around neutrality (pH 7),
where the rate of Zn corrosion is still very low.
As a result, galvanized rebar does not gener-
ally corrode in carbonated concrete. Chlorides
are the more aggressive ions for reinforced con-
crete and are the most frequent cause of rein-
forcement distress. Cl comes from the raw ma-
terials, marine environments or deicing salts.
Zinc is attacked by Cl, but has a higher thresh-
old value than bare steel. The overall behavior
depends on the source of the Cl, the state of the
galvanized surface (including protection afford-
ed by Zn corrosion products), and the degree of
protection provided by the concrete cover.
If the coating has a pure Zn layer, it dissolves
uniformly at first and only later does localized
attack occur in the alloy layers. The absence of
an external zinc layer produces much higher
corrosion rates. Galvannealed coatings (~ 10%
Fe) are catastrophically destroyed when they are
used in chloride-containing concrete. "Galvan-
neal" refers to steel with a zinc-iron alloy coat-
ing. This is produced by heating a hot dipped
galvanized steel so that the zinc coating and the
top layer of the steel surface essentially meld
together to form a zinc-iron alloy. The most re-
sistant galvanized coatings are those with a
thicker external layer of pure zinc (Yeomans, S. R.
2004). The corrosion of steel in concrete can be
viewed as developing through a two-stage
mechanism: initiation and propagation. Efforts
to achieve long-term durability of reinforced
concrete have been mostly directed 3 at delay-
ing initiation, i.e. postponing as long as possible
the start of the propagation stage. In addition to
the delay in the onset of corrosion, zinc corro-
sion products are not expansive in nature, so
during the time the galvanized coating is dis-
solving, the life of the structure is also effective-
ly being extended. The zinc rich corrosion
products that typically develop are known to be
3
friable and able to migrate away from the
bar/matrix interface into the body of the con-
crete. This migration increases concrete density
and therefore reduces the local chloride diffu-
sion rates through the cover toward the rebar.
In concrete, the critical chloride level for bare
steel is 1.1 lb/yd3 (0.65 kg/m3) In a 1992 ILZRO
performance evaluation report, a bridge in Boca
Chica, FL reached this level of chloride in the
concrete within 3 years, and the galvanized rein-
forcing bars in place showed no corrosion dis-
tress 19 years later (Dieter, G.E. 1961). Not all
metallic materials have the same corro-
sion/damage/stress/time response relationship. It
is important to explore the corrosion rate intrin-
sic to the interface of the metal and local envi-
ronment over the exposure time, the volumetric
expansion of corrosion products, the degree to
which these corrosion products protect the metal
from further corrosion and the mobility or de-
gree to which the concrete accommodates corro-
sion products. As illustrated in Figure 2, both
black steel and galvanized rebar inserted in con-
crete go through a dormant (initiation) period
(“A” for bare steel and “C” for galvanized), up
to the time where corrosive species build up at
the metal/concrete interface and corrosion be-
gins. Bare steel begins to corrode rapidly at this
point, as shown by period “B” in Figure 1. Gal-
vanized steel corrodes much more slowly
through period "D", into period “E” where rem-
nant zinc areas cathodically protect bare areas.
Figure 2 Kinetics of Black vs. Galvanized Rebar
(Adapted from Yeomans) – from ref 3
Figure 3 relates galvanized steel corrosion
behavior to local Cl concentration at the rebar
surface. The delayed dormancy period between
the end of zone I and the start of zone II (in
spite of increasing Cl content) is supported by
the literature.3 The beginning of period II is the
critical threshold for the beginning of corrosion
(A/B boundary in Figure 1 and I/II boundary in
Figure 2).
 World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
Bar Type
Weathered
Annealed
Chromated
Non-chromated
Figure 3 Kinetics of Galvanized Rebar (Adapted from
Yeomans and Barton) – from ref 3
Tan and Hansson2 state that a coating with a
pure zinc surface layer is known to be more cor-
rosion resistant than one that is an intermetallic
zinc-iron phase. This is illustrated in Figure 4,
where the annealed specimens (having a reac-
tive coating with no pure zinc top layer) re-
quired a longer time to passivate, because less
zinc is available on the surface, and a second
and higher peak current density is apparent prior
to passivation, likely attributable to the different
intermetallic layers near the surface of this spec-
imen. In Portland cement hydrogen evolution
ceases when the bar becomes passivated. It also
appears that for chromated and non-chromated
bars the higher availability of zinc at the surface
allowed passivation to occur sufficiently fast so
that the second peak could be prevented.
Figure 4 Corrosion of HDG bars when exposed to pH
12.5. , ♦ chromated bar, ● annealed bar; ■ non-chromated
bar – from ref 2
In the Tan and Hansson paper, passivation
occurred for all types of HDG bars in a CaOH
solution. Although time to passivation was the
same for chromated and non-chromated bars,
the passive current density is slightly higher for
the chromated specimens, indicating the chro-
mate film is less protective than the CaHZn.
Table 1 Corrosion current and depth loss summary within
the first two days – from ref 2
4
Max. active Min. passive Depth Loss
icorr (μA/cm2) icorr (μA/cm2) @ 50 h (μm)
83 - 95 0,6 – 0,8 2,03
41 - 80 0,2 – 0,6 1,18
37 - 65 1,1 – 2,3 0,92
30 - 92 0,5 – 0,7 0,45
With 100 micron and thicker coatings, the
depth losses of zinc to passivation are consid-
ered insignificant (see Table 1). Note the in-
creased depth loss for annealed bar compared to
non-chromated bar.
4 POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES OF
CONTINUOUSLY GALVANIZED REBAR
(CGR) OVER HDG WITH ZINC-IRON
ALLOY LAYERS
The CGR coating process uses a small
amount of Al (0.2%) in the zinc bath to produce
a coating that is almost pure zinc except for an
approximately 0.1 micron ternary intermetallic
alloy layer (Fe2Al5-xZnx) at the zinc/steel inter-
face. Such a coating, because of its very thin al-
loy layer (the same as that produced on continu-
ously galvanized sheet products), is very
adherent and can be bent or stretched with min-
imal cracking, and no peeling or flaking. The
CGR process coats the steel using a total expo-
sure time to the molten zinc of several seconds
before cooling. Including the preheating stage,
the total time the steel is at the temperature of
the molten zinc (465 °C) is 4-5 seconds. This al-
lows all grades of steel (normal and high
strength) to be galvanized with no risk of em-
brittlement. In fact, any cold work stresses im-
parted to the bar by a straightening process prior
to entry into the coating section would be al-
most entirely relieved by the preheating prior to
zinc bath entry. All grades, including high
strength, will have the same coating of essen-
tially pure zinc. This would be the case even
with reactive steels that produce coatings with
thick Zn-Fe layers in the traditional HDG pro-
cess. The literature on rebar with HDG coatings,
while generally showing much improved corro-
sion resistance over bare steel in concrete, does
indicate the zinc-iron alloy layers have less cor-
rosion resistance than pure zinc and are, in fact,
the corroding species during the propagation
stage of the life cycle (Yeomans, S. R. 2004, Tan,
Z.Q. 2008). CGR has a much thicker pure zinc
 World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
(eta) coating (about 50 microns) than the top eta
layer of some HDG coatings, and would there-
fore be expected have a longer Zn corrosion
stage (period “D” in Figure 1) than such HDG
coatings. This suggests that once in period “D”,
50 microns of pure zinc would not only corrode
more slowly, than say
a coating of 10 microns of zinc covering 40+
microns of zinc-iron alloy layers, but would
significantly delay the onset of period
“E”(Zn+Fe corrosion). The service life of pure
zinc coatings could therefore be extended con-
siderably compared to HDG coatings that have a
thin or non existent pure zinc top layer, and that
superior and more dependable performance
could be achieved using the thinner pure Zn
coatings. Certainly, if having 50 microns of pure
zinc proves to be 100 percent effective in resist-
ing severe chloride environments for long peri-
ods, whether it be the top layer on a HDG coat-
ing or the only layer on CGR, then it can be
concluded that the thick layers of zinc-iron alloy
under the pure zinc on HDG may not be re-
quired to achieve the corrosion resistance target
of the application. With the CGR process, 50
microns of pure zinc can be assured to be there.
This assurance may not be possible for all
HDG products. It is interesting to note that In-
ternational Standard ISO 14657 Zinc-coated
steel for the reinforcement of concrete, specifies
three classes of coatings, viz., Class A, 600
g/m2 (for diameter d > 6 mm) and 500 g/m2 (for
d ≤ 6 mm); Class B, 300 g/m2 and Class C, 140
g/m2. ASTM A767 has 2 classes of coatings,
viz., Class I, 915 g/m2 (for d = 10 bar) and 1070
g/m2 (for d ≥ 13 bar) and Class II, 610 g/m2.
Whereas ASTM A767 specifies the coatings
shall be applied by the ‘dipping’ process using
properly prepared bars (implying the batch pro-
cess), the ISO specification allows bars that are
‘galvanized as an integral phase of the steel
making process’ as well as ‘subsequently galva-
nized’ bars. The requirements for almost 50%
less zinc by ISO, and no specific language about
galvanizing methods, implies that coatings con-
sisting entirely of pure zinc are acceptable and
that there is not necessarily a need for the thick
coatings specified by A767. In any case, the
thinnest coating (140 g/m2) in ISO 14657 is too
light to be produced by the batch HDG process.
5
As covered above, the zinc corrosion products
produced in concrete are friable and have been
shown to dissipate into the concrete without
creating the spalling stresses produced by iron
corrosion products. It is reasonable to conclude
that the corrosion products from pure zinc
would be even more friable, producing less
stress than those from zinc-iron alloys, particu-
larly those formed from the gamma phase alloy.
A conceptual continuous galvanizing process
is shown in Figure 5. This exact configuration
has not yet been used to produce galvanized re-
bar, but is used on other products such as nar-
row-width flats and wire rod.
Figure 5 Proposed process for non-flux continuous galva-
nized of reinforcing bar
Flux based versions of this process are run in
other parts of the world using cut-to-length bars.
The heat-to-coat method shown in Figure 4 is a
simpler and less costly means of continuously
galvanizing rebar. Once this process is perfect-
ed, multiple strands could be run side-by-side at
speeds from 10 to perhaps 80 meters per minute.
The induction heating step would bring the
bar surface temperature up to at least the zinc
bath temperature of 450 °C, allowing the normal
continuous galvanizing iron/aluminum reaction
to occur that forms the thin and ductile interme-
tallic alloy layer. This process could be used to
convert black coils of reinforcing bar into gal-
vanized coils, that could be sent for subsequent
processing into galvanized rebar cut lengths and
formed parts. One concern about doing this is
the added cold work that might create unac-
ceptable strain ageing in the rebar from the extra
uncoiling, straightening and recoiling involved
in such a process. The rapid induction heating
 World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

step would be expected to largely relieve any

stresses created prior to galvanizing by taking
advantage of the ‘uphill quenching’effect.5 This
would result in a galvanized coil of rebar with
very similar cold work stresses as current black
rebar coils have prior to being formed into parts.

5 SUMMARY

Over a long period of time, hot dip

galvanizing has proven to provide cost effective
and reliable corrosion protection to steel in
concrete in a variety of exposure conditions.
Hot dip galvanizing is one of a number of
corrosion protection measures used to improve
the overall durability of reinforced concrete.
The convenience of manufacture and supply of
the product, the ease of handling, transportation
and installation, its proven durability and the
fact that no special design requirements are
needed, means that hot dip galvanized steel has
been accepted in many countries worldwide for
a wide range of concrete construction.

REFERENCES

1 Yeomans, S. R. 2004. Galvanized Steel Reinforcement

in Concrete, Elsevier Ltd, Oxford
2 Tan, Z.Q., C.M. 2008. Effect of surface condition on the
initial corrosion of galvanized reinforcing steel embedded
in concrete, Corrosion Science, Hansson, p. 50, 2512-
2552
3 Kinstler, T.J. 2002. Research and Update on Galva-
nized Reinforcing Steel
4 Stejskal, B. 1992. Project ZE-389, Evaluation of the
Performance of Galvanized Steel Reinforcement in Con-
crete Bridge Decks, Construction Technology Laborato-
ries, published by ILZRO
5 Dieter, G.E. 1961. Mechanical Metallurgy, McGraw-
Hill, New York, p. 418