Corrosion of Steel Reinforcement in

Concrete
 Overview
• Introduction
• Mechanisms of Steel Corrosion
• Control of Corrosion
 Introduction
• One of the principal causes of concrete
deterioration in KSA.
• The damage is especially large in the structures
exposed to marine environment , contaminated
ground water, or deicing chemicals.
• 1991 report FHWA in U. S. reported that 134,00
(23% of the total) bridges required immediate
repair and 226,000 (39% of the total) were also
deficient. The total repair cost was estimated at
$ 90 billion dollars.
 CRACKING OF CONCRETE

• Heat of hydration
• Alkali-aggregate reactivity
• Carbonation
• Sulfate attack
• Acid and chemicals
• Reinforcement corrosion
 REINFORCEMENT CORROSION
• Passivity
– High pH leading to formation of passive layer
– Chemical binding of chlorides
– Dense and impermeable structure of concrete
• Depassivation
– Chloride ingress
– Carbonation
 MECHANISMS OF
REINFORCEMENT CORROSION
 FACTORS AFFECTING
REINFORCEMENT CORROSION
• Depassivation of steel
• Potential variation
• Availability of the reaction products,
namely oxygen and moisture
• Electrical resistivity of concrete
– Moisture
– Chloride and sulfate contamination
 FACTORS INFLUENCING
REINFORCEMENT
CORROSION
• Carbonation
• Chlorides
• Moisture
• Oxygen diffusion
• Concrete mix variables
• Construction variables
• Temperature
• Humidity
 Chloride-induced
Reinforcement Corrosion
• Due to the external chlorides in
substructures
• Due to chloride contamination from the
mix constituents in the superstructures
 Chloride Limits
• ACI 318 (0.1 – 0.15%; water soluble)
• ACI 224 (0.2%; acid soluble)
• BS 8110 (0.4%; total)
Damage to Concrete
 Mechanisms of Steel Corrosion
• Corrosion of steel in concrete is an
electrochemical process.
• The electrochemical potentials to form the
corrosion cells may be generated in two
ways:
1. Two dissimilar metals are embedded in concrete,
such as steel rebars and aluminum conduit pipes, or
when significant variations exist in surface
characteristics of the steel.
2. In the vicinity of reinforcing steel concentration cells
may be formed due to differences in the
concentration of dissolved ions, such as alkalies and
chlorides.
Mechanisms of Steel Corrosion
• As a result, one of the two metals (or
some parts of the metal when only one
type of metal is present) becomes anodic
and the other cathodic.
• The fundamental chemical changes
occurring at the anodic and cathodic areas
are as follows:
Electrochemical Process of Steel
Corrosion
Anodic and Cathodic Reactions
Anode: Fe 2e- + Fe2+
(metallic iron)
FeO (H2O)x

rust

Cathode: (½) O2 + H2O + 2e- 2(OH)-

air water
Oxidation State vs. Increase of
Volume
Corrosion Process
 Corrosion Cells
• Anodic reaction (involving ionization of
metallic iron) will not progress far unless
the electron flow to the cathode is
maintained by the consumption of
electrons.
• For the cathode process, therefore the
presence of both air and water at the
surface of the cathode is absolutely
necessary.
 Steel Passivity
• Ordinary iron and steel products are
normally covered by a thin iron oxide
film that becomes impermeable and
strongly adherent to the steel surface in an
alkaline environment, thus making the
steel passive to corrosion.
• This means that metallic iron is not
available for the anodic reaction until the
passivity of steel has been destroyed.
 Destroying Passive Layer
In absence of chloride ions in the solution
• Protective film on steel is stable as long as
the pH of the solution stays above 11.5.
• When concrete has high permeability and
when alkalies and most of the calcium
hydroxide have either been carbonated or
leached away), the pH of concrete in the
vicinity of steel may have been reduced to
less than 11.5.
• This would destroy the passivity of steel.
 Destroying Passive Layer
In presence of chloride ions

• Depending on the Cl- /OH- ratio, the

protective film is destroyed even at pH
values considerably above 11.5.
• When Cl- /OH- molar ratio is higher than
0.6, steel is no longer protected, probably
because the iron-oxide film becomes
either permeable or unstable under these
conditions.
 Destroying Passive Layer
In presence of chloride ions
• The threshold chloride content to initiate
corrosion is reported to be in the range
0.6 to 0.9 kg Cl- per cubic meter of
concrete.
• When large amounts of chloride are
present, concrete tends to hold more
moisture, which also increases the risk of
steel corrosion by lowering the electrical
resistivity of concrete.
 After the Destroy of Passivity
Rate of corrosion will be controlled by:

• The electrical resistivity. [significant

corrosion is not observed as long as the
electrical resistivity of concrete is above
50 to 3 70 10 Ω.cm].
• The availability of oxygen.
Sources of Chloride in Concrete

• admixtures,

• salt-contaminated aggregate,

• Penetration of seawater, groundwater, or

deicing salt solutions.
Corrosion of the Steel Reinforced
Concrete Structures

MARINE STRUCTURES BURIED UTILITIES

FOUNDATIONS BRIDGES & CULVERTS

Corrosion of the Reinforcing Steel in a
Spandrel Beams (17 years of service)
 CARBONATION

• Ca(OH)2 + CO2  CaCO3 + H2O

• Reduction in pH (up to 8.5)
Carbonation in uncontaminated cement
mortar
Carbonation in OPC mortar specimens
contaminated with chloride plus sulfate
 Carbonation in fly ash cement mortar
contaminated with chloride plus sulfate
 Control of Corrosion
• Permeability of concrete is the key to
control the various processes involved in
the phenomena.
– Concrete mixture parameters to ensure low
permeability, e.g., low water-cement ratio,
adequate cement content, control of
aggregate size and grading, and use of
mineral admixtures.
 Control of Corrosion
• Maximum permissible chloride content of concrete
mixtures is also specified by ACI Building Code 318.
• Maximum water-soluble Cl- ion concentration in
hardened concrete, at an age of 28 days, from all
ingredients (including aggregates, cementitious
materials, and admixtures) should not exceed
– 0.06 % by weight of cement for prestressed concrete,
– 0.15 % by weight of cement for reinforced concrete exposed to
chloride in service,,
– and 0.30 % by mass of cement for other reinforced concretes,
respectively.
 Control of Corrosion
– ACI Building Code 318 specifies minimum
concrete cover of 50 mm for walls and slabs,
and 63 mm for other members is
recommended. Current practice for coastal
structures in the North Sea requires a
minimum 50 mm of cover on conventional
reinforcement, and 70 mm on prestressing
steel.
– RCJY and other agencies requires 75 mm
minimum concrete cover.
 Control of Corrosion
• ACI 224R specifies 0.15 mm as the maximum
permissible crack width at the tensile face of
reinforced concrete structures subject to wetting-drying
or seawater spray.
• The CEB Model Code recommends limiting the crack
widths to 0.1mm at the steel surface for concrete
members exposed to frequent flexural loads, and 0.2
mm to others.
• By increasing the permeability of concrete and exposing
it to numerous physical-chemical processes of
deterioration, the presence of a network of
interconnected cracks and microcracks would have a
deleterious effect.
 Control of Corrosion
• Waterproof membranes: are used when they
are protected from physical damage by asphaltic
concrete wearing surfaces; therefore, their
surface life is limited to the life of the asphaltic
concrete, which is about 15 years.
• Overlay of watertight concrete: 37.5 to 63 mm
thick, provides a more durable protection to the
penetration of aggressive fluids into reinforced or
prestressed concrete members.
 Control of Corrosion
• Protective coatings for reinforcing steel
are of two types:
– anodic coatings (e.g., zinc-coated steel) very
limited use due to concern regarding the long-
term durability.
– and barrier coatings (e.g., epoxy-coated
steel), long-time performance of epoxy-coated
rebars is still under investigation in many
countries.
Epoxy-coated Steel
 Control of Corrosion
• Cathodic protection techniques involve
suppression of current flow in the
corrosion cell, either by:
– Supplying externally a current flow in the
opposite direction
– or by using sacrificial anodes.
• Due to its complex and high cost the
system is finding limited applications.