Detailed modeling of corrosion macrocells on

steel reinforcing in concrete

S.C. Kranc, Alberto A. Sag ues
*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of South Florida,
ENB 118, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5350, USA
Received 28 January 2000; accepted 20 September 2000
Abstract
Numerical modeling of the distribution corrosion of steel reinforcing bars (rebars) in
concrete structures is complicated by the spatial distribution of the rebars in the volume of
concrete, by nonlinear boundary conditions associated with the polarization of the corrosion
reactions at the steel surface, and by mass transfer processes of the reactants in the bulk of the
concrete. A computational method for solving the governing equations has been developed
from nite dierence representations and a solution procedure that retains the nonlinear
character of the boundary conditions. A strategy was successfully devised to compute the local
potential and current density at the rebar surface with a minimum of computational eort.
Both the problem of free corrosion and cathodic potential are discussed for the example of a
square slab, reinforced with a double mat of crossing rebars. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.
Keywords: Corrosion; Concrete; Modeling; Cathodic protection
1. Introduction
Concrete reinforced with steel bars (rebars) is frequently used to form components
of bridges, buildings, highways and many other structures, but the advantages of
reinforcing can be substantially reduced or lost entirely due to corrosion as the
structure ages. This paper is concerned with the application of numerical modeling
to the problem of chloride induced corrosion of rebar in concrete. While several
www.elsevier.com/locate/corsci
Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-813-974-5819; fax: +1-813-974-2897\2957.
E-mail address: sagues@eng.usf.edu (A.A. Sag ues).
0010-938X/01/$ - see front matter 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0010- 938X( 00) 00158- X
studies of this specialized corrosion problem have been reported, previous results
have not been resolved spatially on a small scale, taking into account the complexity
of rebar arrangement usually found in actual structural elements. The goal of the
present investigation is to develop modeling methods that predict localized corrosion
intensity within large components. Ultimately, such highly detailed modeling can be
of great benet in predicting structural deterioration and extending service life of
reinforced concrete structures.
By nature concrete is porous, with void spaces partially lled by water. Although
the reinforcing steel is initially passive in the high pH environment of the pore water,
these pores permit the slow transport of oxygen and chloride ions to the rebar
concrete interface through the concrete cover. If the concentration of chloride ions
(present due to deicing salts or exposure to a marine environment) becomes suf-
ciently high, the steel can become active, corroding by anodic dissolution of the
metal [1]. While chloride induced corrosion is of principal interest here, it should be
noted that concrete carbonation reactions leading to corrosion are also possible [2].
The development of chloride induced corrosion is characterized by two distinct
periods. During an initiation period, chloride ion concentration rises near the metal
surface, while concrete properties such as resistivity and diusivity of oxygen tend to
Nomenclature
b
a
activation Tafel constant for iron dissolution
b
c
activation Tafel constant for oxygen reduction on iron
b
h
activation Tafel constant for hydrogen evolution
C
0
eective oxygen concentration of concrete in direct contact with air
C eective oxygen concentration at any point in the concrete
D eective diusion coecient of oxygen in concrete
DX grid spacing in the X-direction
E
0c
equilibrium potential for the cathodic reaction
E
0a
equilibrium potential for the anodic reaction of iron
F Faradays constant
i
a
anodic current density for iron
i
0a
exchange current density for the anodic reaction of iron
i
c
cathodic current density for oxygen reduction on iron
i
h
anodic current density for hydrogen evolution
i
0c
exchange current density for the cathodic reaction of oxygen on iron
i
0h
exchange current density for hydrogen evolution
n normal direction, number of adjacent rebar segments
X, Y, Z coordinate directions
q electrical resistivity of concrete
r electrical conductivity of concrete
/ potential of a standard electrode placed at a point in the concrete,
measured against the steel bar
1356 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
stabilize [3]. At some point in time, the concentration of chloride ions becomes large
enough to trigger localized active corrosion of the metal surface, and the subsequent
propagation period begins, culminating in eventual cracking and spalling of the
concrete cover. For the model developed here, only the propagation phase was
considered, and the location of active corrosion on the steel rebar was assumed to be
known.
The electrochemical nature of the corrosion process means that several reactions
at the metal surface (proceeding at a rate that depends on the dierence in potential
between the metal and the immediately surrounding electrolyte) must be considered.
Corrosion induced by chloride ions at the steel interface tends to be localized,
forming active zones of dissolving metal surrounded by passive regions [4,5]. Oxygen
reduction can take place in both active and passive areas. Thus spatially separate, net
anodic and cathodic regions (termed ``macrocells'') develop and transport of ionic
species in the concrete ensues as a result of relatively large scale potential gradients
[5,6]. Conditions found in moist concrete (relatively low oxygen transport and low
resistivity) favor the development of macrocells, since oxygen is depleted in the
concrete around the region of active corrosion due to slow transport. As a result,
most of the oxygen consumption necessary to support the corrosion process must
occur remotely on areas of passive steel. In contrast, oxygen is easily transported to
the corrosion site in drier concrete, so that the corrosion process is balanced locally
by the reduction of oxygen. It is of considerable interest to provide a description of
the corrosion state of a structural element, i.e. the spatial extent and strength of both
the macrocell and corrosion currents. This information is then applicable to pre-
dictions of damage and durability, since integration with time of the local rate of
corrosion gives the amount of metal loss at any point on the reinforcing assembly.
The solution to this problem consists of determining the concentration distribu-
tion of the various species under consideration, the electrical potential everywhere in
the concrete and the current distribution along the steelconcrete interface. In the
past, nite dierence, nite element, and boundary element methods have all been
applied to reinforcing steel corrosion and related problems [613]. While these past
eorts have developed valuable insights, the importance of the spatial arrangement
of the steel within the structural element has not been addressed. In the present
paper, a nite dierence approach has been employed, a choice motivated by the
desire to provide detailed, localized results for realistic steel reinforcing congura-
tions. The problem of reinforcement corrosion is rst discussed in general terms and
a computational method developed, then two example computations are presented
to demonstrate the capabilities of this model.
In reinforced concrete structural elements, rebar is typically arranged as a mat or
cage consisting of two contacting perpendicular arrays of rebar crossing in a rec-
tangular pattern as shown in Fig. 1. Previous eorts by the authors to model the
reinforcing assembly considered only single bars or approximated the layered steel as
a thin pervious sheet [7]. The rebar placement combined with the location of active
regions results in the development of a spatially complex macrocell pattern however,
and it is very desirable that any model be capable of treating the complete surface of
the steel mat, including various types of intersections that occur when the steel bars
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1357
overlap or turn. The present eort addresses the computational challenge of re-
solving the corrosion process over rebar mats embedded in concrete.
A closely related computational problem of special interest here concerns the
modeling of cathodic protection (CP), often used to control rebar corrosion. CP is
based on reducing the rate of the anodic reaction by altering the potential of the
corroding rebar by application of a protective current. In principle, the potential of
the active regions of the rebar could be manipulated suciently to achieve equilib-
rium between iron and its ions, completely arresting the corrosion process. Com-
putation of the protective current distribution pattern during the design stage can
help to ensure adequate performance of CP systems.
2. Governing equations
A main objective of this work was to introduce methods for modeling the cor-
rosion condition at the scale of the rebar dimensions. To highlight this issue, other
Fig. 1. Model geometry used for computation of slab section containing two mats of reinforcing steel.
Active and passive regions of rebar indicated.
1358 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
complicating factors were minimized as discussed below. Thus, the concrete was
treated here as a homogeneous medium, having constant electric conductivity, r, and
oxygen diusivity, D. In this case, the governing equations for the diusion of
oxygen and the electrical potential (assuming charge neutrality) in the electrolyte
volume are:
\
2
C = 0 (1)
\
2
/ = 0 (2)
where C and / are the oxygen concentration and the electrical potential in the
electrolyte (see Table 1). Introduction of further complexity (for example spatially
variable concrete conductivity and diusivity) is straightforward as demonstrated in
previous work by the authors [7]. Further investigation may be warranted however,
since these parameters can substantially modify the macrocell.
Conventional boundary conditions at the external surfaces specify either the eld
quantity (potential / or oxygen concentration C) or ux, thus presenting no special
challenges. The principal diculty with boundary conditions arises as a consequence
of polarization of the metal surfaces. For real metals, a complex relationship governs
the currentvoltage relationship at the electrical contact surface between the metal
and the concrete electrolyte. Simultaneously, chemical species are either being cre-
ated or consumed at this same interface and may also inuence the local state of
polarization.
Boundary conditions at the reinforcing steel surface are formulated from the
electrochemical reactions taking place on the surface. In the present study it is
assumed that surface reactions are governed in part by ButlerVolmer [14] kinetics,
as discussed below. This assumption permits considerable exibility to represent
actual polarization behavior [5,6]. It should be noted however, that the subject of
surface reactions involved in the corrosion of steel in concrete is an active area
of research and other models might also be employed to represent the kinet-
ics. Extended discussions of the governing equations are presented elsewhere [7,15
17].
Table 1
Parameters used in illustrative computations (see additional notes in Appendix A)
Reaction parameters
i
0
(A/cm
2
) E
0
(mV) b (mV)
Iron dissolution 1:875 10
8
780 60
Oxygen reduction (on steel) 6:25 10
10
160 160
H
2
evolution (passive) 1:0 10
8
1000 120
H
2
evolution (active) 1:0 10
8
600 120
Passive metal dissolution current density i
p
= 1:0 10
8
A/cm
2
, resistivity q = 1 10
4
Xcm, diusivity
D = 1 10
4
cm
2
/s, concentration of O
2
at wall 3 10
7
mol/cm
3
.
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1359
As mentioned previously, two principal reactions are assumed to occur at the
steelconcrete interface, but at dierent rates in active and passive regions. The
cathodic reaction is assumed to be oxygen reduction:
O
2
2H
2
O4e

4OH

(3)
as expected in the alkaline concrete environment, but without addressing complexity
that could result from intermediate reactions or eects from acidication at anodic
regions. The anodic reaction (metal dissolution) is assumed to be
Fe Fe
2
2e

(4)
which represents the oxidation state often assumed for steel corroding in concrete [7].
Reverse reactions can often be neglected in the problems of practical interest, es-
pecially under freely corroding conditions [14], and this assumption has been
adopted here.
The metal dissolution and oxygen consumption reactions are accompanied by
currents at the concreterebar interface. Employing the assumption of ButlerVol-
mer kinetics yields for the cathodic and anodic reactions (denoted with subscripts
c and a respectively):
i
a
= i
0a
e
(E
0a
/
s
)=b
a
(5)
for the regions where the metal is active, and
i
c
= i
0c
C
C
0
e
(/
s
E
0c
)=b
c
(6)
for both active and passive metal regions. These equations are formulated in terms of
local current densities, and are functions of the exchange current density, i
0
, the Tafel
slope, b, and the potential E
0
. /
s
is the value of the potential (as measured with an
intervening reference electrode; see note on sign convention in Table 1) at a point in
the electrolyte adjacent to the metal surface. The metal itself is considered as an
equipotential surface by virtue of its high electric conductivity. E
0a
and E
0c
are the
equilibrium potentials (measured in the same reference scale as /
s
) for the anodic
and cathodic reactions respectively. While most metal dissolution occurs in active
regions, a small metal dissolution current is observed in passive regions [18], for
which i
a
was approximated here as a constant value i
p
. Special provisions to dene
the value of the metal dissolution current were made for the case of impressed
current problems, which will be described later.
Applying Ohms law locally, the normal gradient (n direction) of the potential in
the concrete at the rebar surface is proportional to the sum of all current densities
(with appropriate sign convention).
o/
on
=
1
r
Ri (7)
The value of Ri is the net current density into the electrolyte computed at a specic
point on the surface of the steel. This summation of current densities will be called
1360 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
hereafter the macrocell current density at that point. The integral of the macrocell
current density over a specied area of the specimen surface will be called the
macrocell current for that region.
Since oxygen is transported by diusion to the steel surface, the equivalent current
density due to the consumption of oxygen is given by Ficks rst law by
oC
on
=
i
c
4FD
(8)
which is the boundary condition for the consumption of oxygen at the steel surface.
The factor 4 appears as the number of electrons transferred in the reduction reaction,
Eq. (3), and F is Faradays constant. Transport of specic ionic species in the bulk of
the concrete are not relevant to the present model and has not been included.
The model can easily be extended to include additional reactions. For example,
hydrogen evolution due to water decomposition on the steel surface may become
important at some extreme active potentials [19]. The following reaction is included
in the cases illustrated below.
2H
2
O2e

H
2
2OH

(9)
The current due to hydrogen formation at the concreterebar interface is as-
sumed to follow ButlerVolmer kinetics (with no mass transfer limitations) and be
given by:
i
h
= i
0h
e
(/
s
E
0h
)=b
h
(10)
which is included in Eq. (7), together with i
c
and i
a
. The reverse reaction was
neglected for simplicity, and i
h
was also assumed to be zero whenever /
s
was less
than E
0h
.
3. Solution strategy
As shown above, the formulation used to model the electrochemical corrosion
process results in two second order partial dierential equations, linked by boundary
conditions due to polarization at the steelconcrete interface (Eqs. (5), (6) and (10)).
This problem does not fall easily into a conventional classication scheme, since the
boundary conditions are expressed as nonlinear, transcendental functions of the
concentration of oxygen, the electric potential and the gradients of the potential
(currents). While linearization of the boundary conditions at the steelconcrete in-
terface would simplify the solution procedure, much important information may be
lost from the nal results. Thus, the boundary conditions at the steel surface as
written have been retained in the present model.
The selection of a grid of node points for nite dierencing is facilitated by the
fact that most structural elements are either rectangular or cylindrical in nature. For
computational convenience a limitation to rectangular geometries with equal grid
spacing, DX, in all directions is assumed here. Points on the steel surface are modeled
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1361
in the following manner. It is assumed that the steel is positioned so that the cen-
terline of the rebar is located along a set of points in the computational grid. With
respect to a centerline rebar point (indicated in Fig. 2), four extra points representing
the steel faces are introduced at half grid spacing as shown, to account for the nite
cross-section and surface area of the bar. The cross-section of the rebar is thus
modeled as square, although actual rebar is neither truly round or square. While this
model is slightly inconsistent with regard to the shape and spatial extent of the steel
bar, greater uncertainties in the values of the polarization parameters currently
available make this approximation quite reasonable.
The introduction of additional points in the grid to represent the rebar surface
makes possible the detailed resolution desired in the nal computational results.
Current and potential on the rebar can be determined for an area of rebar as small as
DX
2
, the smallest area that can be resolved as active or passive. An auxiliary array is
used to store the coordinates of the nodal points corresponding to the centerline of
the rebar, the direction of normals to each surface face and information indicating
whether the steel on each face is active or passive.
When constructing a numerical expression for the current ow at the steelcon-
crete interface, the normal derivative for the potential at the surface must be mod-
ied to account for fractional spacing of the computational grid at this location. To
preserve directional information, each face is handled individually. For example, in
the X-direction using a three point representation for the derivative at point s at the
surface (Fig. 2)
o/
oX
=

8
3
/
s
3/
i

1
3
/
i1
DX
(11)
A similar expression for the concentration of oxygen can be developed.
The usual central dierence scheme for computing the value of potential (and
concentration) at point i next to the surface must also be rewritten to account for the
Fig. 2. Conguration of computational nodes around rebar. Note especially nodes adjacent to crossover
aected by both rebars. Nodes along centerline of rebar are ignored in nal computation and values of
parameters replaced by average surface conditions around the rebar. Also identied are locations of points
used in Eqs. (11) and (12).
1362 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
fractional spacing at the extra point s as shown in Fig. 2. Using the previous no-
tation,
o
2
/
oX
2
=
8
3
/
s
4/
i

4
3
/
i1
DX
2
(12)
Although this approach requires that the grid spacing in all three coordinate di-
rections be equal and limits the position of rebar surfaces to one-half the grid
spacing, these are not severe limitations since larger rebar elements can be con-
structed by collections of smaller elements using the same scheme.
Inside many structural elements the reinforcing steel is placed in a highly regular
pattern so that the computational mesh can be easily superposed on the corre-
sponding spatial locations. Even with this advantage, because the location of the
steel is widely distributed throughout the computational eld, it is dicult to satisfy
the boundary conditions without a large number of conditional tests over the array
to determine whether or not a node is a point on a rebar. To counter these problems,
the solution strategy adopted here for Eqs. (1) and (2) is based on the Jacobi method
[20]. To begin the process, trial values of the oxygen concentration and electric
potential everywhere are assumed. The boundary conditions are satised everywhere
(as discussed below) then new values are computed for each point in the volume of
concrete electrolyte according to the usual central dierence scheme. In contrast to
the GaussSeidel method [20], which makes immediate use of these updated values,
the Jacobi procedure stores the newly computed values in a companion array, but
does not use these values until the next sweep over the eld. In this manner, com-
putations can be made everywhere without regard to the presence or absence of
rebar. New values computed at points adjacent to the steel will not be meaningful
however, since the extraneous point lying at the center of the steel is utilized in the
computation rather than that on the steel surface. These particular values must then
be recomputed according to the proper boundary conditions and making use of the
modications for points adjacent to the steel (Eq. (12)), overwriting the previously
stored values. This step is fast, since only a small array of these special nodes must be
recomputed.
It should also be noted that eld points next to rebar crossings are inuenced by
both rebars, so that the computational grid spacing is fractional in two coordinate
directions, instead of just one. In the same manner as before, these points must be
recomputed and overwritten at each iteration. Special consideration was given to the
rebar faces which touch at crossover points. It was assumed here that no current
emanated into the electrolyte from these two faces and that the rebar was electrically
joined at this contact area. This assumption is arbitrary but in no way limiting, since
other stipulations could be easily incorporated into the model. At this stage, the
companion array is now corrected and is designated as the starting array for the next
iteration. The boundary conditions must next be satised (at the steel surface) and
then the Jacobi process begins again with a new sweep over all eld points.
Boundary conditions along the steel interface are handled in the following
manner. A nite dierence representation for the polarization condition at the
boundary (cf. Eq. (11)) results in a nonlinear, implicit equation for the potential and
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1363
oxygen concentration locally on the rebar surface. The Newton procedure [20] was
utilized for this part of the computations. To obtain rapid convergence for the whole
problem it is necessary to satisfy the boundary conditions to reasonable accuracy at
each sweep. Usually only a few iterative steps were needed to obtain a satisfactory
resolution and in this manner progressively better solutions to boundary conditions
are then generated as the eld equations are relaxed. Each time the boundary con-
ditions are recomputed, the values of oxygen concentration and potential at these
surface points are stored separately from the values at regular grid points. A con-
verged solution yields the value of oxygen concentration and potential everywhere in
the concrete volume, and the current densities at every node point on the steel
surface. The total corrosion current and the total equivalent current due to oxygen
consumption may then be computed by multiplying the appropriate local current
density on the steel surface by the elemental area and summing.
The computational method outlined above is a novel combination of geometrical
discretization and application of the less commonly used Jacobi procedure to obtain
a solution for the problem. The principal advantage of the technique described here
is that nonlinear boundary conditions at the steel surface can be easily imposed at
the proper physical locations without dedicating part of the extensive eld compu-
tations to this step. Since only a small fraction of the total number of computational
nodes for the structural element correspond to rebar locations or nearby points,
these points can be easily handled after the bulk of the computations are completed.
It may be further noted that the advantages of parallel computation for very large
problems (including time dependence) are anticipated by this strategy.
4. An example computation of the freely corroding state
To illustrate the application of this method, a system conguration approaching
realistic structural conditions was chosen (Fig. 1). The system consisted of two rebar
mats symmetrically embedded in a square concrete slab, 160 cm on a side and 25.6
cm thick. This model geometry is representative of an area of bridge decking, and
also is of such a scale to be realistic for a possible laboratory investigation. The
computational domain was subdivided into a grid of 101 101 17 nodes with
equal spacing in all directions, at 1.6 cm. The rebar mat was represented by a grid of
segments with a center-to-center distance of 32 cm. The bar was assumed to have a
side of 1.6 cm, so that the eective cross-sectional area was 2.56 cm
2
. Transport
properties for concrete are strongly aected by concrete quality and the degree of
moisture present. For computations here an intermediate quality and moisture level
was assumed for which a concrete resistivity q, of 1 10
4
Xcm and an oxygen
diusion coecient D, of 1 10
4
cm
2
/s were chosen as being representative [3,5].
Both parameters were assumed to be spatially constant. The values chosen for the
polarization parameters (Table 1) are given only as illustrations to approximate the
conditions of interest [5] and do not represent any specic physical system.
For illustration, a region of active corrosion was arbitrarily located on both mats
as shown in Fig. 1. In this region the steel was assumed to be in the active state all
1364 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
around the bar perimeter, leaving the local intensity of corrosion to be computed.
The rest of the steel surface was considered to be still in the passive state. The ratio of
total steel area to that of the top concrete surface (2.56 m
2
) was 0.8 and the total
active steel area was 0.233 m
2
. Oxygen ow was allowed only through the square
faces of the slab and the concentration of oxygen at the concrete surface was held
constant everywhere at a value consistent with atmospheric exposure (cf. Table 1).
The entire slab was electrically insulated from the external surroundings and the steel
was assumed to be electrically continuous throughout (including mat to mat con-
tact). When a metal rebar assembly is electrically isolated from the external en-
vironment, the sum of all currents owing to the electrolyte from the active and
passive regions (net macrocell current) should be zero.
To obtain a suciently accurate solution for this ``freely corroding'' quasi-steady
state required the following. An adequate number of iterations were made to reduce
the average local potential change between successive steps to 10
12
mV, then the net
macrocell current was computed by numerically integrating the macrocell current
density over the entire steel surface area. Typically the net macrocell current was
Fig. 3. Determination of free corrosion state visualized as isopotential contours on slab surface. Potentials
indicated in mV (see Table 1 for sign convention). Rebars have been superposed and specic rebar de-
picted in Fig. 5 is identied. Section A-A at 56 cm indicates cut through plate for internal potential vi-
sualization in Fig. 6.
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1365
found to be less than about 0.5% of the total corrosion current. As a further indi-
cation of the degree of convergence of the solution, the rate of oxygen reduction
integrated over the entire steel surface was compared with the ux of oxygen (in
appropriate units) through the outer surface of the slab to determine balance. These
two values agreed to about 0.5%.
Fig. 3a shows the potential distribution at one of the square faces of the slab for
the freely corroding state, obtained by computation. The results are shown in the
manner of a potential map as may be developed during a surface potential survey
[4,6], and mimic closely the behavior expected for this type of system. The potentials
are more active at the concrete surface region directly above the corroding portion of
the rebar mat, and become more noble when moving away to the sides over the
passive regions (all results for the freely corroding case are identical top and bottom
due to symmetry). Computation of the total active corrosion current yields 1:24
10
2
A. This value in turn corresponds to an average corrosion current density of
~5.3 lA/cm
2
over the active portion of the rebar, which is in general agreement with
the values expected from the polarization parameters assumed, and in keeping with
moderately to highly corrosive conditions in actual systems [21]. The rate of hy-
drogen evolution was extremely small. The strength of the macrocell can be gauged
by examining the ratio of the macrocell current from the active region to the cor-
rosion current, a parameter that approaches unity when metal dissolution is not
balanced by oxygen consumption locally at the site of active corrosion. In the ex-
ample computation presented here, the ratio equals 0.513 indicating the formation of
a relatively strong macrocell [7,22].
5. Cathodic protection
One method used for the application of CP to a structural element involves placing
a metal anode on the outside surface of the concrete. A decrease in the rate of cor-
rosion can be achieved by biasing the surface anode with respect to the rebar metal
with an external power source (that is, using the surface anode as part of an impressed
current system [23]). As a further example of the computational method developed
above, the performance of this type of CP scheme was examined for the same
structural conguration consisting of a double mat with active regions as before.
Although in practice the anode would be polarizable to some extent, for simplicity
protection was simulated here by changing the boundary condition on one face to be
a surface of uniform potential, corresponding to the application of a nonpolarizable
anode. Also for simplicity, the potential dierence between the unpolarizable anode
and the concrete immediately adjacent to it will be assumed to be equal to 0.0 V as
measured with an intervening standard calomel electrode (same reference scale as
chosen for the calculations, cf. Table 1). This assumption is in no way limiting;
moreover noble alloy anodes tend to develop open circuit potentials that are not
much dierent from 0.0 V (SCE) [24]. With this assumption the potential at the
concrete surface in contact with the anode is equivalent to the potential applied
between the rebar and anode (hereafter called the driving potential). Local current
1366 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
densities were summed and related to the gradient in potential as before to obtain the
total current to the anode. The surface concentration of oxygen at the position of the
anode was the same as that assumed for the case of free corrosion.
No eect due to species evolution at the external anode surface was considered in
this example, but hydrogen evolution (Eq. (9)) at the rebar surface was included. The
model incorporates the eect of variable polarization parameters over the steel
surface, as illustrated by assigning a more noble value of E
0h
to the actively cor-
roding steel surface than to the passive steel (as has been proposed to account for
local acidication [19]). Under CP, /
s
may reach values where neglecting the reverse
of the metal dissolution reaction is no longer realistic. Although reverse reactions
could be introduced, here i
a
was simply set to zero anywhere on the steel surface
whenever /
s
> E
0a
. In the regions designated as passive, it is likely that the passive
layer will dissolve at suciently active potentials. Since the critical passivation
current for steel in alkaline solutions is small [25], the anodic current was assigned
the value given by Eq. (5) whenever that value was less than i
p
and /
s
< E
0a
, and set
to zero when /
s
> E
0a
.
A computation scheme similar to that used previously was employed, with the
potential between the anode and the steel rebar (power source voltage) specied as
an independent variable. The voltage dierences that develop between the concrete
at the interface with the rebar and the concrete at the interface with the anode, cause
net current ow to an extent permitted by the resistance of the concrete medium.
Fig. 4 summarizes the results of these computations, showing various currents as
function of the potential applied between anode and rebar. The currents are the
Fig. 4. Eect of application of CP on various integrated currents.
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1367
anode current (integral of the macrocell current density over the concrete surface
adjacent to the anode); the corrosion currents from regions designated as active on
the top and bottom mats (integrals of i
a
over the respective areas) and the sum of
both as the total corrosion current, and the hydrogen evolution current (integral of i
h
over both the top and bottom mats). In addition, the value of the initial total cor-
rosion current is shown for comparison.
Analysis of the system when not energized illustrates the capability of the model
to reveal performance features normally not considered in simplied treatments. The
anode current becomes zero when the driving potential is about 378 mV (positive in
the sign convention adopted in this paper). This is the potential that the disconnected
anode would develop against the rebar. In this condition the total corrosion current
is actually somewhat greater than in the base case, when no anode was placed on the
concrete surface. This result is a consequence of imposing an equipotential external
surface by application of the anode; the conductive path is improved over that of the
original macrocell and that increases somewhat the overall corrosion rate. If the
anode were polarizable, the eect would be less important but still present. A de-
tailed analysis of this eect has been presented elsewhere [16]. Since the top mat is
closer to the anode, the corrosion increase is more noticeable than at the bottom
mat.
When the system is energized and the anode current is increased in the protective
direction, the corrosion current of both mats begins to decrease. When the driving
potential reaches 478.5 mV, the total corrosion current becomes equal to that before
the anode was placed on the concrete surface. At greater driving potentials the
system is eectively protective, and the top mat (closest to the anode) is the one
receiving the greatest protection. At a driving potential of about 950 mV, the total
corrosion current is one order of magnitude less than in the system before protection.
At that and greater driving potentials, the residual corrosion current in the top mat is
about 30 times less than that of the bottom mat. If a suciently high driving po-
tential is applied, total corrosion can be reduced substantially, and without much
relative increase in the anode current. However, hydrogen evolution on the rebar
surface, which was extremely small before energizing the system, increases rapidly
with driving potential and can represent a practical application limit depending on
the system [19]. It must be emphasized that the values of the currents shown in Fig. 4
reect the choice of polarization parameters used for this illustration. Application of
the model to study specic design issues (for example, the permissible driving voltage
to avoid excessive hydrogen evolution) would necessitate accurate knowledge of
the appropriate polarization parameters and the circumstances under which those
parameters apply.
The distribution of corrosion current density on the top and bottom of one
particular bar is illustrated in Fig. 5 for the free corrosion case and under CP with
the surface of the concrete adjacent to the anode at 800 mV. The selected bar is from
the top mat (identied in Fig. 3) and the layer of this mat lying closest to the center
of the slab, so that the crossing point (no current emanating) is located on the top
surface. For comparison of current distribution, the current density distribution on
the corresponding bar from the bottom mat is also shown (this bar is again closest to
1368 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
center so that the crossing point is now on the bottom surface). A considerable
dierence in protection is apparent under CP, with the top mat well protected and
the bottom mat accounting for most of the corrosion. Isopotential maps visualized
by cutting a slice through the slab normal to the rebar mat as in Fig. 6, clearly show
Fig. 5. Distribution of corrosion current density along rebar surface; (a) free corrosion bar from top mat
without CP system in place (see Fig. 3), (b) same rebar from top mat, under CP (driving voltage 800 mV),
(c) corresponding bar from bottom mat, same CP conditions. () current along top of bar; ( ) along
bottom of bar (for clarity only current densities for top and bottom surface of each bar have been shown).
Fig. 6. Isopotentials at section A-A in Fig. 3, (a) no CP, (b) CP applied, driving potential at 800 mV.
S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372 1369
the modication of the potential around the rebar induced by the CP (surface of the
concrete adjacent to the anode at 800 mV) compared to the freely corroding con-
dition. The potential is modied by the external anode so that an asymmetric cor-
rosion current distribution at the active steel surface develops, with the strongest
ow from the top surface of the top mat. The underside of the top mat develops a
smaller current ow and the lower mat less yet. Although the current varies around
the rebar, the potential of the rebar is more active than without CP, so that the entire
corroding region receives some protection.
6. Conclusions
Eective computational strategies have been formulated to provide detailed, nite
dierence solutions to problems of corrosion of steel in concrete including nonlinear
boundary conditions, and spatial dierences in the surface conditions of the steel.
The computational strategy developed here successfully treats complex rebar con-
gurations within typical structural shapes. A procedure was successfully devised to
represent the rebar surface with a minimum of additional computational burden.
Applications of this computational method were illustrated for the examples of a
slab with a double mat in a freely corroding condition and also under CP. Local
conditions at the rebar surface as well as throughout the volume of the concrete
could be resolved at small scale. The results of the computations (potential distri-
butions, corrosion current densities) were representative of those encountered in
actual systems.
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by the Florida Department of Transportation
(FDOT), Academic Computing Services of the University of South Florida (USF)
and Cray Research, Inc. The opinions, ndings and conclusions expressed here are
those of the authors and not necessarily those of any sponsor.
Appendix A. Notes for Table 1
(1) All potentials are in the saturated calomel electrode (SCE) scale, but referred
to the metal. As shown in the inset, the potential for a point A inside the concrete is
dened as the value / that would be measured by a voltmeter connected as shown,
with the sensing tip of an ideal SCE placed at point A. To establish the rate of
electrochemical reactions, the potential of interest (/
s
) is that of a point immediately
next to the rebar surface. Thus with this convention, the oxidation reaction rate
increases as /
s
becomes less positive. The sign convention is reected in the equi-
librium potential ranking shown in the table for the various reactions.
1370 S.C. Kranc, A.A. Sagues / Corrosion Science 43 (2001) 13551372
(2) Reverse reactions (iron reduction, etc.) are considered negligible at the po-
tentials of interest.
(3) The eective concentration of O
2
is expressed in moles of O
2
per cm
3
of pore
water in the concrete. The value of D selected for computation reects that choice of
concentration units. Other units for the concentration of O
2
(for example, moles per
cm
3
of concrete) can be used by appropriately adjusting the value of the eective
diusion coecient.
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