Corrosion Science\ Vol[ 39\ No[ 5\ pp[ 864882\ 0887

\ Pergamon
0887 Elsevier Science Ltd[ All rights reserved[
Printed in Great Britain[
9909827X:87 ,*see front matter

PII] S9909827X"87#999254

EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT FOR MODELLING THE STEEL!

CONCRETE INTERFACE[ I[ EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE AND
THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS
 LEZ\b C[ ANDRADEc and S[ FELIUb
V[ FELIU\a J[ A[ GONZA
a
E[T[S[ Ingenieros Industriales\ Universidad de Castilla!La Mancha\ Campus Universitario s:n\ 02960 Ciudad
Real\ Spain
b
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Metalurgicas\ CSIC\ Avda[ Gregorio del Amo\ No 7\ 17939 Madrid\ Spain
c
Instituto de Ciencias de la Construccion E[ Torroja\ CSIC\ Serrano Galvache s:n\ 17922 Madrid\ Spain

Abstract*This paper experimentally con_rms the participation of di}usion in the response of reinforced concrete
specimens to the di}erent electrical signals applied[ Therefore\ in the modelling of the steel!concrete system\ it
seems necessary to incorporate elements representing the di}usion together with the e}ects of the corrosion
reaction and the non!ideal capacitative behaviour at the interface[ A knowledge of the interaction between all
these phenomena is indispensable for interpreting the response of the system to the application of DC and AC
signals\ and for the correct estimation of the corrosion rate of reinforcements[ An examination is made of which
equivalent circuit might be most suitable for modelling the system[ 0887 Elsevier Science Ltd[ All rights reserved

Keywords] A[ steel reinforced concrete\ B[ modelling studies\ polarization\ EIS

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays it is habitual to use electrochemical methods in the non!destructive deter!
mination of the corrosion rate "or corrosion current# of reinforcements embedded in
concrete[02 These methods are based on the analysis of the steel!concrete system response
to di}erent electrical signals[
The value of the corrosion current "Icorr# is calculated using the well!known SternGeary
equation]3
Icorr  B:Rp "0#
where Rp is the polarization resistance\ which should coincide with the charge transfer
resistance "Rt#\ and B is a constant\ approximately 1541 mV in reinforced concrete[4 The
value of Rt must be deduced from the steel!concrete system response to the electrical signals
applied\ for which it is necessary to di}erentiate between the e}ect of Rt and other e}ects
which may also exert an in~uence in the response[ To this end it is usually of great help to
model the system by means of an equivalent circuit[ Obviously\ the more accurate the
model used in the treatment of the response\ the more reliable the value of Rt thus deduced[

Manuscript received 03 November 0886^ in amended form 2 March 0887

864
865 V[ Feliu et al[

Hypothetical electric circuits\ consisting of elements with well!de_ned electrical proper!

ties\ have been used to describe the electrical response of the steel!concrete system to a
range of possible signals[ The response of an electrode in contact with an electrolyte is often
represented by a simple circuit made up of the electrolyte resistance Re in series with a
parallel "RC# branch[ This circuit has been used many times to model the steel!concrete
system\ with R representing the charge transfer resistance "Rt# of the corrosion reaction
and C the double layer capacity "Cd# "Fig[ 0"a##[ According to this hypothesis\ the values
of polarization resistance obtained from DC measurements have been attributed to Rt[ A
frequently observed problem\ particularly in passive reinforcements\ is that in practice the
steady response demanded by the model is never reached[
AC measurements "impedance diagrams# of the steel!concrete system reveal behaviours
which also cannot be explained with the circuit in Fig[ 0"a#] "i# presence of more than one
semi!circle in the Nyquist plot\5 "ii# possible appearance of low frequency tails\5\6 and "iii#
depressed semi!circles[6\7
E}ect "i# has suggested the use of circuits formed by more than one RC combination to
represent the steel!concrete system e[g[ Figure 0"b#[5\8 E}ect "ii# has been related with
di}usion control\4\5\09 and has motivated the addition of a Warburg element "ZD# in series
with Rt "e[g[ Figure 0"c#\ where only the response of the faradaic process is simulated#[
Di}usion control would explain why the steady state is not attained in DC measurements\
even after prolonged polarization times[ Finally\ the depressed semi!circles\ e}ect "iii#\
suggest a non!ideal behaviour of the capacitor Cd\ whose response is represented by a
constant phase element "CPE#[6\7 According to the literature\00\01 the charging of a dis!
continuous and inhomogeneous interface leads to a CPE!like response[ A response of this
type in the steel!concrete system is therefore to be expected\ due both to the lack of surface
homogeneity of the reinforcements "e[g[ surface roughness and distribution of isolated
reaction zones#\ and to the eminently heterogenous nature of concrete[ Thus\ elements Cd\
C0 and C1 in the circuits in Fig[ 0"a\b# have at times been replaced by constant phase
elements\ CPE[68\02 Sagues et al[7\03 have recently used the circuit in Fig[ 0"d# to quan!
titatively interpret the response of the steel!concrete system to electrical signals[
In the evaluations of Rt in the time domain\ consideration is not normally made of the
possible e}ect of di}usion on the system response[ However\ this e}ect should always be
considered when the system is modelled by circuits such as those represented in Fig[ 0"c\e#[
This paper is aimed at experimentally con_rming the participation of di}usion in the
response of reinforced concrete specimens to the electrical signals applied\ and to discussing
the implications of this on electrochemical measurements of Rt[ To this end\ an examination
will be made of which model "equivalent electric circuit# may be most suitable for inter!
preting the faradaic response of the steel!concrete system[

EXPERIMENTAL
Use has been made of reinforced concrete specimens of di}erent types[ In addition to
specimens especially prepared for the research\ specimens from previous research\ prepared
several years ago\ have also been tested[ Due to their geometry these specimens can be
classi_ed as] "a# small prismatic specimens 14[47 cm in size\ and "b# large size specimens\
i[e[ beams of 059095 cm and slabs of 39395 cm and 0220226 cm[ In general
the concrete contained carbon steel reinforcing bars of 9[6 cm diameter[
In several series of specimens the concrete was composed of one part cement\ 2 parts
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 866

Fig[ 0[ Models of equivalents circuits[ Re electrolyte resistance^ Rt charge transfer resistance^ R0

unde_ned resistance^ Cd double!layer capacitance^ C0 unde_ned capacitance^ CPE constant phase
element^ ZD Warburg di}usion[

sand and 9[4 parts water[ In other series the mixture also had 2) CaCl1 by weight of
cement incorporated[
Electrochemical measurements were performed after a wide range of times after the
manufacturing of the specimens\ and under highly varied specimen wetness conditions[
Following well!known techniques\ the following types of electrical signals were applied] "a#
867 V[ Feliu et al[

potential step "potentiostatic curves#\ "b# current step "galvanostatic curves#\ and "c#si!
nusoidal signal "impedance measurements#[

SIMULATION OF CIRCUIT RESPONSES

It is interesting to compare the experimental responses with the theoretical responses of
the equivalent circuits used to model the steel!concrete system[
It is not particularly di.cult to simulate the frequency responses of equivalent circuits\
either directly by writing the appropriate calculation programme or by resorting to software
already developed for a general simulation and analysis of EIS data\ such as[04 Simulations
in the time domain may be far more complicated[ For some very simple circuits e[g[ Figure
0"a\b#\ mathematical expressions are known for the time domain responses to a series of
signals\ such as potential or current steps\ current interruption\ cyclovoltammetry[0507 It is
more di.cult to calculate these responses with the circuits in Fig[ 0"c# and 0"d#[7\03\0812
Recently a rather general approach for obtaining the response in the time domain of an
equivalent electrical circuit has been published[13 This method of calculation has been used
in the present work for simulating the responses of Randles circuit modi_ed with a CPE
Fig[ 0"e# to the application of potential and current steps[

RESULTS
The results refer to both DC tests "response in the time domain# and AC tests "response
in the frequency domain#[ Figures 1 and 2 are representative of the behaviour of passive
reinforcements "mortar without chloride# and active reinforcements "mortar containing

Fig[ 1[ Current!time response to a voltage step of steel embedded in mortar containing chloride
"curves 0 and 1# and without chloride "curves 2 and 3#[
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 868

Fig[ 2[ As in Fig[ 1\ but for the voltage!time response to a current step[

chloride# when potential steps "curves DI vs t# and current steps "curves DE vs t# are applied[
The polarization time has been prolonged to 149 s in order to reveal the e}ect of di}usion[
The curves obtained always show a clear di}erentiation between the behaviour of the
passive and active reinforcements[ They are also a}ected\ though to a lesser extent\ by the
degree of wetness\ type and history of the specimens[
In the frequency domain the Nyquist plots "Figs 3 and 4# also change notably according
to whether the reinforcements exhibit passive or active behaviour[ In the range of high
frequencies used the arc associated with bulk "concrete# phenomena5\8\02 is only partially
drawn[ In the discussion we shall omit this situation and refer exclusively to the part of the
diagram corresponding to medium and low frequencies\ when the system response is
essentially due to faradaic processes[
The plots for the reinforcements in passive state show a rapidly rising line at decreasing
frequencies "Fig[ 3#[ Even at 02[6 mHz impedance values still show an important capacitive
component\ whose magnitude may surpass that of the resistive component[ The incomplete
form of these plots makes it di.cult to obtain direct information about the parameters of
the equivalent circuit[ In addition to this di.culty there is the imprecision which usually
accompanies impedance data for reinforced concrete in the mHz region[
Reinforcements in active state usually give rise to tighter curves in the Nyquist plots\
with rising lines of gentler slopes\ as in Fig[ 4[
879 V[ Feliu et al[

Fig[ 3[ Nyquist plot for the steel embedded in mortar without chloride[

Information about the action of a CPE

Exponent b in eqn "1# for CPE impedance7
0
ZCPE  "1#
Yo" jv#b
provides information about the degree of non!ideality in capacitive behaviour[ Its value
makes it possible to di}erentiate between the behaviour of a CPE "b0# and that of an
ideal capacitor "b  0#[ A clockwise rotation of the ideal semi!circle in the Nyquist plots
over an angle "0b#p:1 "depressed semi!circle behaviour# suggests the action of a CPE[
From the tangent to this semi!circle at its intersection with the real axis "Figs 3 and 4#
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 870

Fig[ 4[ As in Fig[ 1\ but for mortar containing chloride[

values for b of 9[699[79 have been estimated\ which are of the same order as those found
by Sagues et al[7 for steel in concrete[

Information about the effect of diffusion

In the time domain\ curves have been constructed for the variation in potential and
current as a function of t0:1[ In order to standardize the representations\ the values of DE:DIo
in the galvanostatic curves and of DEo:DI in the potentiostatic curves have been displayed
as ordinates\ where DIo and DEo are the magnitude of the current and potential steps\
respectively\ and DE and DI are the output signals[
The appearance of markedly straight sections in the plots in Figs 5 and 6 after times of
the order of 1449 s strongly suggests di}usion control of the system response[ This type of
behaviour has been observed in all the specimens "irrespective of their history\ wetness
condition and the state of the reinforcements#\ and thus it seems reasonable to conclude a
rather general di}usion e}ect on the response of reinforced concrete to the signals applied[
From the slope of the straight section a value for the Warburg coe.cient "s# has been
calculated "Table 0#[

DISCUSSION
As has been seen above\ the experimental results con_rm the possibility that di}usion
signi_cantly a}ects the response of the steel!concrete system to electrical signals[ For this
871 V[ Feliu et al[

Fig[ 5[ Plots of DEo:DI against t0:1 resulting from the application of a potential step\ for di}erent
reinforced mortar specimens containing chloride "curves 0 and 1#\ and without chloride "curves 2
and 3#[

reason it will be necessary to consider its e}ect on the equivalent circuits for modelling the
system[
In general\ several electrical circuits with equally good _ts can be used to model the
response of a system to the signals applied[14 For example\ models based on a summation
of Voight elements "in series combination of RC elements in parallel# Fig[ 7"a# provide
excellent _ts for the impedance diagrams of systems that exhibit the in~uence of non!ideal
capacitive and di}usion behaviours[15 It therefore needs to be asked how to choose from
all of the possible models the most suitable circuit[ An immediate criteria is that of using
the circuit which has the smallest number of elements[ However\ the circuit with the simplest
structure is not always the one which o}ers the greatest facilities for mathematical treatment
of the response\ as in the case of circuits which contain CPE elements[ So\ it may be

Table 0[ Values of s and s:Rt from the experimental data[

Reinforcement condition Value of s "V[cm1[s0:1# Value of s:Rt "s0:1# Number of measurements

Passive 0[409329[6093 9[97429[924 00

Active 2692459 9[92029[914 00
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 872

Fig[ 6[ As in Fig[ 5\ but for a current step[

Fig[ 7[ Voight electrical circuits[ "a# Model with n Voight elements[ "b# Model with three time
constants[
873 V[ Feliu et al[

necessary to decide between the circuit with the simplest structure and the circuit with the
most accessible treatment[
The Voight circuit\ though in this case with only three time constants\ R0C0\ R1C1\ and
R2C2\ Fig[ 7"b#\ has been used by Newton and Sykes16 to represent the response of
the steel!concrete system to a current step "after subtracting the e}ect of di}usion#[ The
mathematical treatment of the response of this circuit is easy\ though di.culties arise when
trying to interpret the signi_cance of the parameters[ According to these authors\ the _rst
time constant is related with the concrete itself\ and the other two with the electrochemical
processes at the steel!concrete interface[ However\ it is not entirely obvious which of the
resistances "i[e[ R1 or R2# should be considered when determining the corrosion current with
the SternGeary equation[ On the other hand\ Randles model modi_ed with CPE Fig[
0"e# may resolve this di.culty by providing a single value for the charge transfer resistance
of the reinforcement corrosion process\ though it complicates the mathematical treatment[
In general\ the interest of identifying some fundamental element for the interpretation
of the experimental data may prevail in the selection of the model[ Though not exactly the
circuit shown in Fig[ 0"e#\ but that formed by a simple combination in parallel of a CPE
and Rt Fig[ 0"d#\ has been used by Sagues et al[7\03 to determine the corrosion current
of reinforcements[ This circuit\ just like the one in Fig[ 0"e#\ satisfactorily explains the
experimental facts of the appearance of depressed semi!circular arcs in the impedance
diagrams and a slow evolution of the pulse transients in the time domain[ However\ by not
including the e}ect of di}usion\ the estimates may lose precision when this e}ect is impor!
tant[ Obviously Randles circuit modi_ed with a CPE Fig[ 0"e# could solve the problem\
but has the disadvantage of the greater mathematical complication of the treatment of the
response in the time domain[ In the second part of this work the possibility will be analyzed
of obtaining information about Rt "and Icorr# using this last circuit[
As in many chemical processes\ it seems natural that di}usion should exercise some role
in the response of the steel!concrete system\ as seems to be con_rmed by our experimental
results[ In this case\ the faradaic process will be represented by the sum of the charge
transfer resistance of the reinforcement corrosion reaction and the di}usion resistance or
Warburg impedance of some of the reacting species[
The e}ect of di}usion in the time and frequency domains may be deduced from the
explicit form of the transfer function which is obtained by resolving Fick|s second law in
the Laplace plane[ For one!dimensional di}usion in a semi!in_nite space the transfer
function is]19
A
Zs  "2#
S0:1
where s represents the imaginary variable "s  jv# and A  10:1s\ where v is the angular
frequency and s the Warburg coe.cient[
By replacing s  jv in "2#\ we obtain the known expression for semi!in_nite di}usion
impedance "ZD#
ZD  sv0:1"0j# "3#
In practice\ even when di}usion takes place in a _nite!length region\ the di}usion
response approaches that for an in_nitely thick region\ provided that16
l 1"v:D#2 "4#
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 874

where l  thickness of the di}usion layer and D  di}usion coe.cient[ For this reason\
eqn "3# is applicable to many real systems\ including reinforced concrete[ If we take as
representative values for di}usion in the aqueous electrolyte in concrete pores the values of
l  091 to 1 cm and D  096098 cm1 s0\17 the e}ect of di}usion on the system response
would correspond to an in_nite!length region up to frequencies well below 0 mHz[ Ful_l!
ment of condition "4# is less evident for a di}usion controlled process through a very thin
solid _lm on the metal surface "e[g[ passive _lms#[ However\ as D values for di}usion of
species in the _lm are considerably less than for di}usion in solution\ such a condition is
still satis_ed up to very low frequencies[ Therefore\ in normal measurements at frequencies
r0 mHz the behaviour of the system often coincides with that of an in_nitely thick region[
When the frequency decreases the Nyquist plot tends to deviate from the typical semi!
circle\ giving rise to a di}usion tail[ At su.ciently low frequencies eqn "3# causes the Nyquist
plot to become a straight line which makes an angle of 34> with the real axis of impedance[
The frequencies at which such behaviour appears depend on the time constant of the
system studied[ With reinforced concrete\ especially with passive reinforcements\ very low
frequencies are necessary for the 34> di}usion tail to be clearly de_ned\ thus explaining the
di.culty of interpreting many of the diagrams[ A further di.culty is the lack of precision
which usually accompanies impedance measurements of reinforced concrete at frequencies
of the order of millihertz[
Similarly\ the response in function of time now may be obtained from "2# by the simple
application of the Laplace inverse transformation[ Thus eqn "5# and eqn "6# are obtained
for the application of current "DIo# and potential "DEo# steps\ respectively]
0:1

01
7
DE:DIo  st0:1 "5#
p

DEo:DI  "1p#0:1st0:1 "6#

where DE and DI are the potential and current responses[

According to these equations\ at very short times the e}ect of di}usion is practically
negligible\ but its e}ect increases as t increases[ When the e}ect of di}usion becomes
predominant over other polarizations\ the DE:DIo and DEo:DI vs t0:1 plots approach linear
regions\ and the slopes of the straight lines make it possible to estimate the coe.cient s[
The values displayed in Table 0 have been obtained in this way[ This table shows values of
s which are some two orders of magnitude greater for the passive reinforcements than for
the active reinforcements[
In studies carried out with a variety of systems\ other authors18\29 have related the values
of s obtained with passive metals with the di}usion of some species in the _lm present on
the metal\ while the lower values for active metals are related with di}usion in the electrolyte[
With reinforced concrete we can speculate a similar explanation for the considerable
di}erences in s values depending on the electrochemical state of the reinforcements[
The s:Rt ratio gives an idea of the relative importance of di}usion in the system
response[ When it is attempted to obtain this ratio the problem arises of what value to take
for Rt\ for\ as will be argued in the second part of this work\ there is no unquestionable
method for its determination[ In this study the value of Rt taken is that obtained after 29 s
of application of a potential step\ which provides an approximate value of this parameter\
and for this reason is frequently used in determinations of reinforcement corrosion rates[2022
875 V[ Feliu et al[

This way\ the mean values for s:Rt displayed in Table 0 have been obtained[ Values of the
order of 9[98 s0:1 with the passive reinforcements and 9[92 s0:1 with the active reinforce!
ments are shown[

RESPONSES IN THE TIME DOMAIN AND IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN OF

THE RM CIRCUIT
As has been seen\ the steel!concrete system can show the typical e}ects of the action of
a CPE or a di}usion process[ In general\ there is an interaction between the e}ects of both
phenomena and the corrosion reaction[ A knowledge of this interaction is indispensable
for the correct interpretation of the response of reinforced concrete to the application of
DC and AC signals[
In the following analysis we shall use the RM circuit of Fig[ 0"e# to model the steel!
concrete system[ As has been seen\ this circuit takes into account the e}ects of CPE and of
di}usion\ and unambiguously includes the parameter Rt among the speci_c elements of the
circuit[ Other equivalent circuits could obviously also describe the system response\ but
with the drawback of increasing the number of circuit elements to be able to simulate the
e}ects of CPE and of di}usion over a broad interval of frequencies and times[
It should be noted that in the response of the RM circuit the e}ect of CPE predominates
at greater frequencies and shorter times\ while the e}ect of di}usion predominates at lower
frequencies and longer times[ At intermediate frequencies and times the e}ect of corrosion
"charge transfer# acquires importance[ This triple aspect of the response to the circuit is
essential in the interpretation and obtainment of information from the data[
There follows an analysis of the most relevant characteristics of the response of the RM
circuit to several signals typically used in the electrochemical testing of the steel!concrete
system[ In the simulation\ use has been made of the calculation programme in[13 The
magnitude of the circuit|s component values were chosen to represent di}erent possibilities
in the behaviour of the reinforcements embedded in concrete\ in particular the behaviours
normally detected in practice with passive and active reinforcements[
Figures 8 and Fig[ 00 correspond to the simulations in the time domain of the passive
reinforcement responses\ and Figs 09 and 01 to those of the active reinforcements[ In the
upper part of these _gures the response curves for b  0\ i[e[ in the limit case that CPE "eqn
"1## behaves as an ideal capacitor\ are shown[ They serve as a reference for the curves
obtained for a value of b  9[6\ when the CPE truly acts\ drawn in the lower part of the
_gures[ A slower evolution of the transient and a lengthening of the time to obtain a certain
response level is deduced for b  9[6[ For example\ for s:Rt  9\ passing from a value of
b  0 to b  9[6 supposes in the passive reinforcements multiplying by 799 the time necess!
ary for the current response to practically reach the steady state "9[8 of its level# "Fig[ 8#[
The e}ect of s is appreciated in the response for increasing values of the s:Rt ratio "Figs
801#[ In general\ with s:Rt9 the steady state is never reached in semi!in_nite di}usion
conditions^ the current response continuously diminishes and the potential response con!
tinuously increases[ This circumstance may create serious problems when it comes to
extracting information about Rt\ as is discussed in the second part of this work[
Figures 02 and 03 correspond to the same simulations but now in the frequency domain[
For b  0 and passive reinforcements "Fig[ 02# the Nyquist plots draw very open arcs\ or
di}usion tails of more than 34>\ which are a result of the combined e}ect of di}usion and
a slow response of the system "due to the high value of Rt#[ With the active reinforcements
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 876

Fig[ 8[ Simulation of passive steel reinforcements using the equivalent circuit shown in Fig[ 0"e#[
Computed results for the application of a voltage step and various values of b and s:Rt[

"Fig[ 03# the tails are much more reminiscent of the typical 34> tails[ For low values of the
s:Rt ratio\ the di}usion tails appear only at very low frequencies\ along a short section of
the diagram to the _nal frequency of 0 mHz[
When the CPE acts "b  9[6#\ the conjunction of its e}ect with that of the di}usion "i[e[
s:Rt9# produces in the passive reinforcements a series of approximately straight sections\
of a variable slope "Fig[ 02#[ The form of these plots may lead the system response to be
erroneously attributed to di}usion when in reality it obeys to a great extent the action of
877 V[ Feliu et al[

Fig[ 09[ As in Fig[ 8\ but for the simulation of active steel reinforcements[

the CPE[ With the active reinforcements the interaction of the depressed semi!circle with
the e}ects of di}usion produces a sort of {nose| which is followed by lines close to 34>\
which are much better identi_ed with the di}usion process "Fig[ 03#[

CONCLUSIONS
The response of the steel!concrete system to the electrical signals applied may show
typical behaviours of the action of constant phase elements "CPE# and di}usion[ With
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 878

Fig[ 00[ Simulation of passive steel reinforcements using the equivalent circuit shown in Fig[ 0"e#[
Computed results for the application of a current step and various values of b and s:Rt[

regard to the e}ect of di}usion\ values have been determined for the Warburg coe.cient
"s# which are two orders of magnitude greater with the passive reinforcements than with
the active reinforcements[ The s:Rt ratio\ which gives an idea of the relative importance of
di}usion\ is usually to be found within the interval 9[92 and 9[09\ the higher values normally
corresponding to passive reinforcements and the lower values to active reinforcements[
It seems justi_ed to include CPE and di}usion elements in the modelling of the steel!
concrete system[ A modi_ed Randles circuit "MR circuit#\ where the Cdl is replaced by a
889 V[ Feliu et al[

Fig[ 01[ As in Fig[ 00\ but for the simulation of active steel reinforcements[

CPE "as several authors have already suggested# provides a useful approximation\ and also
has the advantage of unambiguously de_ning the charge transfer resistance "Rt# of the
corrosion process[ By means of this circuit quantitative aspects of the behaviour of the
steel!concrete system are analyzed\ for the simulation of both passive and active reinforce!
ments[ The important e}ect is demonstrated of parameters b and s on the response curves
 Equivalent circuit for modelling the steel!concrete interface 880

Fig[ 02[ Simulation of passive steel reinforcements using the equivalent circuit shown in Fig[ 0"e#[
Computed impedance spectra for various values of b and s:Rt "low frequency limit  0 mHz#[

to potential and current steps[ Values of b0 can markedly delay the evolution of the
transient\ while with values of s9 a steady state is not attained[ In the Nyquist plots the
combined e}ect of the two parameters is translated into a great variety of forms\ which go
from the presentation of highly open arcs\ which are di.cult to interpret\ to depressed arcs
interacting with tails close to 34>[
881 V[ Feliu et al[

Fig[ 03[ As in Fig[ 02\ but for the simulation of active steel reinforcements[

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