Concrete Technology

Topic- Deterioration Concrete(continue....)

Reinforcement Corrosion

BOSE Cuttack
 Corrosion
Iron (Fe) does not exist in nature in isolated form, rather as oxides,
sulfide(pyrite) etc., in ores

Considerable energy is expended in extracting Fe from ore thus

chemical potential of Fe is higher

Hence, Fe has tendency to react and attain a stable state

Reaction of Fe with its environment causes loss of material from

structure from where Fe exist
 Corrosion
Loss of metal (deterioration) leading to impediment to functional
performance is corrosion in engineering sense

When functional performance remains unaffected by reaction, it may

not be corrosion in Engineering sense.
Classification of Corrosion
Classification can be
• Low temperature or High temperature
• Direct or Electrochemical corrosion
• Wet corrosion or dry corrosion

Wet corrosion occurs in presence of liquid, in aqueous solution or

electrolytes is most common
Presence of both oxygen and moisture is necessary for corrosion
reaction to progress
 Corrosion
• 

• Corrosion is the conversion of iron to its oxides and hydroxides in the

presence of oxygen and water

• Iron Left In the atmosphere corrodes easily

• Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete is not so common, even

through oxygen and water are both available
The concrete environment
• 
The actual composition of pore solution depends upon the constitution
of the cement used, but in principal, the environment of concrete has a
very high pH
This is due to the hydroxyl ion ( coming from Ca(OH)2formed during
cement hydration.
The pH in concrete is reported to be in excess of 12-13
The concrete environment
Concrete has pores of different sizes that allow material transport.
Regardless of the assumptions made for homogeneity, there are
concentration gradients and presence of aggregates (of different sizes),
etc.,
It is thus homogeneous only macroscopically
Iron in concrete
In the high pH
Main concrete Steel Bar environment, a dense
film of Υ-iron oxide,
which acts as a
passivating film, is
formed on the surface.

Passivating So long as this film is

film intact, the iron surface
is not ‘open’ to reaction
with the oxygen and
water.
Cover concrete
Reinforcement corrosion in concrete
•Can
  happen in two condition
1. Damage to the passivating film due to change in electo-chemical
environment of the steel (general loss of the film)
2. Chloride iron cause damage to passivating film, without changing
electrochemical environment.
Ingress of CO2 through the pores and reaction with Ca(OH)2 causes
reduction in the pH.
Reinforcement corrosion in reinforced concrete can be

• Chloride induced

• Carbonation induced
Chloride induced reinforcement corrosion
Main concrete Steel Bar

Undamaged
Passivating
film

Damaged
Passivating
film

Concrete cover
contaminated
with chloride
ions
Carbonation induced reinforcement corrosion
Main concrete Passivating film
intact ??

Steel Bar

Destabilized
Passivating film

Carbonated cover
Carbon dioxide from air
Reinforcement corrosion in concrete
Chloride ingress
Construction materials
- Sand, water, admixture, etc.
Marine structures
-off shore structures
-ports and harbours
-structures near the coastline
Structures with deicing salts in
cold areas
-Highways and bridges
- Parking garages
Carbonation
• The ingress of carbon dioxide,
and consumption of the Ca(OH)2
from the atmosphere occurs in
all structures.
• If the extent of penetration is
such that the pH in the
neighborhood is reduced below
a critical level, the passivating
film is rendered unstable,
Mechanism of corrosion within concrete
Fe Fe++ + 2e—
O2 + 2H2O +4e 4OH—
• Corrosion reaction at the
anode, cathode and over all
2Fe + O2 + 2H2O @Fe(OH)2

• Corrosion current are set up

between the anode and the
cathode

• Concrete is an electrolyte in
the corrosion process
Mechanism of corrosion within concrete
Damage to the passivating film by Fe → Fe+++ 2e— (Anode)
chloride ions setting up potential O2+ 2H2O+ 4e— → 4OH — (Cathode)
anodic sites
Corrosion current
Anodic sites (loss of Iron) Cathode Site
Anode site

Concrete OH—
Concrete

Steel e—

Damaged passivating site

Damaged passivating film
When the loss of the metal occurs over a limited area,
the corrosion is called local. Whereas if it occurs over a
large area, the phenomenon is called ‘general
corrosion’.

In fact, for a given loss of metal. The depth of corrosion

is higher in ‘local corrosion’ whereas it is much smaller
in the case of ‘general corrosion’.
Resistivity of concrete

Resistivity

Decreasing w/c Related to

• Porosity of the matrix
- Characteristic of cement and pore
solution

• Level of saturation of pores

Level of saturation
Reinforcement corrosion
Corrosion products
• Corrosion are more voluminous
than the parent metal
• It is formed and deposited on
the reinforcing bar
• It have their own properties such
as E, ν
• Composition depends on local
micro-environment
• Formation and deposition of
corrosion products causes the
surrounding cover concrete to
be subjected to internal
expansive pressure
• When internal pressure exceeds
acritical amount, longitudinal
cracks are formed
Reinforcement corrosion
Stress distribution
Cover
Redial expansion
pressure • When the expansive pressure
exceeds a critical limit, cracks
along the bar are formed

• This critical depends upon various

parameters including, cover,
diameter of bar, properties of
concrete ( strength, creep. E,
etc.).
Example
• A reinforced concrete column
. with corrosion induced
longitudinal cracks along the
reinforcement

• Such cracks once formed

provides easy access to
deleterious material from
outside, and this further
accelerates the process of
deterioration
Reinforcement corrosion
o steel crack concrete spall Different pattern
of crack formation
and spalling can
be seen
(a) depending upon
(B)
factors such as
spacing between
bars, cover,
diameter of bars,
(d) etc..
(c)
Patterns in crack formation and
concrete spalling
Thank you !!