Semi-quantitative Prediction of the Corrosion Risk of Steel in Concrete Using XRD Analysis

Abstract

The present study concerns a technique for determining the chloride binding capacity, using the XRD curve containing the peaks for Friedel's salt. The influence of chloride binding on the corrosion behaviour was also evaluated. The binding capacity of chloride ions in cement paste was determined by the water extraction method. As a result, it was found that the chloride binding capacity is strongly dependent on the W/C, binder type, curing age and total chloride concentration in the paste. It is notable that chloride binding has a crucial influence on corrosion propagation: an increase in the binding capacity resulted in a decrease in the corrosion rate at a given chloride concentration in mortar specimens. However, the impact of chloride binding on the onset of corrosion was marginal, presumably due to a release of bound chlorides into free chlorides at the stage of corrosion, accompanying a pH fall in the vicinity of the steel. A strong relation between the peak intensity for Friedel's salt and the concentration of bound chloride was observed, which can be used to determine the bound chlorides and thus the risk of chloride-induced corrosion of steel in concrete.