Environmental influence on the corrosion rate of steel bars embedded in concrete

Abstract

Investigation was carried out to verify the influence of temperatures an ambient environment, on the corrosion rate of steel reinforcement in concrete structures. Two concrete specimens, into which from an upper surface 10 % sodium chloride solution permeated, were exposed outdoors. To evaluate the corrosion rate of steel bars embedded in concrete, the macro-cell corrosion current and the polarization resistance were measured regularly for more than 4 years, employing the AC impedance measurement. The macro-cell corrosion current and the polarization resistance of steel bars embedded in concrete were highly affected by temperature. It is found that the corrosion rate has increases linearly as 1/10 times against 1 degrees C rise in temperature.