Department of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

SummaryofOngoingandProposedResearchforKelsoCoatings

Summary of Ongoing Research for Kelso Coatings

The
cost of resistance
repairingofreinforced
concrete
structures
in Canada
corrosioninduced
deterioration is
The corrosion
steel reinforcing
bars with
CN2000 coatings
wereaffected
evaluatedby
using
the half-cell potential
measurement method and by visual inspection. The steel bars were embedded in mortar cylinders and immersed in a
estimatedtobe$74billion.Despitethebesteffortsofmanyresearchers,solutionsfornewconstructioninthe
concentrated chloride solution to accelerate the corrosion process. The CN2000 products demonstrated effective corrosion
formofcathodicprotectionorepoxycoatingshaveshownlittlelongtermsuccessinpreventingcorrosion,and
prevention and show promise for restoration and rehabilitation projects for bridge decks, tunnels, traffic barriers, marine facilities
and other structures exposed to moisture and chlorides. These coating materials could also be used in new construction to delay
alternativereinforcementmaterialssuchasstainlesssteelorfibrereinforcedpolymersmaybecostprohibitive
or prevent the onset of corrosion, thus minimizing maintenance and repair costs.
formanyapplications.ThedevelopmentofCN2000coatingsdistributedbyKelsoCoatingshasbeenasubstantial
All of the cylinder surface-coated groups essentially prevented all corrosion for the duration of test. All of the groups maintained
stepforwardinrebarprotectionforcorrosionmitigation.Unlikeepoxy,theCN2000coatingspossessselfhealing
a very high HCP level and showed a stable trend. Only one sample had an HCP value that descended into the active range
properties;ifcracksdoforminthecoatinglayertheywillclosethemselvesnaturallyinthepresenceofmoisture.
towards the end of the one year test. This demonstrates the excellent performance of the CN2000 coatings for repairing and
Furthermore,theCN2000
continuous hydration process allowing the coatingparticles to
waterproofing existing concrete coatingsengageina
structures.
reactwiththesurroundingconcretetosealporesandreducepermeabilityovertime.Coatedsteelrebaralso
presentsadvantagesoverFRPreinforcementsuchaslowercost,higherelasticstiffnessandductility.
Ongoing research at Queens University in collaboration with Kelso Coatings has highlighted the potential of
CN2000coatingsforreinforcedconcreteapplicationswherecorrosionofinternalsteelreinforcementmaybea
concern.Atotalof94specimenscomprisedofsteelreinforcingbarsembeddedinconcretemortarcylindershave
been subjected to an accelerated corrosion process by immersing them in a saltwater bath. The high water
cementratiosusedfortheconcretemortar(0.5and0.7)inconjunctionwiththehighchlorideconcentrationof
the bath have been designed to create an especially aggressive environment conducive to electrochemical
corrosioninordertoachievecorrosioninashorttimeframe.Hence,thecontrolsamples(uncoatedrebarin
concretecylinders)showedsignsofcorrosionwithinonlyafewdays,whereasinmosttypicalapplicationswith
goodqualityconcretethefirstsignsofcorrosionmaynotoccurfor30yearsormore.
Theresultsofthesetestshavebeenverypromising;whilemanyoftheuncoatedbarsshowedsignsofcorrosion
almostimmediately,barswithCN2000coatingtypesB+CorC+Dsurvivedtheseextremeconditionsforperiods
rangingfromapproximatelythreetosixmonthsormore.Infact,somespecimenshaveyettoshowanysignsof
corrosion after exposure to the saltwater bath for 230 days to date. It is clear that the coated bars have
demonstratedanexceptionalabilitytoresistcorrosioncomparedtouncoatedbars.
Inorderforengineerstodesignstructuralelementswiththecoatedrebar,theeffectofthecoatingonthebond
between the reinforcement and the concrete must be investigated. It is hypothesized that the coatings will
changethebondbehaviourofthesteelrebarbyalteringthebondtransfermechanismsintwoprimaryways:first,
thecoatingswillalterthebarsurfacebycoveringovertherebarlugsandsecond,thecoatingswillengageinan
ongoinghydrationreactionallowingthemtopermeateintotheconcretepores.Asaresult,althoughthecoatings
mayslightlyreducethemechanicalbond(anchorageachievedbytherebarlugsbearingagainsttheconcreteat
the barconcrete interface) it is likely that they will enhance adhesion and chemical bond through an active
reactionwiththesurroundingconcrete.Itisworthnotingthatasmallnetreductioninbondstrengthwillnot
diminishthepotentialoftheCN2000productsastheprimaryobjectiveiscorrosionprevention,justasepoxy
coatedrebarenjoyedaperiodofconsiderablesuccessdespitehavingareducedbondstrength.Thegoalofthe
proposedstudyisrathertoquantifytheneteffectofthecoatingsonbondstrengthtoensuresafeandefficient
structuraldesigns.
Bondpullouttestsareproposedwiththeobjectiveofdevelopinganequationtocalculatethedevelopmentlength
ofthecoatedrebarforuseindesign.ThisstepisimperativetogainapprovalbyentitiessuchastheMinistryof
TransportationofOntarioforusingCN2000coatedrebarintheconstructionofconcretebridgedecks.