Corrosion Mechanism On Reinforced Steel & lis Effects einforced concrete is one of the most common materials used by the construction industry all over the world. Owing to the wide variety of applications, reinforced concrete structures are subjected to a range of exposure conditions including marine, industrial or other severe environments. Actually, higher durability requirements are not always achieved in practice due to which corrosion of reinforcement in concrete is one of the main causes of. deterioration in RCC structures. Reinforcement corrosion has been widely reported and it is one of the main durability problems. Concrete normally provides a high degree of protection to the reinforcing steel against corrosion, by virtue of the high alkalinity (pH 13.5) of the pore solution. Under high alkalinity steel remains passive. in’addition, well consolidated and purely cured concrete with low W/C ratio has a low permeability, which minimises the penetration of corrosion agents such as chlorides, CO,, moisture etc, to steel surface. Corrosion is initiated when there is a potential difference between two surfaces (or two areas of one surface) and there is an electrolyte to conduct a current between them. This allows 2 flow of ions followed by removal of material (corrosion). A corrosion inhibitor works by “passivating” the surface of the ‘material, forming a monolayer on it, which blocks the electrolyte from contacting the surface and conducting a current. In addition the corrosion inhibitor will act as a buffering solution, controlling pH, thus preventing changes of the pH of the electrolyte, which would allow faster corrosion. ‘on hpronde ems ane The steel rebar inside reinforced concrete structure is susceptible to corrosion when permeation of chlorides, either ADO contributed from the concrete ingredients or penetrated from surrounding chloride bearing environment, carbonation of concrete or penetration of acids into the concrete along with ‘others related to the external environment such as moisture, ‘oxygen, humidity, temperature and bacterial attack, Factors effecting corrosion of steel in concrete structure 1. Availabilty of oxygen and moisture at the rebar level 2. Relative humidity & temperature 3. Carbonation and entry of acidic gaseous pollutants to rebar level 4, Chloride ions reaching to the rebar level either through the ‘concrete ingredients or from the external environment, Construction practice Cover over reinforcing steel Cement composition Impurities in aggregate Impurities in mixing and curing water }0.Permeabilty of concrete, which is a function of W/C ratio oy affecting the corrosion of the rebars Corrosion of reinforcing steel and other embedded metals is the leading cause of deterioration in concrete, When steel corrodes, the resulting rust occupies a greater volume than the steel. This expansion creates tensile stresses in the concrete, which can eventually cause cracking, delamination, and spalling, Steel corrodes because itis not a naturally occurring materia Rather, iron ore is smelted and refined to produce steel. The production steps that transform iron ore into steel add eneray to the metal. Stee, like most metals except gold and platinum, is thermodynamically unstable under normal atmospheric conditions and will release energy and revert back to its natural state—iron oxide, or rust. This process is called corrosion. For corrosion to occur, four elements must be present: There must be at least two metals (or two locations on a single metal) at different energy levels, an electrolyte, and a metallic connection In reinforced concrete, the rebar may have many separate areas at different eneray levels. Concrete acts as the electrolyte, and ‘the metallic connection is provided by.wire ties, chair supports, ‘or the rebar itself. Corrosion is an electrochemical process involving the flow of charges (electrons and ions) At active sites 108 CE&CR DECEMBER 2016on the bar, called anodes, iron atoms lose electrons and move into the surrounding concrete as ferrous ions. This process is called a half-cell oxidation reaction, or the anodic reaction, and is represented as: 2Fe > 2Fe,+ + 4e The electrons remain in the bar and flow to sites called cathodes, where they combine with water and oxygen in the concrete. The reaction at the cathode is called a reduction reaction, A common reduction reaction is: 2H,0 + 0, + 4e- + 40H to maintain electrical neutrality, the ferrous ions migrate through the concrete pore water to these cathodic sites where they combine to form iron hydroxides, or rust: 2Fe,+ + 40H--»> 2Fe(OH), This initial precipitated hydroxide tends to react further with oxygen to form higher oxides. The increase in volume as the reaction products react further with dissolved oxygen leads to internal stress within the concrete that may be sufficient to cause cracking and spalling of the concrete cover. a 0.0014 14.56 o.o141 19.98 0.1413 30.80 008 ~~ «IST st—~CS*«*™S: | 0141 1215 0.1413 17.90 Reasons of Corrosion ‘The two most common causes of reinforcement corrosion are 1. Localised breakdown of the passive film on steel by chloride ions 2. General breakdown of passivity by neutralization of the concrete predominantly by reaction with atmospheric CO,, The reinforcement corrosion phenomenon occurs in two distinct stages: initiation and propagation. The initiation period is limited by the time required for reinforcement depassivation resulting in propagation of corrosion. A corrosion inhibitor is @ chemical compound that decreases the corrosion rate of a material, typically a metal or an alloy The effectiveness of a corrosion inhibitor depends on fluid composition, quantity of water, and flow regime. A common mechanism for inhibiting corrosion involves formation ofa coating, often a passivation layer, which prevents access ofthe corrosive substance to the metal Sanjib Parial Managing Director ‘Ado Additives Mfg Pvt. Ltd. M:+91-9903162269 E:sanjibparial@adochemicals.c¢ W: www.adochemicals.com