Corrosion Mechanisms, Monitoring, and

Service Life Enhancement of

Reinforced Concrete Structures
Radhakrishna G. Pillai
Concrete Materials Research Group
(Building Technology & Construction Management Division)
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM)
Chennai, India

http://picasaweb.google.com/sudipmoitra67/NEWS_PIX#5354282213058954946
Outline

• Significance of corrosion
• Corrosion mechanisms in concrete structures
• Corrosion monitoring in the field
• Ways to enhance and estimate service life
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA is
facing
g a lot of corrosion issues
After just 13 years of service, tendons in the
Sunshine Skyway
y y bridge,
g Florida failed
Wire mesh to protect the spalled concrete from
falling onto the vehicles underneath the Mercier
Bridge Montreal,
Bridge, Montreal Canada
The cost of corrosion is significant

• In 2012, the direct cost

of corrosion in India was
Rs. 2 lakhs crores/year!

A corrosion protection strategy

to minimise the
repair and maintenance costs
is a MUST

Corrosion cost split-up in the

USA (FHWA 1998)

FHWA 1998, George Hays 2004

Outline

• Significance of corrosion
• Corrosion mechanisms in concrete structures
• Corrosion monitoring in the field
• Ways to enhance and estimate service life
 Why does iron corrode?

2O 2 + 4 H 2 O + 4 Fe → 4 Fe (OH )2

F (OH )2 + O 2 + 2 H 2 O → 4 Fe
4 Fe F (OH )3

IIron Ore
O R lli / other
Rolling/ th manufacturing
f t i
(Fe2O3) Blast Furnace Molten material processes

“Dust
Dust to dust . . . back to its lowest energy state
state”
Corrosion = Extractive metallurgy in reverse

3
3. 4 Fe(OH )3 → 2 Fe2O3 + 6 H 2O

2. 4 Fe(OH )2 + O2 + 2 H 2O → 4 Fe(OH )3

1. 2O2 + 4 H 2O + 4 Fe → 4 Fe(OH )2
Exposure conditions
Concrete – An Introduction

• Concrete microstructure and pore solution

–CC-S-H
SH
– Ca(OH)2; NaOH; KOH
– Many other complex
chemical compounds

pH = -log10[H+]

Acidic Neutral Alkaline pH of concrete

pore solution
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
pH scale
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1516-14392002000300012&script=sci_arttext
Steel – An Introduction

• Ferrous alloys with various elements such as

C Mn,
C, Mn PP, S,
S Si,
Si Ni,
Ni Mo,
Mo Cr,
Cr V etc
etc.

www.trincoll.edu/~alehman/PhotoENGR232_03SEM.htm
Why steel embedded in uncontaminated concrete
does not corrode?

• Steel does not corrode

due to high pH of
concrete pore solution
• A protective layer
(“Passive film”) is formed
– A thin,, invisible,, and stable
layer of initial corrosion
products (i.e., iron oxides
and hydroxides).
hydroxides)
• However, corrosion can occur when exposed to
aggressive conditions

Hoar (1967)
What are the essential parts of a corrosion cell?

ELECTROLYTE

METAL

Note: “Current” flows in the opposite direction as the “electrons” move.

http://www.corrosion-club.com/images/corrosioncell.gif
What are typical electrochemical half-cell reactions
associated with the corrosion of steel in concrete?

• Anodic (oxidation) reaction

2+ −
Fe → Fe + 2e

• Cathodic ((reduction)) reaction

At the splash
zone,
1
O2 + H2O + 2e− → 2(OH )− corrosion can
2 occur at a
higher rate

http://www.corrosion-club.com/images/corrosioncell.gif, http://www.tfhrc.gov
Corrosion of Steel in Water with Oxygen

Water
2OH -
2OH -
Fe 2+ Fe 2+
−
1 O2 + H2O + 2e → 2OH −
2 Fe(OH)2
Cathode
2e- 2e-
F 2+ + 2e−
F → Fe
Fe
Iron Anode

Anode & cathode coexist on the same piece of metal !

Two major types of corrosion in concrete structures

• Carbonation-induced corrosion
– General or uniform section loss

• Chloride-induced
Chl id i d d corrosion
i
– Localized, pitting or non-uniform section loss
Carbonation-induced corrosion

http://www.nbmcw.com/articles/concrete/others/493-carbonation-a-
durability-threat-for-concrete.html
Chloride-induced corrosion

Cl -

Flaws in passive layer Pits growing at

and high chloride content various locations
Chloride-induced corrosion

Concrete
FeCl2 + 2H2O → 2HCl + Fe (OH)2
1 O2 + H 2O + 2e − → 2OH −
2
Fe 2+ + 2Cl - → FeCl2 2H + + 2 Cl -

2e-
Iron 2e− + Fe2+ ← Fe

• The process is regenerating and instead of spreading along

the bar, corrosion continues at local anodes and deep pits
are formed.
Pitting corrosion on strands and deformed bars
due to chloride attack

• 7-wire t dÆ
7 i strand

• Deformed bar Æ
Typical locations for chloride induced
corrosion and solutions?

http://is2c.nl/project-10979/moisture-and-salt-transport/
Typical locations for chloride induced corrosion
and solutions?
A huge concern about the epoxy-coated steel

It is more dangerous to
use scratched/damaged epoxy-coated steel
than conventional uncoated steel
Courtesy: M. Thomas
Volume of rust is ~6 times more than
that of steel
Outline

• Significance of corrosion
• Corrosion mechanisms in concrete structures
• Corrosion monitoring in the field
• Ways to enhance and estimate service life
How to detect corrosion in concrete structures?

• ASTM C876 Standard Test Method for Half-Cell

Potentials of Uncoated Reinforcement in Concrete
– If E < -0.35 V, 90% chance of corrosion When using
Cu/CuSO4
– If E > -0
0.25
25 V
V, 90% chance no corrosion reference
f
– If -0.35 V < E < -0.25 V, then ? electrode

Mehta and Monteiro

Some commercially available equipment to detect
corrosion using
g potential
p mapping
pp g

• Canin+
Some commercially available equipment to measure
corrosion rate

• GECOR6

Connection to
reinforcement

Photo courtesy: James Instruments

Linear polarization resistance and guard ring
techniques
q to measure corrosion rate

Mehta and Monteiro

Outline

• Significance of corrosion
• Corrosion mechanisms in concrete structures
• Corrosion monitoring in the field
• Ways to enhance and estimate service life
The cost of corrosion is significant

• In 2012, the direct cost

of corrosion in India was
Rs. 2 lakhs crores/year!

A corrosion protection strategy

to minimise the
repair and maintenance costs
is a MUST

Corrosion cost split-up in the

USA (FHWA 1998)

FHWA 1998, George Hays 2004

Service life = the time during which the structure is
able to safely
y meet the user requirements
q
Damage
level First Last initiation
• The corrosion
repair is typically
phase repair the
Maximum Allowable Damage Level
longest phase in the
service life of a structure
• Determining the duration
of this phase is very
important in determining
a structure’s service life

Time
Propagation Repair
Initiation Phase Phase Phase

Overall Service Life

Core-crete Æ Strength
Cover-crete Æ Durability
y

Cover-crete with low permeabilityy is

essential to achieve durability
Critical durability parameters

1. Rate of penetration (diffusion) of chlorides through

covercrete (not corecrete) Clsurface
a) w/c
b) SCMs
c) SPs
2. Cover depth (covercrete) Cover
depth
3. Chloride threshold of steel

4. Chlorides at the surface of concrete

Clthreshold
Adding excess water will reduce the strength
y of concrete
and durability
w/c = low

w/c = high

Thomas and Bentz 2001, Life 365

Adding SCMs will improve the strength and
durability
y of concrete

C 2S + C3S + {
H → 14CH 2 4 3 + C -S- H
1424 43 4
3 Water
Cement Calcium hydroxide

+
S 43 → more C - S - H
142
SCMs

Concrete becomes stronger and less permeable

when silica fume, fly ash and/or slag are added
Adding silica fume will improve
g and durability
the strength y of concrete

Pozzolanic reactions
produce more C-S-H
p

Thomas and Bentz 2001, Life 365

 Adding fly ash and/or slag will improve
g and
the strength y
durability
g
y of concrete
m
1E-10 ⎛ t ref ⎞
D ( t ) = D ref ⋅⎜ ⎟
⎝ t ⎠
Diffu sion Coe fficient, D t (m 2 /s)

m = 0.2 + 0.4(%FA/50 + %SG/70)

1E 11
1E-11

PC
30% SG
1E-12
Pozzolanic reactions
28 days produce more C-S-H
40% FA

1E-13
1E 13
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Thomas and Bentz 2001, Life 365 Age (years)
Critical chloride threshold levels of various steels
de Thresholld Value, (llb/yd )

Critical Chloridee Threshold

25
3

15

20 12

15 9

10 6

d Value, (k
Criticcal Chlorid

5 3

kg/m )
0
0

3
A706 A615 Microcomposite SS304 SS316

Pillai and Trejo, 2005

Tools are available to estimate the service life of
concretes with various SCMs

http://www.life 365.org
http://www.life-365.org
Effects of w/c and SCMs on service life

Silica
Case Fly ash Time to corrosion
w/c fume
No. (%) initiation (years)
(%)
1 0.4 0 0 60
2 0.4 15 0 80
3 0.4 0 15 180
4 Silica fume
0.6 concrete
0 was0used in 40
5 Bandra-Worli
0.6 15 Sealink
0 50
6 06
0.6 0 1
15 100
Life-365 software
Life-365 software
Life-365 software – probabilistic version
Life-365 software
Life-365 software
Life-365 software
Life-365 software
Life-365 software – Results in tabular format
Sensitivity of corrosion initiation time on input
p
parameters

Slope ≈ 54o
Slope ≈ 30o
Slope ≈ -35o

Pillai and Annapareddy 2013

Nomograph for estimating corrosion initiation time
((based on Life-365 software))

Pillai and Annapareddy 2013

Summary

• Significance of corrosion
• C b
Carbonation-induced
ti i d d corrosion
i
• Chloride-induced corrosion
• C
Corrosion monitoring in the ffield
• Ways to enhance and estimate service life
 Where there is a will,, there is a way!
y
Thank You
(pillai@iitm.ac.in)
Courtesy: Prof. Devanshu Pandit
A great text book with an emphasis on
the durability
y of concrete

With a lot of photos,

videos,, and lecture aids