SIMILARITY BETWEEN ATMOSPHERIC/UNDERGROUND CORROSION AND REINFORCED CONCRETE CORROSION. CORROSION OF REINFORCEMENT IN CONCRETE. PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON "CORROSION OF REINFORCEMENT IN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION", BELFRY HOTEL, WISHAW, WARWICKSHIRE, MAY 21-24, 1990

In the present paper the similarities and differences between the systems steel/atmosphere or soil and steel/concrete are analyzed. The differences are related to the passive state of reinforcement embedded in non-carbonated and chloride free concrete. The similarities, when carbonation or chloride ions break down the passive film, are discussed. In these conditions the environmental relative humidity plays a decisive part in the corrosion kinetics of the reinforcing steel. The effect of environmental RH on steel corrosion has been well established. The existence of a critical RH for atmospheric or underground corrosion demostrates the electrochemical nature of the corrosion phenomenon. As in atmospheric corrosion it seems that the electrolyte supply is the main factor in determining the corrosion rate of active reinforcements. When the concrete moisture amount is very low, the electrode efficiency is also low and the corrosion process is under mixed control. With an increase of the water layer thickness, the corrosion rate increases. However after exceeding a certain water layer thickness, the process starts to be diffusion (oxygen) controlled and the corrosion rate decreases.(A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 831449.

• Availability:
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• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier Science Publishers

  Crown House, Linton Road
  Barking, Essex IG11 8JU,   England 
• Authors:
  • Andrade, C
  • Alonso, M C
  • Gonzalez, J A
  • FELIU, S
• Publication Date: 1990

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 39-48
• Serial:
  • Publication of: CICC Publications
  • Publisher: CICC Publications

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air; Anodes; Carbonates; Chlorides; Conferences; Corrosion; Diffusion (Optics); Electrodes; Moisture content; Oxygen; Reinforced concrete; Soils; Steel; Water
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00606798
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• ISBN: 1-85166-487-4
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1991 12:00AM