Effects of cracks on chloride‐induced corrosion initiation and propagation of carbon and stainless steel rebar

Current durability design models for reinforced concrete structures in chloride‐contaminated environments do not consider the effects of cracks, which in practice are almost inevitable. Literature reports controversial results on corrosion propagation time of carbon steel (CS) in cracked concrete, w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Structural concrete : journal of the FIB 2023-02, Vol.24 (1), p.156-169
Main Authors: Russo, Nicoletta, Gastaldi, Matteo, Schiavi, Luca, Strini, Alberto, Lollini, Federica
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
carbon steel
Carbon steels
Chlorides
chloride‐induced corrosion
Concrete structures
Corrosion effects
Corrosion tests
Crack initiation
cracked concrete
Cracks
longitudinal micro‐cracks
Rebar
Reinforced concrete
Reinforcing steels
stainless steel
Stainless steels
Stress corrosion cracking
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Summary:Current durability design models for reinforced concrete structures in chloride‐contaminated environments do not consider the effects of cracks, which in practice are almost inevitable. Literature reports controversial results on corrosion propagation time of carbon steel (CS) in cracked concrete, while fewer information can be found on stainless steel (SS) rebar, which can be employed as additional protection strategy. In this experimental study, corrosion initiation and propagation of CS and SS rebar in uncracked and cracked concrete are presented. Prismatic specimens, reinforced with CS and 304L SS bars were subjected to a loading procedure to induce longitudinal micro‐cracks and exposed to a 3.5% NaCl solution for more than 2 years. Corrosion was monitored with electrochemical techniques and at the end of exposure corrosive attacks were observed. Results demonstrate the fundamental contribution of micro‐cracks in accelerating corrosion phenomena for CS, while SS is still in passive conditions also in cracked concrete.
ISSN:1464-4177
1751-7648
DOI:10.1002/suco.202200296