Abstract
Background: Harsh coastal environment has detrimental results on the mechanical performance of the reinforced concrete structures. Corrosion damage and its consequences are not included in the existing regulations, concerning reinforced concrete structures, given that only recently scientific community demonstrated interest on the specific issue. Nevertheless, scientific research requires the application of methods for rapid simulation and reproduction-qualitatively and quantitatively- of the corrosion phenomena.
Objective: The purpose of the present paper is to present some parameters affecting the experimental results, obtained from the electrochemical corrosion method, on both quality and quantity, given that no commonly accepted protocol has prevailed so far.
Method: One of the most widespread accelerated corrosion techniques, used for the goals of the present study, is electrochemical corrosion method. Using this method, natural corrosion can be simulated and damage accumulation, which often occurs during the lifecycle of a reinforced concrete structure, can be evaluated.
Results: It has been established that for higher current densities, higher mass loss rates have been recorded for the same exposure period. Furthermore, comparing short and long series of specimens, of the same diameter, for the same corrosion duration, seems that short samples record higher mass loss percentages and more intense pitting.
Conclusion: Analysis of the research results allows us to conclude that long- bare steel bar specimens record milder corrosion damage than short-bare specimens. This is related to the presence of factors favoring corrosion initiation. Moreover, given that corrosion effect is initially concentrated in small areas, the behavior of long- embedded specimens, against corrosion, can be simulated with the corresponding behavior of short- bare specimens.
Keywords: Electrochemical corrosion, coastal environment, regulations, exposure length, dual-phase steel, corrosion damage.
Graphical Abstract
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