The following is a discussion of the article entitled “Comments on the Identification of a Chloride Threshold in the Corrosion of Steel in Concrete,” by H. G. Wheat and Z. Eliezer, published in Corrosion, Vol. 43, No. 2, p. 126, 1987.
DISCUSSION by Richard F. Stratfull, Corrosion Engineering, Inc., West Sacramento, California.
It appears that the Authors have misunderstood the corrosion behavior of steel in concrete. There are two phases in the corrosion behavior of steel in concrete: (1) in a salt-free environment, the steel is passive and reflected in a relatively noble half cell potential; (2) in salt-contaminated concrete, the steel changes into an active half cell potential and can corrode.
However, reinforcing steel with an active potential may not have a significant corrosion rate. This is because the corrosion rate will be directly related to the activity of the corrosion cell, keeping in mind that the flow of...
