Depassivation Time of Steel Reinforcement in a Chloride Environment — A One-Dimensional Solution

A one-dimensional analysis was developed to study reinforcement corrosion based on the physical model outlined by Bazant. Four mass conservation equations corresponding to the diffusion of water, oxygen, chloride, and ferrous hydroxide were simultaneously solved to identify critical factors that influence the depassivation of steel reinforcement in chloride environments. Diffusivity of chloride was found to be a most important parameter controlling depassivation, which constitutes the first step in the reinforcement corrosion phenomenon.