Results of galvanostatic pulse transient response experiments were reported to determine the corrosion parameters associated with passive and actively corroding reinforcing steel in concrete. Galvanostatic pulse measurements were conducted on a number of short sections of steel-reinforcing bar embedded in concrete. The duration of the applied galvanostatic pulse varied from 45 s to 600 s. The bars displayed a range of corrosion rates, from passive steel to highly active corrosion. Analysis of the galvanostatic pulse transient enabled separate components, which made up the measured transient, to be isolated. These components displayed a range of resistances and associated capacitances, dependent upon the corrosion state of the reinforcing steel, which may be attributed to the corrosion process or other effects within the bulk concrete. The corrosion rate was calculated from the summation of the separate resistive components and compared with the corrosion rate determined from linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements on the same specimens. Results from the galvanostatic pulse transient analysis showed that significant errors in evaluating corrosion rates using the LPR method may be incurred if the usual 30-s equilibrium period was used for measuring actively corroding steel bars.

Subject
Electric current, Corrosion currents, Corrosion rate, Rebar, Concrete surfaces, Capacitance, Constants, Electrical resistivity, Steel, Corrosion resistance, Linear polarization resistance, Concrete, Electrode potential
Keywords:
capacitance, concrete, corrosion rates, galvanostatic pulse, linear polarization, resistance, steel reinforcement, structural assessment
NACE International
2000
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