Demands for using electrical resistivity techniques (surface and bulk resistivity) as an alternative to the rapid chloride penetrability test (RCPT) have been growing, for example by a number of transportation agencies in North America, to give an indication of the relative penetrability of concrete. While resistivity measurements may reflect the quality of pore structure in the cementitious matrix, their accuracy might be affected by a multitude of parameters including the concentration of ionic species in the pore solution, particularly when supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are incorporated in the binder. Hence, a systematic investigation on the resistivity of concrete and its corresponding physical penetrability is warranted. Zinc sacrificial anodes are considered an effective and economical method to prevent the electrochemical corrosion of steel bars by providing cathodic current to bars, which can provide corrosion protection at low galvanic current densities in the range of 0.2 to 2 mA/m2. Sacrificial anodes are commonly used in RC structures particularly in bridge decks to mitigate a critical phenomenon that occurs in the original concrete beside the repaired patches, which is known as the ‘halo effect’. One of the key factors affecting the efficacy of zinc anodes is the resistivity of concrete or cementitious repair material in which these anodes are embedded. There is a general notion that the higher the electrical resistivity of concrete or repair material, the less likely that zinc anodes produce the target galvanic current for optimum protection of steel bars. However, no systematic data are available on the maximum allowable electrical resistivity of repair materials/concretes beyond which zinc anodes cannot properly function to prevent corrosion. In the first part of this thesis, a tripartite relationship (nomogram) to correlate surface resistivity with penetrability (migration coefficient) and porosity of concrete using a wide range ii of concrete mixtures, taking into account the effect of key mixture design parameters (water-to-binder ratio, air-entrainment, SCMs and type of cement) was established. Relationships between surface and bulk resistivity as well as migration coefficient and porosity of concrete were also introduced. In addition, a penetrability classification of concrete based on the corresponding ranges of surface resistivity, migration coefficient and porosity has been proposed. The nomogram and penetrability classification provided reasonable assessment for the condition of field cores extracted from newly constructed and aging concrete pavement. In the second part of this thesis, the functionality of zinc anodes at mitigating patch accelerated corrosion (halo effect) in repaired concrete was explored. Concrete slabs were cast to simulate the patch repair configuration in the field, and the main parameters in this study were changing the resistivity of the repair section in the slabs (5,000, 15,000, 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000 Ω-cm), and anode spacing (25, 100, and 250 mm) inside the repair patch. Analysis of current and potential data shows a high level of effectiveness of the anodes at controlling corrosion in this slab configuration up to 52 weeks under a wetting-drying exposure. / February 2017

När en metall är omgärdad av en elektrolyt, så som havsvatten, kommer det att byggas upp en naturlig potential. Det sker en elektronvandring mellan materialet och havsvattnet och ju större potentialskillnad desto större sannolikhet att metallen kommer korrodera. Korrosion är en stor och viktig fråga för offshorekonstruktioner och byggnader.  För att uppnå en konstruktions designade livslängd kan åtgärder vidtas med hänsyn till kapitalkostnader och drift- och underhållskostnader.  Denna studie syftar till att jämföra ekonomiska för- och nackdelar hos de två korrosionsskyddssystemen Galvanic Anode Corrosion Protection (GACP) och Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) på havsbaserade vindkraftsfundament. Det förstnämnda systemet använder offeranoder och det sistnämnda är ett katodiskt korrosionsskydd med hjälp av påtryckt ström.  Studien bestod av flera steg av litteraturstudier där teori om korrosion och korrosionssystem användes för att till slut kunna jämföra valda korrosionsskyddssystem.  Resultatet visar att GACP har fler fördelar och färre nackdelar än ICCP och skulle därmed vara mer ekonomiskt fördelaktig i marina miljöer. GACP ger också önskad effekt direkt vid installation och behöver inte någon strömkälla, ICCP är mer komplicerat och är inte effektivt förrän hela systemet är monterat och i drift. Dessutom behöver ICCP extra strömkälla samt kablage. / When a metal is surrounded by an electrolyte, such as seawater, a natural potential will be built up. An electron migration between the material and the seawater will happen and the greater the potential difference, the greater the probability that the metal will corrode. Corrosion is an important issue when it comes to offshore structures. In order to achieve a structure designed lifetime, measures can then be taken with regard to capital costs and operating and maintenance costs. This study aims to compare the economic advantages and disadvantages of the two, Galvanic Anode Corrosion Protection (GACP) and Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP), corrosion protection systems on offshore wind power foundations. The first mentioned system uses sacrificial anodes and the second is a cathodic corrosion protection by an applied current. The study consisted of several stages of literature studies where theory of corrosion and corrosion systems was used to finally be able to make a comparison between selected corrosion protection systems. The result shows that GACP has more advantages and fewer disadvantages than ICCP and would thus be more economical. GACP, for example, is efficient during installation and does not need an additional power source, but ICCP is more complicated and not efficient until complete assembly of the entire system and requires additional power source and cables. Right now, there is no design standard available with detailed requirements and advice has been given as for galvanic anodes systems.

De nouveaux alliages Zn-TR1-5 %mass.(TR = Ce, La et Mischmetal : Ce 75%/La25%) ont été synthétisés par fusion sous atmosphère contrôlée et coulés sous forme de plaques. Dans ces nouveaux matériaux, les terre rare sont localisées exclusivement dans des phases intermétalliques dispersées de manière homogène dans la matrice de zinc : Zn11Ce, Zn13La ou Zn11Ce1-xLax and Zn13CeyLa1-y. Le comportement électrochimique de ces nouveaux alliages a été étudié dans un milieu corrosif de référence simulant les conditions atmosphériques. En parallèle, les phases intermétalliques pures Zn11Ce and Zn13La ont été synthétisées et leur influence électrochimique a été évaluée par voltamétrie et couplage galvanique. Les résultats montrent que les deux phases intermétalliques sont des sites cathodiques préférentiels de la réduction du dioxygène et induisent une inhibition cathodique de la corrosion des alliages Zn-TR par rapport au zinc pur. Ce phénomène est plus marqué dans le cas des alliages au lanthane. Dans le cas spécifique des alliages au cérium, une inhibition anodique a également été observée et corrélée avec une modification chimique des produits de corrosion (composés majoritairement d'hydrozincite). En fait, une faible quantitéhomogène de cérium a pu être mise en évidence dans la couche de corrosion par spectrométrie dispersive en longueur d'onde. D'après les résultats d'expériences de précipitation contrôlée de sels de cérium et zinc en milieu carbonaté, la présence de cérium dans la couche de corrosion et son caractère protecteur pourraient être attribués à la formation d'un composé mixte double lamellaire zinc-cérium. L'addition de moins de 2%mass. de cérium ou lanthane permet d'améliorer la résistance à la corrosion du zinc. Cependant, lorsque la teneur en terre-rare augmente, l'effet de couplage galvanique devient plus important et rend les alliages moins résistants que le zinc pur / New Zn-RE1-5 wt.% alloys (RE=Ce, La and Mischmetal: Ce 75%/ La 25%) were synthesized by melting under controlled atmosphere and cast in plates. In these materials, rare earth metal are exclusively present in intermetallic phases homogeneously dispersed in the zinc matrix: Zn11Ce, Zn13La or Zn11Ce1-xLax and Zn13CeyLa1-y. The electrochemical behavior of these new alloys was investigated in a reference corrosivemedium. In parallel, the pure intermetallic phases Zn11Ce and Zn13La were synthesized and their electrochemical influence was studied by voltametry and galvanic coupling. Results show that both intermetallic phases act as preferential cathodic sites of dioxygen reduction and induce a cathodic inhibition of the corrosion of the Zn-RE alloys by comparison with pure zinc. This phenomenon is much more significant in the case of lanthanum containing alloys. In the specific case of cerium addition to zinc, an anodic inhibition was also observed and correlated with a chemical modification of the corrosion products (mainly made of hydrozincite). Actually, low quantities of cerium (less than 1 at.%) have been detected homogeneously in the corrosion layer by wave-length dispersive spectrometry. From results of controlled precipitation experiments of cerium and zinc salts performed in carbonated medium, the presence of cerium in the corrosionlayer and its protective character could be attributed to the formation of a mixed double lamellar zinc-cerium product. Therefore, addition to zinc of less than 2 wt.% of cerium or lanthanum allow to improve the corrosion resistance of zinc. However, by increasing the rare earth content in the alloys, the galvanic coupling phenomenon becomes more important and makes the alloys less resistant than pure zinc