Corrosion of carbon (black) steel reinforcing bars (rebar) is the major cause of damage and deterioration of reinforced concrete structures in maritime regions and in climates where de-icing salts are used. The cause of the corrosion is diffusion of chloride ions to the steel surface through the concrete in which it is placed. The bars are naturally passivated by the high pH of concrete interstitial pore fluid, and will not corrode in chloride-free concrete. Chloride ions break down the passive film, allowing dissolution of the steel. Corrosion of reinforcing steel drastically reduces the service lives of concrete structures.
Where chlorides can not be avoided, stainless steel is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative reinforcing material. Stainless steel is able to withstand greater concentrations of chlorides, extending the service lives of structure in which they are placed. Due to high initial cost, stainless steel is often avoided in the design of new structures. In order to reduce the cost of stainless rebar, it has been proposed that the standard process of abrasive blasting and pickling of the steels not be performed, as these steps are mainly used to restore a bright and shiny surface, a quality not required for steels embedded in concrete.
AISI 304LN, AISI 316LN and 2205 duplex stainless steels were tested with pickled surfaces as well as with mill-scale intact (as-rolled) in order to determine the affect of pickling vs. not pickling on the corrosion behaviour of the steels. Steels were tested in solutions simulating concrete interstitial pore fluid containing from 0 to 16% Cl- by mass of solution, simulating cement paste with 0 to 7.5% Cl- by mass of cement, which is near the solubility limit of Cl- in pore fluid. Steels were also tested in thin mortar shells, with Cl- ions being rapidly diffused to the surface due to an applied potential gradient.
The microcell corrosion performance of the as-rolled steels was slightly worse than that of pickled steels; however, the corrosion rates of the as-rolled steels at 16% Cl- in pore fluid are near 3 µm/year, while black steel is normally observed to be actively corroding at 10 µm/year in cement containing as low as 0.1% Cl- by mass of cement, or 0.2% Cl- by mass of solution.
No significant difference was observed between different grades of stainless steel in either the as-rolled or pickled conditions.
As-rolled stainless steels exhibited poor pitting resistance when an anodic potential is applied, but the corrosion occurs at potentials much higher than experienced in service and at Cl- concentrations far greater than that needed to initiate corrosion on black steel; the time required to reach these higher Cl- levels would allow for maintenance free service long enough to justify the cost of as-rolled stainless steel over black steel.
The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code, CSA S6-06, specifies that reinforced concrete bridges should meet a service life of 75 years. It is concluded that, given the time required for concentrated chlorides to accumulate at the steel, the stainless steel rebar in the as-rolled condition would allow reinforced concrete structures to reach the specified service life, as long as care is taken to avoid contamination of the steel/surface by black steel from handling, or by secondary phases within the steel, Cr23C6 and MnS in particular.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:WATERLOO/oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/4235 |
| Date | 19 January 2009 |
| Creators | Bergsma, Bradley |
| Source Sets | University of Waterloo Electronic Theses Repository |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
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