Introduction

Moisture in solid, liquid or vapor form can

be regarded as the principal agent causing
deterioration of structural elements.
Condensation can occur; metals may
corrode and be brought into aqueous
contact with other metals or materials
which may lead to electrolytic attack.
Rain, particularly when blown by strong
winds, can erode soft materials and,
washing over a surface, may remove part
of it.

When water freezes in the pores of materials, such as brick, stone and concrete, stresses are
produced which may cause spalling of the surface, general cracking or disintegration? Moisture
also stimulates biological activity and acts as a medium or catalyst through which reactions occur
which not otherwise take could place. High humidity aid fungal growth and the subsequent
decay of organic materials. Ordinary Portland cement is a material of major importance in
construction. Concrete which becomes wet and then dries alternately expands and contracts. The
movement associated with wetting and drying is small, of the order of 0.04% for normal dense
concrete. Some forms of silica found in aggregates, in the presence of water, can react with
alkalis derived from cement and may cause expansion and subsequent damage to the concrete.
The reaction is known as alkali-aggregate reaction.
 Water-soluble sulfates also harm concrete.
These sulfates of calcium, magnesium and
sodium can attack the cement matrix to give
reaction products which have an increased
volume, and thus cause expansion.

This, in turn, can lead not only to spalling and surface scaling but also to more serious
disintegration. Steel reinforcement in concrete is inhibited from rusting by the high alkalinity of
the surrounding concrete. Carbon dioxide, always present in the atmosphere, and sulfur dioxide
reduce this alkalinity by carbonating the alkalis and thus increase the vulnerability of the steel to
corrosion. Corrosion of reinforcement or of pre-stressing steel can also occur if calcium chloride
is used as an admixture, or if chloride occurs naturally in the aggregates used. Rusting of
reinforcement and subsequent spalling, cracking and general disintegration of concrete are a
serious hazard near coasts, where attack by sea water and sea salt can occur.
Concrete being very alkaline in nature, is extremely susceptible to acid attack.

Calcium Silicate + Water Calcium Silicate Hydrate + Calcium Hydroxide

Acid attack is caused by the reaction of an acid and the calcium hydroxide portion of the cement
paste which produces a highly soluble calcium salt by product. These soluble calcium salts are
easily removed from the cement paste thus weakening the paste’s structure as a whole. This basic
reaction is shown below.
Acid + Calcium Hydroxide Calcium Salt + Water More aggressive acids acid produces

calcium salts that are very soluble such as hydrochloric, acetic, nitric, and sulfuric
Moisture presence in buildings is inevitable fact. Moisture cannot be totally excluded from
buildings but can be minimized the total amounts trapped, entering or generated moisture in a
building and so help reduce or prevent some of its detrimental influences.

There are distinct sources of moisture in the structure. Water is used during construction for the
mixing of mortar, concrete and plaster and for wetting bricks and concrete. Some of this
constructional water is immobilized in the hydration of cement and plaster, and some evaporates
before occupation of the building. Much water used for mixing purposes will still be retained and
can be slow to dry. Not a lot can be done about this moisture, good ventilation and the use of
heating will assist drying. Materials in contact with the ground absorb this water by capillary
action into their pores and into the structure, even on an apparently dry site. Building operations
below ground can change the pattern of natural water drainage and also the level of the water
table. These ground waters contain salts in solution which tend to concentrate on wall surfaces.
The salts add to general dampness by absorbing moisture from humid air.

Rain and snow may penetrate directly through gaps in the structure, particularly at the junction
of windows and doors with walls, at joints between panels and from gaps. It may enter indirectly
through porous building materials under the action of capillary forces. Water may be assisted by
gravitational forces, as when water penetrates through a flat roof. Indirect penetration commonly
occurs through blocked cavity walls, through solid walls ineffectively rendered or pointed, and
particularly through flat concrete roofs. The risk of rain penetration through gaps in a structure is
greater when the rain is wind-assisted than in still conditions. A great deal of moisture is
produced from normal human activities and this can be a major input to help cause condensation.
The cause of condensation is simple. Air at any time will contain some water vapor and warm air
is able to hold more water vapor than cold air. When air containing moisture is cooled
progressively, there will come a temperature at which the air cannot hold all the moisture any
longer and it is then said to be saturated. After saturation temperature air cannot carry water
vapor anymore and water vapor changes into liquid form. If this phenomena occur surface of the
structural element it is called perspiration, if it occurs inside the element it is called
condensation. In addition, leakage water due to improper design or construction as well as due to
insufficient maintenance and repair may influence the structure.
 Corrosion

Most materials experience

some type of interaction with
a large number of various
environments. Some time
interactions may weaken a
material’s usefulness as a
result of this deterioration of
its mechanical properties
such as ductility and
strength, other physical
properties, or appearance.
Environment effects on three
type of material which result
to become worse, these are
metals (corrosion, oxidation),
ceramic (temperature) and
polymer.

Corrosion is defined as the damage and unintentional attack of a metal; it is

electrochemical and begins at the surface of metal. The problem of metallic corrosion is one of
significant proportions; according to William D, in economic terms, it has been estimated that
approximately 5% of an industrialized nation’s income is spent on corrosion
prevention and the maintenance or replacement of products lost or contaminated
as a result of corrosion reactions.

Metallic corrosion: in general metallic materials have been exposed by a normally

electrochemical procedure. That is a chemical reaction in which there is a transfer of electrons

from one chemical species to another in such a case metal atoms give up electrons which called
oxidation (anodic reaction). For example:

Oxidation reaction for metal M

Oxidation reaction for Fe and Al

And nonmetals doing vice versa.

Two deferent types of reaction happen in one process which called anodic (oxidation) and
reduction.
Gaining electrons is a reduction reaction which is resulted by free electrons that release in anode
reaction.
For example, some metals undergo corrosion in acid solutions, which have a high concentration
of hydrogen (H) ions; the H lions are reduced as follows:

Related to the metallic corrosion is the zinc oxidation.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS:
Corrosion properties of the materials which are in contact with the corrosive environment can be
influenced by fluid velocity, temperature, and composition.
It is also known that the rates of most chemical reactions rise with increasing temperature which
results in a faster reaction on the surface of metal further corrosion and deterioration of its
mechanical properties.
Cold working is used to increase the strength of metals; however, a cold worked metal is easier
to corrosion than the same material in an annealed state. Like water, oxygen increases the rate of
corrosion. In general the rate of the corrosion reaction is very slower where the existing of
oxygen can predict; moreover, the more we have oxygen concentration on a metal surface, the
more corrosive reaction can happen.

Corrosion rates are accelerated in large amount by humidity and time-of- wetness. The wetter the
environment, the more corrosion is likely to occur. On the other hand, chemical salts and
pollutants can also promote the existing of corrosion on an open and close environment. For
example, acid rain, chlorides and acid gasses such as carbon dioxide can dissolve in a film of
moisture in contact with the metal; due to this the rate of the corrosion on the surface of metal
may increase gradually. Not only have these, chemical salted such as sodium chloride which the
main part of seawater can also increase the rate of corrosion by increasing the conductivity of the
electrolyte.
 P
The presence of oxygen, humidity, and
chlorides has an enormous effect on iron
corrosion which results in deterioration of its
physical and chemical properties.

FORMS OF CORROSION:

It is easy to discuss metallic corrosion by classifying it according to a manner in which it may explain
very clearly, Metallic corrosion is sometimes classified into eight forms.

selective erosion– stress

uniform galvanic crevice pitting intergranular
leaching corrosion corrosion
Here, erosion–corrosion and some other type of corrosion which related to chemical reaction are discussed.
As have been explained in previous parts, erosion-corrosion is the result of combined action of chemical attack and
mechanical weakness on the surface of metal due to an environmental condition.
Mechanical and physical properties of the fluid can also result in corrosion. For example, the nature of the fluid can
have a dramatic influence on the corrosion behavior. Increasing fluid velocity normally increases the rate of
corrosion; moreover, the physical state of fluid such as laminar and turbulent can have a different effect on pipe or
metal.

Corrosion can form when two metal that have different compassions are electrically

Harmful Effects of corrosion:

Definitely there are many harmful effects of corrosion. Some of them are listed below.

1: metal corrosion is a costly problem, nearly $2.2 Trillion

USD annual direct cast in worldwide.

2: Damage of metallic equipments.

3: Lose of valuable materials such as blockage of pipes,

mechanical damage of underground water pipes.

4: Inability to use metallic materials.

5: Swelling and dissolution.

6: Accidents due to mechanical lose of metallic bridges,

cars, aircrafts etc

7: Lose of efficiency

8: reducing of the natural resource (metals).

9: Causes pollution due to escaping products from

corrosion.

10: Bond rupture

Corrosion solutions:
Corrosion being a problem happening from
different reasons, it’s important to notice that
there is no way to find a perfect and full
solution for the corrosion problem in general
while you can basically find some local
solutions according to the source of the
corrosion you can handle it. Later on in these
part we are going to mention and talk about the
main solutions that have been discussed over
the previous research papers.

The protection of reinforcement against

corrosion can be done by any of the following
method:
a) Anticorrosive treatment using acid /
alkali / other agents based on CECRI
technology (as per IS: 9077).
b) Fusion bonded Epoxy coating (as per IS:
13620).
c) Corrosion resistant reinforcement as
rolled in the factory and commercially
available
Anticorrosive treatment (using CECRI technology):

The procedure for anti-corrosive treatment of reinforcement is as follows:

The reinforcement rods is immersed in the pickling tank, containing Derusting Solution.

The reinforcements are then left in the derusting solution until all the rust is satisfactorily
removed and a bright surface is obtained. This may take about 15-30 minutes. Typically, to
prepare 100 litres of Derusting Solution, mix 5 liters of Inhibitor – Derusting solution, 50 liters
of Hydrochloric acid and 50 liters of water in the pickling tank (as per manufacturer’s
instruction).

The rods is then removed from the pickling tank cleaned with wet waste cloth and immersed in
the ALKALINE CLEANING TANK. This tank contains Alkaline Powder in the ratio of 1.5 kg.
of powder to 400 liters of water. The rods is left for about 5 minutes, cleaned and removed.

Phosphating Jelly is then immediately applied on the surface of the rods by means of a fibre
brush. The jelly shall be allowed to react with the rod surface for 45-60 minutes and the jelly
removed by means of rinsing in water or wet cloth.

Corrosion inhibitor solution is then applied on the reinforcement surface by brushing/dipping.

The corrosion inhibitor solution is mixed with ordinary portland cement in the ratio of 500 CC of
inhibitor to 1 kg of OPC and a brushable slurry is prepared. This slurry is then be applied on the
rod surface by brushing.

Note: All above steps should be applied in the same day and the steel allowed to air dry for 12 –
24 hours.

Corrosion sealing solution is then be applied by brushing / dipping.

Inhibitor is mixed with ordinary portland cement in the ratio of 600 CC of inhibitor to 1 kg. of
cement and a brushable slurry is prepared. This slurry is immediately applied on the
reinforcement surface. The coating is then allowed to dry for 12 – 24 hours.

Corrosion sealing solution is applied on the reinforcement surface. This coating is again repeated
after 4 hours of air drying.
The above Anticorrosive treatment is given after the rods are cut and bent to shape. The
treatment is done in a covered area. The treated rods is stored above ground in a covered area on
wooden / masonry supports.

Typical Mechanical Properties of anticorrosive coating are:

a) Average thickness of coating = 0.3 ± 0.1 mm

b) Rockwell superficial hardness = 40 HR 15 N

Typical Corrosion Resistance properties are as under:

a) Tolerable limit for Chloride In 0.04 N, NaOH as per Anodic Polarisation Technique – 5000
ppm

b) Corrosion resistance as per salt fog test – > 2000 hrs.

c) Corrosion resistance as per

d) alternative wetting and drying test – > 450 days

Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating:

This process shall be done as per IS: 13620. This process is carried out by the specialized agency
in their Plant.

Commercially available corrosion resistant reinforcement:

The reinforcement are purchased from well-known brand of corrosion resistant rods. The
mechanical properties like tensile strength, elongation etc. should conform to the requirements of
the corresponding class of bars, like Fe 415, Fe 500 etc. as per IS-1786.

1. Epoxy coated reinforcing bars:

Epoxy provides a barrier coating to the steel and, thereby, prevents the chlorides from breaking
down the passive layer on the steel providing a longer service life. While many structures with
epoxy-coated steel have performed well, some have not. The latter cases have been attributed
either to flaws in the coating, most likely due to defects introduced during construction, or to
absorption of moisture by the epoxy leading to swelling and debonding from the steel .It is
generally concluded that good quality Epoxy coatings will increase the time to initiate corrosion
but, once initiated, the corrosion rate will be about the same as that of uncoated black steel.

2. Stainless steel reinforcing bars:

With increasing service life requirements, stainless steel is being regarded as a viable alternative
reinforcement despite its higher cost. The most common grades of stainless steel for
reinforcement are 316LN and 2205, both of which have excellent corrosion resistance and are
commercially available. They should provide service lives well in excess of 100 years. Research
shows that grade 304 is less corrosion resistant than the other two grades but, in fact has the
longest successful field record of any stainless steel .The cost of the stainless steels is more than
five times that of black steel but, on a life cycle cost basis, they are considered to be
costeffective.

3. Corrosion resistant reinforcing bars:

In order to provide better corrosion resistance than black steel but at lower cost than the
traditional stainless steels, efforts have been made in recent years to develop corrosion resistant
alloys for reinforcement. Three examples of these steels are (i) a “low carbon, low chromium
micro composite steel” designated as MMFX-2 (ASTM A615 Grade 75) , (ii) a 1.5% Ni 21% Cr
alloy designated 2101LDX (ASTM A955-98) [51], and (iii) a 3% Ni, 12% Cr alloy designated
3Cr12 [53]. In macro cell corrosion tests [54], the corrosion initiation times for these alloys were
measured to be 2, 7 and 1.6 times that of black steel, whereas the 304 and

316LN grades had initiation times in excess of 12 times that of the black steel (i.e. they had not
begun to corrode during the period of the research). The corrosion rates of the MMFX and
2102LDX after initiation were less than half of that exhibited by the black steel. Their cost is
between 2 and 4 times that of black steel, whereas the cost of the stainless steels is more than
five times that of black steel [55]. Other investigators [56] have concluded that “…high
performance alloys outperformed black steel from a corrosion resistance standpoint”. Unlike the
various grades of black steel however, a relatively wide range of corrosion performance was
apparent for the high performance counterparts depending on the alloy and surface condition.”

4. Galvanized steel reinforcing bars:

Galvanized steel reinforcement has been used in reinforced concrete structures since 1930s.The
advantages of hot-dipped galvanizing are two-fold: unlike most other forms of coatings, a
metallurgical bond is formed between the steel and the zinc which means that the coating is not

Susceptible to flaking or other forms of separation from the substrate. Secondly, zinc not only
forms a barrier coating but acts as a sacrificial anode. Thus, any scratches or other flaws in the
coating are not critical and do not lead to active corrosion of the underlying steel. Zinc has the
advantage over black steel that it can tolerate more chlorides (approx. 2.5 times and lower pH
levels [pH~8] before

Significant active corrosion is initiated. Thus, it would provide better protection than black steel
to both chloride induced and carbonation-induced corrosion. The galvanized layer has the
disadvantage that it corrodes very rapidly in the wet cement but this reaction rate ceases once the
concrete hardens. While chromating

Summary and Conclusion:

Portland cement concretes provide excellent protection for embedded steel in the absence of
chloride contamination or carbonation by (a) acting as a physical barrier and (b) by chemically
passivating the steel surface. Nevertheless, reinforcing bar corrosion is a major cause of the
degradation of reinforced concrete structures particularly in northern North America, because of
the high quantities of chloride de-icing salts used. In addition the increase in construction near
coastal marine environments may increase the potential for corrosion deterioration in these areas.
As a result, some structures of ordinary portland cement concrete with black steel reinforcement
are requiring repair and remediation long before their current specified service lives (typically 40
– 50 years) are reached. Therefore, easier, faster and more reliable condition analysis techniques
are required than those currently available, and described above, to allow corrosion detection at
an earlier stage and, thus, permit remedial action to be taken before major repairs are required.
At the same time, with the current emphasis on sustainability, building codes are now requiring
longer service lives, of the order of 75 to 100 years. Consequently, for new structures, there must
be a greater understanding of the reinforcement corrosion process and of materials and structural
designs aimed at minimizing the risk of corrosion.
A two-fold approach to corrosion resistant structures should include:
- The use of high performance concrete (HPC) to lower concrete’s permeability and reduce the
rate of ingress of chlorides or carbonation and, thereby, increase the effectiveness of the physical
barrier.
- The use of more resistant reinforcing bar materials to provide better chemical resistance. In
those parts of structures exposed to very severe chloride environments, stainless steel is
recommended. Despite the initial expense, it is a cost effective solution in these circumstances
when both direct and indirect costs (such as user costs) are taken into account. In the somewhat
less severe chloride environments, corrosion
resistant alloys such as MMFX or 2101LDX, which are more resistant to chlorides than black
steel - but less corrosion resistant and much less costly than stainless steel
- should be considered. Galvanized reinforcement is recognized as having greater resistance to
chlorides than black steel and is significantly more resistant to carbonation-induced corrosion or
combinations of chlorides and carbonation than black steel.
References*
1. Rosenberg, A.; Hansson, C. M., and Andrade, C., Mechanisms of Corrosion of Steel in
Concrete, in The Materials Science of Concrete, J. Skalny, Editor, 1989, The American Ceramic
Society, pages 285-313.
2. Hansson, C. M., Comments on Electrochemical Measurements of the Rate of Corrosion of
Steel in Concrete, Cement and
Concrete Research, 1984, 14, pages 547 to 584.
3. ACI Committee 222, 222R-96, Corrosion of Metals in Concrete,
1996.
4. Poursaee, A. and Hansson, C.M., Reinforcing steel passivation in mortar and pore solution,
Cement and Concrete Research, Accepted for publication.
5. M. Tullmin, Linear Polarization Resistance, 2001, Corrosion-Club, http://www.corrosion-
club.com/lpr.htm.
6. M. Pourbaix, Atlas of Electrochemical Equilibria in Aqueous Solutions 1974, Houston, Texas,
USA, National Association of Corrosion Engineers.
7. Tuutti, K., Corrosion of Steel in Concrete, 1982, Swedish Cement and Concrete Research
Institute.
8. Hansson, C. M.and Sørensen, B., the Threshold Concentration of Chloride in Concrete for the
Initiation of Reinforcement
Corrosion. In Corrosion Rates of Steel in Concrete, 1990, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, ASTM
STP 1065.
9. Sørensen, B.and Maahn, E, Nordic Concrete Research, 1982, 1, (Paper 24).
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Alkaline Solutions. British Corrosion Journal, 1970, 5, pages 198 to 203.
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Embedded in Concrete, British Corrosion Journal, 1970, 5 pages 204 to 208.
12. CEB, Guide to Durable Concrete Structures, 1985, Comité Euro-International du Beton,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
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International Conference on Metallic Corrosion, 1986, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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of a 5-Year FHWA Study, International Conference on Corrosion and Rehabilitation of
Reinforced Concrete Structures, 1998, Orlando, Florida, USA, FHWA.