Cover around reinforcement The reinforced concrete structures are designed and built for a service life, which

is defined by the designer and is controlled by the manufacturer. For this period of time, the structure should not be so deteriorated that it does not fulfill any more its functions. The deterioration of reinforced concrete is mainly due to reinforcement corrosion The mechanism of this deterioration is to be reminded. Reinforcements corrode when they are in contact with a high amount of aggressive agents. This is the reason why, the prevention of reinforcement corrosion, in structures to be built, is obtained mainly by controlling the thickness and the quality of the concrete cover. The design of traditional concrete, in particular its cement dosage and its water-cement content ratio, depends on the environment to which this material is exposed.
Requirements on concrete according to exposure classes, according to standard ENV 1992.1.1 " Eurocode 2")

Environment dry wet

without freezing with freezing

Environment class
1

Minimum cement dosage (kg/m3)

280

Minimum water-cement ratio

0,65

2a 2b 3

280 280 300 300 300 280 300 300

0,60 0,55 0,50 0,55 0,50 0,55 0,50 0,45 Top

wet and freezing

with use of deicing salts

sailor
without freezing with freezing

4a 4b 5a 5b 5c

chemical
slightly aggressive fairly aggressive highly aggressive

In very particular cases, additives can be added in the freshly-mixed concrete to improve of its workability, its mechanical properties and more rarely its protective qualities. The concrete cover thickness around reinforcement also depends on the environment aggressiveness. But, in addition to the requirements given by the designer, it is significant to consider the implementation (reinforcements positioning, concrete mixing, curing, etc.) to estimate the durability of a reinforced concrete really in place. Reinforcement covers When reinforced concrete structures are exposed to a very aggressive environment, an additional protection can be considered by cover steel. The two types of the most frequent covers on steel are organic coatings and metal coatings (hot-dip galvanising, etc). These protective coatings which must adhere to steel must also ensure good a bond between reinforcement and concrete. Coatings on concrete

Highly cracked, delaminated cover When reinforcements are strongly corroded, their corrosion products can expand, and deteriorate the concrete cover, by cracking, delamination and spalling. Then, the first action to be undertaken is to eliminate these geometrical defects, by replacing concrete cover,orsometimesinjectingcracks. As this first action relates to only the zones under high corrosion, the close zones, where corrosion can appear in a short term, must be treated by other methods. Cover physically sound, but polluted
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In some cases, concrete reinforcement can be depassivated (i.e. corroding) or will corrode shortly. Its cover seems physically satisfactory and has neither crack or delamination. But, it is then convenient to slow down this corrosion rate, even to stop it. The methods which can be proposed are either concrete impregnation with water-proof products (sealants) or inhibitors, or an electrochemical treatment : cathodic protection, re-alkalisation or chloride extraction. Still sound cover When reinforcement is embedded in a sound cover and its corrosion is likely initiated only in short or long term, it can be useful to protect them by impregnating concrete cover.

The impregnation of concrete is made with a roller, a brush or by spraying a liquid

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Paintings and coatings of various thickness can also be applied on concrete to improve its resistance to liquid penetration. It deals, for example, with either of coatings containing epoxy resin or polyurethane, or with mortar containing modified hydraulic binder.

The concrete is made of cement, water and aggregates (sand and gravels). The most usual cements are indicated in Table 1 where clinker is the basic product of Portland cements.
Table 1: Composition of cements according to standard EN 197-1, the contents are expressed as weight percentage These cements may contain up to 5% of secondary components Designation Clinker Blast furnace slag Silica fume Pozzolanes Siliceous Calcareous Calcinated Calcareous ash ash schist L or LL

notation
Portland cement CEMI Portland blend cement CEM II/A CEM II/B Blast furnace cement CEM III/A CEM III/B CEM III/C Pozzolanic cement CEM IV/A CEM IV/B Blend cement CEM V/A CEM V/B

P or Q

95-100

80-94 65-79

<--------------------------------------------- 6-20 ------------------------------------------------> <--------------------------------------------- 21-35 ------------------------------------------------>

35-64 20-34 5-19

30-65 66-80 81-85

65-90 45-64 40-64 25-39 18-30 31-50

<---------------- 10-35 ------------------> <---------------- 36-55 ------------------> <--------- 18-30 ---------> <--------- 31-50 ---------> Top

After hardening, a cement paste consists of juxtaposed grains, which are more or less tangled up. They are hydrated hydroxide of calcium silicates, aluminates or others (Table 2). These components contain voids, known as capillary pores, whose size is about 10-8m.

Sight under the electron microscope of hardened cement

Spaces between the components of hydrated cement are pores, filled with air or with the water introduced during the mixing and not used for cement hardening. The solution in these pores is under a chemical balance with the various solid components, with its contact. Its pH is high, about 13, when the concrete is sound. For young concrete, this solution is made up primarily of calcium (Ca2+)

associated hydroxyl ion (OH-), but after few weeks, sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) are associated hydroxyl ion.
Top Table 2: Components of a Portland cement.

Component of anhydrous cement

Minerals Principal components (symbol) alite tricalcic silicate (C3S) blite silicate bicalcic (C2S) clite tricalcium aluminate (C3A) aluminoferrite tetracalcic (C4AF) gypsum sulphate calcium (CS) Content in CPA

Comnents after hydration

(symboe or formula)

45 - 65% 15 - 25% < 15% < 10% < 3%

hydrated silicates(CSH) and Ca(OH)2

aluminates (such C4AH12) hydrated aluminoferrite and Ca(OH)2 Candlot salt, known as ettringite

Diagram of the pores in hardened cement

Hardened cement is dried gradually, starting from its surface which is in contact with atmosphere. Then, the largest pores lose first their water (liquid) by keeping a certain content of water vapour. In practice, if the concrete is in a very dry atmosphere, the pore solution evaporates from all the pores, on a depth of few millimetres. This water can come back gradually, as soon as the ambient air is progressively humidified.

Metal coating on reinforcement

Hot-dip galvanisation The hot-dip galvanised coating is obtained by cleaning and pickling steel, and dipping it in a melted zinc bath, at about 450 C. This immersion of steel in zinc induces a reaction between these metals (diffusion between iron and zinc), which forms layers of various alloys. A hot-dip galvanised coating increases the durability of reinforcement in a concrete which undergoes a carbonation. In addition, the installation of hot-dip galvanised reinforcement is less critical than that of bare steel when the coating thickness cannot meet the requirements.

Hot-dip galvanised (bottom) compared with an ordinary reinforcement (top) Top

The chloride content which initiates reinforcement corrosion is higher for hot-dip galvanised steel than in for bare steel, but this protective effect ceases if the chloride content is too high. Galvanised reinforcement supports the ordinary handling operations, because if this coating is damaged, repairs can be made, with using zinc rich paint. However, the surface of hot-dip galvanised reinforcement is different from that of ordinary steel. Thus, the diagnosis on their condition cannot be done by half-cell potential measurements. In addition, it is not recommended to apply electrochemical treatments (chloride extraction or re-alkalisation) which could deteriorate the galvanised coating. Stainless steel reinforcement Stainless steel can be used either like coating of plain carbon steel reinforcement, or as material constitutive of this reinforcement. As far as corrosion is concerned, stainless steel is likely to corrode by pitting in the presence of chlorides, especially if its grade is badly selected. The most usually used grades are steels with chromium and nickel: Z 6 CN18-09 with 18% Cr and 9% Ni (known as AISI 304), and Z 2 CND17-13 with 17% Cr and 13% Ni (known as AISI 316 L). These particular steel grades tolerate a Cl - content at least 10 times larger than that which initiates corrosion of ordinary steel.

Organic coatings on reinforcement

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Among the organic coatings, the coating epoxydic (or epoxy) obtained by the electrostatic technique of powder spraying known as FBECR: (" Fusion bonded epoxy coated reinforcement") is appropriate to protect the reinforcements best. This process gives a thick film from 150 to 300 m. Another method consists in immersing in an epoxy resin fluidized powder bed, reinforcing cages, which can be placed in concrete formwork immediately after their treatment. It allows also thicker coatings, but some cares concerning the welding of steel must be taken. An epoxy coating decreases bond between reinforcement and concrete, mainly for bars, which are of large diameter, or smooth. In addition, specifications on the use of epoxy coated reinforcements recommend to limit the number and the size of defects in the coating and to repair them. Epoxy coated reinforcement needs many cares during storage and handling. But once embedded in concrete, it does not require maintenance. In addition, an organic coating is an electrical insulator, which makes it difficult, even impossible, to apply electrochemical techniques for diagnosis (half-cell potential measurement, corrosion rate) or for treatment against corrosion (cathodic protection, re-alkalisation, chloride extraction).

Coatings on concrete

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The purpose of coatings on concrete are to prevent reinforcement corrosion, by ensuring a proofing either water, or with gases. It deals with : membranes and coatings which are not subjected to a direct action of the atmosphere. In this case, internal moisture of the underlying concrete varies little with time, coating systems applied on visible facings. Under these coatings, the internal moisture of the concrete can fluctuate. Water can evaporate from concrete or return there as a vapour. Gas flows (oxygen, carbon dioxide) can also cross these coatings. the The effectiveness of coatings is characterised on products or concrete substrate. As a rule, the test consists in measuring the fluid (liquid or gas) flux crossing a covered specimen. A coating on concrete can be deteriorated by disbonding, blistering or formation of wrinkles (table 1).
Table 1: Damage of the coatings applied to a concrete whose internal moisture fluctuates in the course of time

Origins chemical attacks capillary suction overpressure in concrete solvent or vapour overpressure osmotic processes

Conditions
- Reactive components, etc. - adsorption of water - cement pores unsaturated with water - Rise in temperature - cement pores unsaturated with water - semi-permeable membranes - coating components soluble in water

Too bad
- Disbonding - Dissolution - Disbonding - Blistering - Disbonding - Blistering - Disbonding - Blistering - Wrinkles

Fastening and internal stresses

- temperature rise - differences in thermal expansions between coating and substrate

- Disbonding - Wrinkles - Cracks

In practice, conventional life tests are carried out on coated concrete, to assess the performances of their protections. These tests often consist in putting specimens in a salt spray chamber and making them undergo various actions, such as temperature changes or ultraviolet rays.

Impregnating concrete

Impregnation with water proof products (sealant) A water-proof product is a barrier against the penetration of liquid water, into concrete. It is called a surface product, when it is applied onto hardened concrete. A sealant and a water repellent have only an indirect action on reinforcement corrosion. The choice of a water repellent to be applied, depends on many parameters concerning concrete (porosity, cleanliness, etc), the product and the local conditions for application (mainly, climatic conditions). Impregnation with corrosion inhibitors A corrosion inhibitor is a product which, once in contact with steel, protects it against corrosion. In the case of an existing structure, an inhibitor is applied by impregnating concrete surface and it migrates in concrete down to reinforcement. The penetration of an inhibitor depends on many factors related to the product type, to concrete properties, and to local conditions (climatic, etc.) for application. This is the reason why, it is recommended, for each case, to check that the amount of inhibitor is high enough at the reinforcement level.