Sixteen reinforced concrete laboratory specimens were used to evaluate a number of corrosion prevention methods under an accelerated (6 months) testing program. The use of galvanic thermal sprayed zinc, galvanic embedded anodes, a tri-silane sealer, an acrylic coating, and an epoxy/polyurethane coating was evaluated. The specimens received various treatments prior to exposure to accelerated corrosion.
The performance of the treatments was evaluated with respect to corrosion currents, chloride ingress, extent of cracking, severity of rust staining, and visual inspection of the reinforcing steel after the conclusion of testing and dissection. Results indicated that the tri-silane sealer, the conjoint use of galvanic thermal sprayed zinc and epoxy/polyurethane coating, the epoxy/polyurethane coating, and acrylic coating performed better than the other methods tested. Higher chloride concentrations were measured in the vicinity of embedded zinc anodes.
Source: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Authors: Matthew D Pritzl | Habib Tabatabai | Al Ghorbanpoor