International Journal of Electrochemical Science | 2021
Electrochemical Study on Stability and Corrosion Resistance of low-alloy En39B Reinforcing steel Bar Embedded in Concrete Immersed in Soil Containing Chloride Ions
Abstract
In this work, an electrochemical study on stability and corrosion resistance of low-alloy En39B reinforcing steel bars embedded in concrete immersed to soil contaminated with chloride was performed. The corrosion behavior of En39B steel rebar was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization analysis. Electrochemical results revealed that the high content of Cr in steel rebar had a significant improvement in the polarization resistance value, showing a high corrosion resistance for En39B sample. The mass-loss measurements revealed a reduction of mass-loss rate in En39B steel rebar due to the higher content of Cr compared to the EN36A which was completely consistent with the results from EIS analysis. The potentiodynamic polarization results indicate that the performance of corrosion resistant in En39B steel reinforced concrete considerably improved with formation of a passive layer to restrain both the anodic and the cathodic corrosion reaction. The surface morphology of En39B immersed in soil contaminated with 3.5 wt% NaCl revealed the formation of low corrosion products on steel which was in agreement with the results achieved from electrochemical assessments.