Spatial characteristics of stray current corrosion of reinforcing bars in pseudo concrete

This paper focuses on the spatial characteristics of reinforcing-bars corrosion under stray current. In the study, a corrosion experiment using a specimen with three steel bars embedded in pseudo concrete was carried out, the distribution of corrosion was obtained by three-dimensional scanning. Further, a numerical model with the same dimension of the specimen was simulated to explain experimental results. The distribution of electric field driven by stray current was discussed in detail. Results show that by observation through the transparent matrix and by three-dimensional scanning, the distribution of corrosion could be estimated qualitatively and quantitatively. Additionally, the spatial characteristics of corrosion state under stray current could be realized by the numerical simulation which combines polarization reaction with an extra stray current field. The stray current field around reinforcing bars was uneven in the cross-sectional plane, leading to the difference of corrosion rate, which reflects the strong positive correlation between the field and corrosion rate.

Automated summary

This study investigates the spatial characteristics of reinforcing-bar corrosion under stray current through experiments and numerical simulations. Results show that the distribution of corrosion can be estimated qualitatively and quantitatively through observation and scanning. The uneven stray current field around the reinforcing bars leads to differences in corrosion rate.