European Federation of Corrosion
Publications
NUMBER 35
Corrosion Inhibitors for
Steel in Concrete
State of the Art Report
Edited by
B. ELSENER
Published for the European Federation of Corrosion
by Maney Publishing on behalfof The Institute of Materials
MANEY
p u b l i s h i n g
, Book Number BO773
Published in 2001 by Maney Publishing
on behalf of The Institute of Materials
1Carlton House Terrace, London SWlY 5DB
Maney Publishingis the trading name of
W. S. Maney & Son Ltd
02001 The Institute of Materials
All rights reserved
ISBN 1-902653-48-3
The European Federation of Corrosion, W. S. Maney and
The Institute of Materials are not responsible for any views
expressed in this publication
Typesetting by
spiresdesign
Made and printed in Great Britain
,In steel-reinforced or prestressed concrete structures adequate corrosion resistance is
usually provided by a passive layer on the steel surface resulting from the high
alkalinity of the concrete environment. However, as a result of mechanisms which
destroy the passive layer, for example, carbonation of the concrete cover or chloride
contamination, depassivation can take place. In such cases it is necessary to take
measures to prevent corrosion induced damage of the reinforcement or to keep this
within tolerable limits during the design lifetime of the structure. To avoid some of
the disadvantages of traditional rehabilitation methods various new methods have
been developed and successfully applied in recent years. Thus,besides electrochemical
techniques - which have been the subject of a previous state of the art report from
the EFC Working Party - the use of corrosion inhibitors is continuing to attract
attention.
Inhibitors have been successfully applied for preventing corrosion and corrosion
damage in many and varied technical fields for very many years. However, the use
of inhibitors for reinforced concrete structures is a relatively new field and has so far
been limited to their application as admixtures to fresh concrete or repair products.
More recently their use as a surface-applied procedure has attracted much attention
as it offers a new cost-effective rehabilitation measure for existing structures.
Nevertheless, for non-experts it is almost impossible to assess the inhibiting efficiency
of the various inhibitive products (inorganic inhibitors, organic inhibitors, inhibitor
blends, etc.) that are proposed.
The preparation of a state of the art report in such a rapidly growing field is
possible only with direct contacts to ongoing research projects, especially to the
European concerted research action COST 521 which started in 1997 and includes
14 different individual projects investigating corrosion inhibitors for steel in concrete.
The present state of the art report which has been prepared by Bernhard Elsener
with the support of a Task Group*of the EFC Working Party No. 11on Corrosion of
Reinforcement in Concrete has benefitted from such contacts and describes in detail
the different commercial inhibitors available for use in concrete and considers their
mechanistic action together with experience from laboratory and field tests. The
* The members of the Task Group were as follows:
B. Elsener (Switzerland)- Convenor of the Task Group;
C. Andrade (Spain); R. Polder (The Netherlands);
A. Legat (Slovenia); P. Schiessl (Germany);
U. Nurnberger (Germany); J. Tritthart (Austria);
C. Page (UK); J. Vogelsgang (Germany).
P. Pedefem (Italy);
, X Preface
report also deals with the possible effects of inhibitors on concrete properties and with
their long term efficiency. Furthermore, various test methods for evaluating the
behaviour of corrosion inhibitors for steel in concrete are described and critically
assessed.
The report will be valuable for research workers as well as practitioners who are
working on improvements in the corrosion protection of reinforcing steel or the
rehabilitation of steel reinforced concrete structures.Owners, designers and contractors
will profit by this overview of the current state of knowledge which should provide
a better assessment of not only the possibilities but also the limitations of the use of
inhibitors for concrete structures. It is hoped that this report will achieve a large
readership both from corrosion specialists and from civil engineers.
J. MIETZ Chairman of the EFC WP on
Corrosion in Reinforcement in Concrete
B. ELSENER Convenor of the Tusk Force
Editor of the Report
Publications
NUMBER 35
Corrosion Inhibitors for
Steel in Concrete
State of the Art Report
Edited by
B. ELSENER
Published for the European Federation of Corrosion
by Maney Publishing on behalfof The Institute of Materials
MANEY
p u b l i s h i n g
, Book Number BO773
Published in 2001 by Maney Publishing
on behalf of The Institute of Materials
1Carlton House Terrace, London SWlY 5DB
Maney Publishingis the trading name of
W. S. Maney & Son Ltd
02001 The Institute of Materials
All rights reserved
ISBN 1-902653-48-3
The European Federation of Corrosion, W. S. Maney and
The Institute of Materials are not responsible for any views
expressed in this publication
Typesetting by
spiresdesign
Made and printed in Great Britain
,In steel-reinforced or prestressed concrete structures adequate corrosion resistance is
usually provided by a passive layer on the steel surface resulting from the high
alkalinity of the concrete environment. However, as a result of mechanisms which
destroy the passive layer, for example, carbonation of the concrete cover or chloride
contamination, depassivation can take place. In such cases it is necessary to take
measures to prevent corrosion induced damage of the reinforcement or to keep this
within tolerable limits during the design lifetime of the structure. To avoid some of
the disadvantages of traditional rehabilitation methods various new methods have
been developed and successfully applied in recent years. Thus,besides electrochemical
techniques - which have been the subject of a previous state of the art report from
the EFC Working Party - the use of corrosion inhibitors is continuing to attract
attention.
Inhibitors have been successfully applied for preventing corrosion and corrosion
damage in many and varied technical fields for very many years. However, the use
of inhibitors for reinforced concrete structures is a relatively new field and has so far
been limited to their application as admixtures to fresh concrete or repair products.
More recently their use as a surface-applied procedure has attracted much attention
as it offers a new cost-effective rehabilitation measure for existing structures.
Nevertheless, for non-experts it is almost impossible to assess the inhibiting efficiency
of the various inhibitive products (inorganic inhibitors, organic inhibitors, inhibitor
blends, etc.) that are proposed.
The preparation of a state of the art report in such a rapidly growing field is
possible only with direct contacts to ongoing research projects, especially to the
European concerted research action COST 521 which started in 1997 and includes
14 different individual projects investigating corrosion inhibitors for steel in concrete.
The present state of the art report which has been prepared by Bernhard Elsener
with the support of a Task Group*of the EFC Working Party No. 11on Corrosion of
Reinforcement in Concrete has benefitted from such contacts and describes in detail
the different commercial inhibitors available for use in concrete and considers their
mechanistic action together with experience from laboratory and field tests. The
* The members of the Task Group were as follows:
B. Elsener (Switzerland)- Convenor of the Task Group;
C. Andrade (Spain); R. Polder (The Netherlands);
A. Legat (Slovenia); P. Schiessl (Germany);
U. Nurnberger (Germany); J. Tritthart (Austria);
C. Page (UK); J. Vogelsgang (Germany).
P. Pedefem (Italy);
, X Preface
report also deals with the possible effects of inhibitors on concrete properties and with
their long term efficiency. Furthermore, various test methods for evaluating the
behaviour of corrosion inhibitors for steel in concrete are described and critically
assessed.
The report will be valuable for research workers as well as practitioners who are
working on improvements in the corrosion protection of reinforcing steel or the
rehabilitation of steel reinforced concrete structures.Owners, designers and contractors
will profit by this overview of the current state of knowledge which should provide
a better assessment of not only the possibilities but also the limitations of the use of
inhibitors for concrete structures. It is hoped that this report will achieve a large
readership both from corrosion specialists and from civil engineers.
J. MIETZ Chairman of the EFC WP on
Corrosion in Reinforcement in Concrete
B. ELSENER Convenor of the Tusk Force
Editor of the Report
