PREVENTING REINFORCEMENT CORROSION IN CRACKED CONCRETE BY SELF-REPAIR

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the most detrimental attack mechanisms for reinforced concrete structures. The presence of cracks, which are inextricably linked to reinforced concrete, accelerates this attack mechanism. Within this study it was aimed to heal cracks by an autonomous mechanism which is triggered upon crack appearance. During an accelerated corrosion test on mortar samples with embedded reinforcement bars, it was shown that the presence of cracks indeed accelerates the onset of corrosion and that crack healing in both, the traditional, manual way and the proposed autonomous way delay the onset of corrosion. This difference in corrosion behavior was proven by visual evaluation of the rebar surface, by means of X-ray radiography and by gravimetrical measurements which were performed after the accelerated corrosion test was finished.