Role of Carbon Dioxide on the Corrosion of Carbon Steel Reinforcing Bar in Simulating Concrete Electrolyte

The main factors that make it possible to get the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete are chloride ions and the absorption of carbon dioxide from the environment, and each of them works with a mechanism which destroys the stable immunity of rebar in the concrete. In this work the effect of carbon dioxide content in the artificial concrete solution on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel reinforcing bar (CSRB) was studied, potentiostatically using CO2 stream gas at 6 level of concentrations; 0.03 to 2.0 weight percent, and the effect of rising electrolyte temperature was also followed in the range 20 to 50 degrees C. Tafel plots and cyclic polarization procedures were obeyed to investigate the corrosion parameters and pitting susceptibility respectively. The change in the microstructure and morphology of the CSRB after polarization in the simulate concrete solution was studied using optical and atomic force microscopes. The results show that the corrosion rate of the CSRB in artificial concrete greatly increases with the existence of CO2 gas and highly depends on its concentration in the range 0.03 to 2.0%.No sign for pitting corrosion is recorded at all CO2 concentrations and the general corrosion is the main problem in the conditions under consideration.