‘Materials and Structures/ Matériaux et Constructions, Vol. 33, December 2000, pp 603-611. RILEM TC 154-EMC: ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES FOR MEASURING METALLIC CORROSION rilem Test methods for on measurement of resistivity of concrete Prepared by R. Polder, with contributions from C, Andrade, B. Elsener, O. Vernesland, J. Gulikers, R. Weidert and M. Raupach Recommendations Thr test presented freer isa daft for geen consideration. Comma shouldbe sent the TC Chatlady: Dr Carmen Ansnade, nstiuto de Ciencias de ls Constant "Exar Tora”, Semana Gelade sn ~ Apido 19.002, 25033 Maid, Spain; e-mail: [email protected], by 30 Jie 2605, ‘TC MEMBERSHIP: Chuirlady: C. Andrade, Spin, Secretary: B, Ekene, Swit: Members: C. Alonso, Spin: R. Cia, Jal; J. Galland, France; J Gules, The Nethedands, U._ Noraberget, Germany; R. Poker, The Nedkeclands ¥. Pollet, Belgium M, Sal, Portugal: ©. Venneslnd, Norway; R. Weidert, Germany; Corresponding members: Alia. PREFACE Reinforcement corrosion is the major threat to the durability of reinforced concrete structures. Although many structures perform very well, various types of seructures in particular in the infrastructure, need signif- icant maintenance due to the impact of aggressive envi- ronments. Environmental actions ate irreversible and aggressive substances build up over the years. Due to adverse combinations of poor design, inadequate execu- tion and aggressive environments, the world-wide spending on maintenance and the impact on the perfor= ‘mance of structures ae increasing. RILEM committees have studied reinforcement corro- sion in conerete since 1960, which resulted in a suecessfil State-ofthe-Art report by TC 60-CSC (1988) and in a Draft Recommendation on Strategies for the Repair of Conerete Structures Damaged by Steel Corrosion by TC 124 (1994). In this document, the importance of condition ascessment was pointed ont 2s the first step in the repair process and as a basis for further decisions. Decisions on repair strategies should be based on knowledge of ~ the cause of damage or loss of protection ~ the degree and amount of damage — the expected progress of damage with time ~ the eflect of damage on structural behaviour and ser- viceabiliy. ‘The most widely used assessment method is visual inspection, which at est allows to describe and quantify the damage. Traditionally, intrusive testing is used to reveal the causes of corrosion with a normally limited pos- sibility to take samples. Non-destructive test methods have become valuable additions to the repertoire, They should work rapidly and allows to cover the complete face of a concrete member, They should detect the main causes of corrosion, the condition of the steel, the sensi- 1359-5907/00 © RILEM CyPage, UK, Stevenson, South tivity for loss of protection or the severity of comrosion, Most non-destructive tests are electrochemical methods potential mapping, polarisation resistance testing, concrete clectrical resistance measurement. Embedding probes allows to monitor various factors involved in corrosion and environmental influences. To address these items, RILEM has set up TC 154-EMC on Electrochemical ‘Techniques for measuring Corrosion of Steel in Concrete. ‘Through its existence, TC 154 has set out to prepare RILEM Technical Recommendations on: = Half cell potential measurements = Test methods for on-site corrosion rate measurement of concrete reinforcement by means of the polarisation resistance method = Test methods for on site measurement of resistivity of concrete ~ Embedded probes for corrosion. The present document intends to describe methods to assess concrete resistivity on site for various purposes related to corrosion and protection of stel reinforcement. 1. SCOPE This RILEM Technical Recommendation intends to give a general description of methods to assess concrete resistivity on site for various purposes related t0 cort0- sion and protection of steel reinforcement. In addition, it provides background, technical details and a guideline for the execution and interpretation of measurements of concrete resistivity on site ‘When new structures are designed and built, resisiv- ity probes may be embedded. In addition to monitoring, chloride content, steel potential or corrosion rate, the resistivity ig measured periodically during the lifetime; together they may indicate the risk of corrosion of the 603 (eevasd Fa g Zz Fa z FMaterials and Structures/Matériaux et Constructions, Vol. 33, December 2000 embedded steel. However, this is beyond the present scope, For structures without embedded probes, the resistivity can be measured non-destructively using elec- twodes placed on the conerete surface. Together with other information the corrosion risk can be determined. This Recommendation describes into detail methods to determine concrete resistivity on site The resistivity of cement-based materials (concrete) is a function of porosity (inherent, time dependent materials property), the chemical composition (conduc- tiviry) of the solution in the pores and the number and distribution of pores filled with solution as a result of the interaction with the environment. Based on these three aspects, the electrical resistivity ofa given concrete struc ture or clement may give information related to corro- sion of embedded steel in the initiation as well as in the propagation period. 2. SIGNIFICANCE AND USE The electrical resistivity of concrete is a materials property that may be useful for monitoring and inspec tion of conerete structures with regard to reinforcement corrosion in combination with other non-destructive techniques, e.g. potential mapping and corrosion rate. ‘The resistivity of a given structure exposed to chlo- ride load gives information about the risk of early corro- sion damage, because generally alow concrete resistivity is correlated to rapid chloride penetration and to a high corrosion rate, In addition resistivity mapping may show the most porous spots, where chloride penetration is likely to be fastest and future corrosion rates will be hiighest; preventive measures may be taken accordingly. Aftcr damage occurs, resistivity ts relevant for possible maintenance actions as well: electrochemical repair methods are influenced by concrete resistivity and its variation over the structure. Resistivity does not show whether stel in concrete is in an active state of corrosion or not. That information :must be obtained in another way: from chloride analysis, carbonation depth measurement, potential mapping, polarisation resistance measurement and visual inspec- tion of the steel. Ifthe steel is atively corroding, resstiv= ity measurements may give additional information: it may show where in the structure corrosion may be scrongest. In general terms and within one structure, rel- ative corrosion rates can be predicted. The choice between local or more general repair measures can be related to the variation of the corrosion rate, as deduced from resistivity measorements. Resistivity measurements (from the conerete surface) ‘ean be performed on all pars of concrete structures that are exposed to air. It cannot be measured on buried or submerged parts. Resistivity measurements can be used atany time during the service life of a concrete structure and under any circumstances, provided the temperature is higher than 0°C. Resistivity measurements may be useful for the fol loving purposes: — to assess the (range of) value(s) of the concrete resistiv= ity ofa particular structure, in order to estimate the risk of corrosion in case passivation will be (or has been) lost ~ to locate the most permeable parts ofa structure, in order vo define farther investigations or protective measures = to locate spots with the most severe exposure to water and dissolved aggressive species = to help design systems for cathodic protection and other clectrochemical treatments ~ quality control of concrete in the production phase. 3. DEFINITIONS Concrete resistivity is the ratio between applied volt- age and resulting current in a unit cell that is a specific geometry independent material property, which describes the electrical resistance, The dimension of resistivity is resistance multiplied by length, its unit is usually © m (ohm meter), Conductivity isthe inverse of resistivity. 4, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. 4.1 General The electrical resistivity of concrete may vary over a wide range, from 10! to 10° Qm, mainly influenced by the moisture content (environment) and the composi- tion (material) of the concrete, as was shown by Gjory & Vennesland [20] and Tuutti [42]. In concrete, electrical current is carried by ions dissolved in the pore liquid. More pore water (wet concrete) as well as more and larger pores with a higher degree of connectivity and a lower tortuosity (high wfc) cause a lower resistivity. Fora constant relative humidity and in stationary conditions, resistivity is increased by a lower water to cement ratio (wc), longer curing times (hycration) or by the addition of reactive minerals such as blast furnace slag, fly ash andjor silica fame. The resistivity of concrete increases when the concrete is drying out and when the concrete carbonates (in particular in Portland cement concrete). Carbonation reduces the amount of ions available for carrying the current and may densify the concrete. For non-carbonated conerete, the effect ofthe penetration of chloride ions on the resistivity is elatively sia Because the current is transported only by the ions of the poze liguid in che cement paste, concrete is not a homogencous conductor. Aggregate particles are essen- tially isolating bodies. The coarse aggregate may have a similar size as the conerete cover to the stec or the spac- ing of measuring electrodes. Consequently, on the scale ‘of centimettes, the current flow is non-homogeneous With measuring electrodes far apart, the current flow will be more homogencous. Local disturbances of homogeneous current flow may be also due to a differ- cent resistivity of the surface concrete layer and to the presence ofstel bars, 604To 154-EMC 4.2 Temperature dependence ‘Temperatuze changes have important effects on con- crete resistivity. A higher temperature causes the resistive ity to decrease and vice versa (for a constant relative humidity). This is caused by changes in the ion mobility in the pore solution and by changes in the ion-solid interaction with the cement paste. As a first approach an ‘Arrhenius equation can be weitten to describe the effect of temperature on conductivity: (T= 9 (Ty) * exp [T= Te") a with the conductivity [Om] Ty the reference temperature {k} Ty the actual temperature {k) ban empirical fctor K For steady state conditions, b was found to be in the range of 1500 to 4500, [7, 8, 11, 16], and: ~ to increase with decreasing relative humidity for a given cement paste, mortar or concrete = to decrease with wle ratio of the mix for a given rela- tive humidity. The temperacure dependence of the conductivity of bulk pore solution differs significantly from that of cement paste or mortar with the same ion concentration in the pores [7]. This is due to song ion-solid interactions, The humidity dependence of the temperature exponent in cement paste or conezete can he explained by de fict chat at lower RH the pore solution becomes more concen= trated and is present in more narrow pores, so the ratio of pore wall surfice area to liquid increases and consequently the depree of interaction becween ions and solid increases, ‘These interactions may be different for cements with dif- ferent chemical compositions (sag, fly ash cement). From the foregoing, it will be clear that accurate tem- perature correction of resistivity data is very complex. The concrete composition and the moisture content both influ- ence the resistivity itself and its temperature dependence. For simpliciy, ic may be assurmed that in the range of O°C to 40°C, doubling of resistivity takes place for a 20°C decrease, or thata change of 3% to 54% per degree occurs 4.3 Concrete resistivity and corrosion rate From the electrochemical nature of the corrosion process, 2 relationship may be expected between the resistivity of concrete and the corrosion rate of rein- forcement afier depassivation. In the corrosion cell cir- cuit, che (hydroxide) ion transport between anode and cathode is one of the rate controlling factors [21, 37). An alternative view is that a low resistivity increases the anodic (dissolution) process [21]. Using a simplified approach based on the work of Bazant [6], the corrosion rate of depassivated steel in concrete should be inversely proportional to the resistivity of the concrete. This was confirmed ina general sense [1, 3, 21). Further work has shown indeed that this relationship may be dependent fon concrete composition (7, 19]. In any case, within 2 given structure (after passivation has been lost), it is likely chat areas with low resistivity will have a higher corrosion rate than areas with high resistivity. 4.4 Concrete resistivity and chloride penetration From theoretical and experimental work there appears to be a relationship between resistivity of and chloride dif fasion in a particular concrete composition [2, 33, 35]. For example, concrete with a high percentage of blast furnace sg has 2 high resistivity and a low chloride diffusion cocl ficient, Complete quantitative evaluation may require knowing the pore water conductivity [5] and information oon chlotide binding nd other ion-solid interactions). In practical terms: — within a particular existing struccure, more permeable areas will have a comparatively lower resistivity and stronger chloride penetration — for a new structure to be exposed to chlorides, a mini ‘mum resistivity can be specified based on the empirical relationship between resistivity and chloride penetration and when the conerete is produced, the resistivity may bbe measured of each day’s production as part of the qual- ity control system, 4.5 Concrete resistivity and carbonation In OPC concrete, carbonation induces a significant increase of resistivity. When exposed co sufficiently wet conditions, the corrosion tate of steel in carbonated con- crete may be comparatively high, following the general cor relation between inverse resistivity and corrosion rate (21 4.6 Concrete resistivity and electrochemical maintenance methods ‘Concrete resistivity is an important factor in the effec civeness and durability of cathodic protection (CP) sys- tems applied to chloride contaminated structures (23, 30, 34], Similarly resistivity is important for electrochemical chloride removal and realkalisition [31]. Fora lange varia- tion in resistivity within a structure itis more difficue to obtain uniform protection (CP) or a well-predicted result (chloride removal, realkalisation). In practice, parts of seructures with different resistivities (ether due to difer- ent concrete composition or different exposure condi- tions) should be placed in separate electrical zones in order tw achieve sufficient control of current flow. Theoretical work in this area was reported by Hunkeler and Holtzhaver [24]. Repair mortars used in connection with electrochensical techniques should have a similar resistivity to that of the old concrete [9, 36]. Differences in resisiv- ity in the material or different resistance between anode and reinforcement can be accepted to a certain degree; the resulting difference in current density may have a posite effect: Where conditions are more corrosive, 2 stronger current will be flowing. 605