2007 F.N. Speller Award Lecture: Prediction of Reinforced Concrete Structure Durability by Electrochemical Techniques

A short analysis is made of the technical and economic importance of reinforced concrete structures (RCS), the corrosion factors that may limit their durability, and the ways in which deterioration kinetics may be assessed by electrochemical techniques in the laboratory and in situ upon real structures. Prediction of the residual service life of corrosion-damaged RCS and control of the efficiency of applied protective measures, rehabilitation techniques or repairs, necessitates a procedure for quantitatively measuring the reinforcement corrosion rate. In this regard, electrochemical techniques offer the greatest possibilities. An overview is made of the work carried out since the 1970s at the National Centre for Metallurgical Research (CENIM), in collaboration with the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences (IETcc), in the development of electrochemical techniques for the study of corrosion applicable to the steel/concrete system. These techniques are very sensitive compared to prior techniques and have made it possible to give a quantitative aspect to a large amount of qualitative knowledge acquired previously. Finally, the importance of periodic inspections of RCS is underlined, especially in very corrosive environments, in the context of meeting the required service life of structures.