Rebar corrosion and its interaction with concrete degradation in reinforced concrete sewers.

Concrete corrosion, as a major issue in sewer management, has attracted considerable research. In comparison, the corrosion of reinforcing steel bar (rebar) is not well understood. Particularly, fundamental knowledge of rebar corrosion and its interactions with concrete corrosion/cracking is largely lacking.

Corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete sewers.

Hydrogen sulfide is a controlling factor for concrete corrosion in sewers, although its impact on sewer rebar corrosion has not been investigated to date. This study determined the corrosion mechanism of rebar in sewers by elucidating the roles of chloride ions, apart from the effects of hydrogen sulfide and biogenic sulfuric acid. The nature and distribution of rusts at the steel/concrete interface were delineated using the advanced mineral analytical techniques, including mineral liberation analysis and micro X-ray diffraction which is the first-ever use in such studies.

The role of iron in sulfide induced corrosion of sewer concrete.

The sulfide-induced corrosion of concrete sewer is a widespread and expensive problem for water utilities worldwide. Fundamental knowledge of the initiation and propagation of sewer corrosion, especially the interactions between chemical reactions and physical structure changes, is still largely unknown. Advanced mineral analytical techniques were applied to identify the distribution of corrosion products and the micro-cracking that developed along the corrosion boundary.