Galvanic Corrosion of Carbon and Steel in Aggressive Environments
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 5, Issue 3
Abstract
The demand for the use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) in rehabilitation of deteriorating infrastructure is increasing worldwide. The design characteristics of reinforced concrete or steel members can be enhanced significantly by epoxy bonding CFRP laminates to the critically stressed tension areas. There is, however, a concern regarding possible galvanic corrosion when carbon and steel are bonded together. This paper presents the result of a study on the galvanic corrosion between CFRP laminates and steel. A total of 38 specimens made of steel and carbon fibers were prepared and tested. Two simulated aggressive environments and three different amounts of epoxy coating were used in addition to samples with no coating at all. Furthermore, the effect of the sizing agent on the galvanic corrosion rate was investigated, and three different solvents were used to remove the sizing agents from the surface of the carbon fibers. Potentiodynamic polarization and galvanic corrosion tests were conducted. The results of the experiments showed the existence of galvanic corrosion; however, the rate of such corrosion could be decreased significantly by epoxy coating.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Albrecht, P., Sahli, A., Crute, D., Albrecht, P., and Evans, B. ( 1984). “Application of adhesives to steel bridges.” Rep. No. FHWA-RD-84-037, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C., 106–147.
2.
ASTM. ( 1999). “Practice for preparation of substitute ocean water.” Annual book of ASTM standards, D 1141-98, Vol. 11.02, West Conshohocken, Pa., 28–30.
3.
Cetin, K. M., Shaw, B. A., Bakis, C., Nanni, A., and Boothby, T. ( 1998). “Environmental degradation of repaired concrete structures.” Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Compos. in Infrastructures, Vol. II, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., 488–500.
4.
Dussek, I. J. ( 1980). “Strengthening of bridge beams and similar structures by means of epoxy-resin-bonded external reinforcement.” TRB Rec. 785, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 21–24.
5.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Bridge Program Group. ( 2000). Count of deficient bridges by state non federal-aid highways as of June 30, 1998, 〈http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridges/britab.htm〉, Washington, D.C.
6.
Fontana, M. G. ( 1987). Corrosion engineering, McGraw-Hill, New York.
7.
Klaiber, F. W., Dunker, K. F., Wipf, T. J., and Sanders, W. W. ( 1986). “Methods of strengthening existing highway bridges.” NCHRP Rep. No. 293, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 1–40.
8.
Mertz, D. R., and Gillespie, J. W. ( 1996). “Rehabilitation of steel bridge girders through application of advanced composite material.” NCHRP Rep. No. 93-ID11, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 1–20.
9.
Nara, H., and Gasparini, D. ( 1981). “Fatigue resistance of adhesively bonded connections.” Rep. No. FHWA-OH-81-001, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C., 125–135.
10.
Raithby, K. D. ( 1980). “External strengthening of concrete bridges with bonded steel plates.” Supplementary Rep. 612, Dept. of Environment, Transport and Road Research Laboratory, Crowthorn, U.K., 16–18.
11.
Saadatmanesh, H. ( 1994). “Fiber composites for new and existing structures.” ACI Struct. J., 91(3), 346–354.
12.
Saadatmanesh, H., and Ehsani, M. R. (1991). “RC beams strengthened with GFRP plates. I: Experimental study.”J. Struct. Engrg., ASCE, 117(11), 3417–3433.
13.
Saadatmanesh, H., Ehsani, M. R., and Jin, L. ( 1997). “Repair of earthquake damaged RC columns with FRP wraps.” ACI Struct. J., 94(2), 206–215.
14.
Sen, R., and Liby, L. ( 1994). “Repair of steel composite bridge sections using carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminate.” Rep. No. 510616, Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee, Fla.
15.
Sloan, F. E., and Talbot, J. B. ( 1992). “Corrosion of graphite-fiber-reinforced composites.” Corrosion, 48(10), 830–838.
16.
Trethewey, K. R., and Chamberlain, J. ( 1988). Corrosion for students of science and engineering, Wiley, New York.
17.
Tucker, W. C., and Brown, R. ( 1989). “Blister formation on graphite/polymer composites galvanically coupled with steel in seawater.” J. Composite Mat., 23(4), 389–395.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 5 • Issue 3 • August 2001
Pages: 200 - 210
History
Received: May 15, 2000
Published online: Aug 1, 2001
Published in print: Aug 2001
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.