Corrosion Performance of Steel Rebars in the Roof of a 65-Year-Old Underground Reinforced Concrete Water-Storage Tank
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34, Issue 4
Abstract
This work deals with the corrosion evaluation of steel rebars in an underground water-storage tank using visual inspection, half-cell potential, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The studied case has a service life of 65 years. From the inside, red stains were observed on the roof of the tank, and some cracks, as well as spalling of the concrete’s cover, raised suspicion of corrosion damage. Twenty-seven points on the tank’s roof were selected to drill out cores for further investigation. Measurements of the chloride penetration in the roof showed that the bottom part of the roof that was exposed to greater humidity and chloride-laden vapor was at risk of heavy corrosion. EIS studies of the steel rebars at different depths confirmed that those located in the upper part of the roof still have appropriate resistance to corrosion, but the lower ones exhibited a high corrosion rate. As a result, a repair of at least 12 cm in depth of the bottom of the roof and the installation of a proper ventilation system inside the tank were recommended.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research was partially supported by Mashhad Water and Waste Water Company under research Grant No. 97338119. The support of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Foundation for Science and Technology, Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS) Research Center, and Instituto Superior Técnico is also acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34 • Issue 4 • August 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 10, 2019
Accepted: Mar 5, 2020
Published online: May 26, 2020
Published in print: Aug 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 26, 2020
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