Technical Papers
Oct 11, 2022

Multi-Ion Erosion Experiment and Corrosion Mechanism Verification of Steel Fiber–Reinforced Concrete under Stray Current

Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 12

Abstract

The durability of concrete structures that have been in service for a long time under the coupled action of stray current and salt-brine environment has become increasingly important. Because of the excellent mechanical properties of steel fiber–reinforced concrete (SFRC), erosion experiments of SFRC were carried out to study issues such as the erosion depth, strength loss, ion migration, and microscopic morphology changes of SFRC under the action of stray current in a salt-brine environment. The color test and compressive strength were used to characterize the penetration depth of chloride ions and the strength loss of concrete, respectively. The titration method was used to detect the chloride and sulfate ion content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize the microscopic morphology and composition; the finite-element method and discrete-element method were used to explain further and verify the mechanism of SFRC corrosion. This research showed under the action of an electric field, chloride ions transport faster than sulfate ions. The strength loss of SFRC is caused mainly by the erosion and expansion of steel fibers. Products such as gypsum and ettringite are generated only in the cathode area, which also reduces the strength of SFRC to a certain extent.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Data Availability Statement

Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (B210203008), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51679074 and 52079049), and the Youth Innovation Team of Shaanxi Universities.

References

Abbas, S., A. M. Soliman, and M. L. Nehdi. 2015. “Exploring mechanical and durability properties of ultra-high performance concrete incorporating various steel fiber lengths and dosages.” Constr. Build. Mater. 75 (11): 429–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.11.017.
Ampadu, K. O., and K. Torii. 2002. “Chloride ingress and steel corrosion in cement mortars incorporating low-quality fly ashes.” Cem. Concr. Res. 32 (6): 893–901. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(02)00721-4.
Behnood, A., K. Van Tittelboom, and N. De Belie. 2016. “Methods for measuring pH in concrete: A review.” Constr. Build. Mater. 105 (Dec): 176–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.032.
Bernard, E., B. Lothenbach, C. Chlique, M. Wyrzykowski, A. Dauzeres, I. Pochard, and C. Cau-Dit-Coumes. 2019. “Characterization of magnesium silicate hydrate (MSH).” Cem. Concr. Res. 116 (8): 309–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.09.007.
Broomfield, J. P. 2003. Corrosion of steel in concrete: Understanding, investigation and repair. 2nd ed. London: CRC Press.
Caratelli, A., A. Meda, Z. Rinaldi, and P. Romualdi. 2011. “Structural behaviour of precast tunnel segments in fiber reinforced concrete.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 26 (2): 284–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2010.10.003.
Chen, Z., D. Koleva, and K. van Breugel. 2017. “A review on stray current-induced steel corrosion in infrastructure.” Corros. Rev. 35 (6): 397–423. https://doi.org/10.1515/corrrev-2017-0009.
Cong, L. G. Y. 2016. “Coupling effects of stray current and chloride ion on corrosion resistance of fiber reinforced mortar.” [In Chinese.] J. Water Resour. Archit. Eng. 14 (2): 11–17.
Cugat, V., S. Cavalaro, J. Bairán, and A. de la Fuente. 2020. “Safety format for the flexural design of tunnel fibre reinforced concrete precast segmental linings.” [In Chinese.] Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 103 (Sep): 103500.
De Weerdt, K., D. Orsáková, and M. R. Geiker. 2014. “The impact of sulphate and magnesium on chloride binding in Portland cement paste.” Cem. Concr. Res. 65 (Feb): 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.07.007.
Du, J., Z. Tang, G. Li, H. Yang, and L. Li. 2019. “Key inhibitory mechanism of external chloride ions on concrete sulfate attack.” Constr. Build. Mater. 225 (Sep): 611–619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.263.
Duranceau, S., W. Johnson, and R. Pfeiffer-Wilder. 2011. “A study examining the effect of stray current on the integrity of continuous and discontinuous reinforcing bars.” Exp. Tech. 35 (5): 53–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1567.2010.00656.x.
Falaciński, P., A. Machowska, and Ł. Szarek. 2021. “The impact of chloride and sulphate aggressiveness on the microstructure and phase composition of fly ash-slag mortar.” Materials (Basel) 14 (16): 4430. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164430.
Fatemi, S. 2021. “Technical and economic feasibility of using steel fibers reinforced concrete (SFRC) in slap line of subways and rail roads.” Int. J. Sci. Res. Eng. Trends 7 (6).
Fei, Q. 2013. Microscopic test research of sulfate attack concrete in a complex environment. Xi’an, China: Xi’an Univ. of Architecture and Technology.
Florea, M. V. A., and H. J. H. Brouwers. 2012. “Chloride binding related to hydration products: Part I: Ordinary Portland cement.” Cem. Concr. Res. 42 (2): 282–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2011.09.016.
Gao, R., Q. Li, and S. Zhao. 2013. “Concrete deterioration mechanisms under combined sulfate attack and flexural loading.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 25 (1): 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000538.
Gong, C., W. Ding, K. M. Mosalam, S. Günay, and K. Soga. 2017. “Comparison of the structural behavior of reinforced concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete tunnel segmental joints.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 68 (23): 38–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2017.05.010.
Halamickova, P., R. J. Detwiler, D. P. Bentz, and E. J. Garboczi. 1995. “Water permeability and chloride ion diffusion in Portland cement mortars: Relationship to sand content and critical pore diameter.” Cem. Concr. Res. 25 (4): 790–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(95)00069-O.
Haynes, W. M. 2016. CRC handbook of chemistry and physics. 97th ed. New York: Taylor and Francis.
Hong, Y., Z. Li, G. Qiao, and J. Ou. 2017. “Numerical simulation and experimental investigation of the stray current corrosion of viaducts in the high-speed rail transit system.” Constr. Build. Mater. 157 (Sep): 416–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.09.114.
Huang, R. 2017. Durability research of reinforced concrete under the western environment. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Southeast Univ.
Khan, I., R. François, and A. Castel. 2014. “Prediction of reinforcement corrosion using corrosion induced cracks width in corroded reinforced concrete beams.” Cem. Concr. Res. 56 (1): 84–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2013.11.006.
Kim, B., A. Boyd, H.-S. Kim, and S.-H. Lee. 2015. “Steel and synthetic types of fibre reinforced concrete exposed to chemical erosion.” Constr. Build. Mater. 93 (6): 720–728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.06.023.
Kim, B., A. Boyd, and J.-Y. Lee. 2011. “Durability performance of fiber-reinforced concrete in severe environments.” J. Compos. Mater. 45 (23): 2379–2389. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998311401089.
Kim, T., I.-T. Kim, K.-Y. Seo, and H.-J. Park. 2019. “Strength and pore characteristics of OPC-slag cement paste mixed with polyaluminum chloride.” Constr. Build. Mater. 223 (7): 616–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.009.
Li, Y., S. Qiang, W. Xu, X. Hua, C. Xu, J. Lai, M. Yuan, and B. Chen. 2021. “Verification of concrete nonlinear creep mechanism based on meso-damage mechanics.” [In Chinese.] Constr. Build. Mater. 276 (Mar): 122205.
Liu, Z., D. Xu, S. Gao, Y. Zhang, and J. Jiang. 2020. “Assessing the adsorption and diffusion behavior of multicomponent ions in saturated calcium silicate hydrate gel pores using molecular dynamics.” ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 8 (9): 3718–3727. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b06817.
Luca, B., E. Bernhard, P. Pietro, and R. Elena. 2013. Corrosion of steel in concrete: Prevention, diagnosis, repair. New York: Wiley.
Marcos-Meson, V., G. Fischer, C. Edvardsen, T. L. Skovhus, and A. Michel. 2019. “Durability of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) exposed to acid attack—A literature review.” Constr. Build. Mater. 200 (Dec): 490–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.12.051.
Massicotte, B., L. Faggio, N. Cordoni, A. Nour, and D. Conciatori. 2014. “Design and construction of SFRC bridge decks–building on past experience and recent developments.” In Proc., FRC 2014 Joint ACI-fib Int. Workshop. Fibre Reinforced Concrete: From Design to Structural Applications, 134–153. Lausanne, Switzerland: International Federation for Structural Concrete.
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. 2015. Steel fiber reinforced concrete. Beijing: Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
Mohamed, N., M. Boulfiza, and R. Evitts. 2013. “Corrosion of carbon steel and corrosion-resistant rebars in concrete structures under chloride ion attack.” J. Mater. Eng. Perform. 22 (3): 787–795. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0314-0.
Muralidharan, S., R. Vedalakshmi, V. Saraswathi, J. Joseph, and N. Palaniswamy. 2005. “Studies on the aspects of chloride ion determination in different types of concrete under macro-cell corrosion conditions.” Build. Environ. 40 (9): 1275–1281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2004.10.005.
Peng, P., X. Zeng, Y. Leng, K. Yu, and Y. Ni. 2020. “A new on-line monitoring method for stray current of DC metro system.” IEEJ Trans. Electr. Electron. Eng. 15 (10): 1482–1492. https://doi.org/10.1002/tee.23219.
Plizzari, G., and G. Tiberti. 2006. “Steel fibers as reinforcement for precast tunnel segments.” Tunnelling Underground Space Technol. 21 (3): 438–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2005.12.079.
Sun, D., K. Wu, H. Shi, S. Miramini, and L. Zhang. 2019. “Deformation behaviour of concrete materials under the sulfate attack.” Constr. Build. Mater. 210 (Mar): 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.050.
Tang, K. 2017. “Stray current induced corrosion of steel fibre reinforced concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 100 (May): 445–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.08.004.
Tang, K. 2020. “Corrosion of steel fiber subjected to stray current interference.” [In Chinese.] ACI Mater. J. 117 (2): 3.
Teng, H., Y. Li, S. Yang, Y. Huang, and D. Huo. 2010. “Prediction of reinforcement corrosion based on electrochemical equivalent under loading.” J. Wuhan Univ. Technol. Mater. Sci. 25 (4): 708–711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-010-0076-1.
Wang, C., W. Li, Y. Wang, X. Yang, and S. Xu. 2020. “Study of electrochemical corrosion on Q235A steel under stray current excitation using combined analysis by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and artificial neural network.” Constr. Build. Mater. 247 (2): 118562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118562.
Xi, X., and S. Yang. 2017. “Time to surface cracking and crack width of reinforced concrete structures under corrosion of multiple rebars.” Constr. Build. Mater. 155 (12): 114–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.08.051.
Xiyu, D., L. Bingxiao, and G. Zhanghong. 1995. Xinjiang salt lake [In Chinese.] Beijing: Science Press.
Xu, W., Y. Li, H. Li, K. Wang, C. Zhang, Y. Jiang, and S. Qiang. 2022. “Corrosion mechanism and damage characteristic of steel fiber concrete under the effect of stray current and salt solution.” Constr. Build. Mater. 314 (56): 125618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125618.
Yang, P., G. Sant, and N. Neithalath. 2017. “A refined, self-consistent Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) model for electrically induced transport of multiple ionic species through concrete.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 82 (4): 80–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2017.05.015.
Yazici, S., and H. S. Arel. 2013. “The effect of steel fiber on the bond between concrete and deformed steel bar in SFRCs.” [In Chinese.] Constr. Build. Mater. 40 (Sep): 299–305.
Yuan, Q., C. Shi, G. De Schutter, D. Deng, and F. He. 2011. “Numerical model for chloride penetration into saturated concrete.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 23 (3): 305–311. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000168.
Yuan, Y., and Y. Ji. 2009. “Modeling corroded section configuration of steel bar in concrete structure.” Constr. Build. Mater. 23 (6): 2461–2466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2008.09.026.
Zhang, G., C. Wu, D. Hou, J. Yang, D. Sun, and X. Zhang. 2021. “Effect of environmental pH values on phase composition and microstructure of Portland cement paste under sulfate attack.” Composites, Part B 216 (10): 108862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.108862.
Zhang, M., J. Chen, Y. Lv, D. Wang, and J. Ye. 2013. “Study on the expansion of concrete under attack of sulfate and sulfate–chloride ions.” Constr. Build. Mater. 39 (3): 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.05.003.
Zofia, S., and Z. Adam. 2013. “Theoretical model and experimental tests on chloride diffusion and migration processes in concrete.” Procedia Eng. 57 (Jan): 1121–1130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.04.141.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34Issue 12December 2022

History

Received: Dec 14, 2021
Accepted: Mar 29, 2022
Published online: Oct 11, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Mar 11, 2023

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower, Hohai Univ., Nanjing 210098, China. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7519-0812. Email: [email protected]
Wenqiang Xu [email protected]
College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower, Hohai Univ., Nanjing 210098, China. Email: [email protected]
Hanzhang Li [email protected]
Dept. of Materials and Structural Engineering, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing, China. Email: [email protected]
School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, China. Email: [email protected]
Sheng Qiang [email protected]
College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower, Hohai Univ., Nanjing 210098, China (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]

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.

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share