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Galvanic coupling between carbon steel and stainless steel reinforcements

From National Research Council Canada

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Affiliation
  1. National Research Council of Canada. NRC Institute for Research in Construction
FormatText, Article
SubjectConcrete
Abstract
Galvanic corrosion is a potentially major concern associated with the application of stainless steel reinforcement which is in direct (electrical) contact with carbon steel reinforcement in concrete structures. Judicious use of stainless steel rebar in both new construction and rehabilitation of older structures is a viable, cost-effective option for extending service life and reducing maintenance costs. Questions, however, had arisen about the possibility of increased corrosion due to galvanic effects. This paper investigates the galvanic-coupling behaviours of three different types of stainless steel and carbon steel. Tests were performed both in electrochemical cells and with specimens in concrete inside an environmental chamber. The results show that oxygen reduction on stainless steel is the rate-determining factor for galvanic coupling of these two metals. It is much lower than that of passive carbon steel. As a result, the galvanic coupling of stainless steel with carbon steel will not increase the risk of corrosion of carbon steel reinforcement.
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  • Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly 45, no. October 4 (1 October 2006): 475–484.
LanguageEnglish
Peer reviewedYes
NRC numberNRCC 48715
NRC-IRC-18245
NPARC number20377631
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Record identifierd3511b8f-9975-4dd1-b9e4-701a8a6a54da
Record created2012-07-24
Record modified2020-04-22
Date modified: