Materials Performance

OCT 2016

Materials Performance is the world's most widely circulated magazine dedicated to corrosion prevention and control. MP provides information about the latest corrosion control technologies and practical applications for every industry and environment.

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42 OCTOBER 2016 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 55, NO. 10 CM CORROSION MANAGEMENT the continuing growth and expansion of the country's manmade "built environment." Improving the sustainability of critical social infrastructure relates to the sustain- able development goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations (UN) in December 2015, 4 particularly Goal 9, "Industry, Inno- vation, and Infrastructure" and Goal 12, "Responsible Consumption and Produc- tion." Furthermore, as a result of the COP21 6th annual Sustainable Innovation Forum in 2015, the Cement Sustainability Initia- tive proposed a set of action plans aimed at reducing carbon emissions by one billion tons by 2030. 5 It is therefore timely to con- sider additional ways to improve the sus- t ainabi lity of infra str u cture, n ot only through advances in green concrete and cement production, but by extending the lifetimes of structures so that the overall rate at which resources are extracted, con- sumed, and released to the environment can be reduced. 6 The present work focuses on quantify- ing the sustainability impacts that can be made through corrosion management and the use of cement replacement materials. As an additional consequence, the corro- sion-related costs of repair and rehabilita- tion could be reduced by 15 to 35% accord- ing to a new study on the global cost of corrosion. 7 Corrosion Management and Durability Although several mechanisms contrib- ute to the failure of reinforced concrete structures, corrosion of the reinforcing steel bars (rebar) is one of the greatest concerns; yet it is still widely ignored. Since corrosion is an electrochemical process, one solution for lifetime extension is to control the elec- trochemical potential of the metal. The technique known as cathodic pro- tection (CP) can be achieved by applying a cathodically polarizing current using either sacrificial or impressed current anodes. 8 Metal that has not yet begun to corrode can be maintained in the passive state, and metal that has already begun to experience active corrosion can be brought to a very low corrosion rate or even immunity. When installed at initial construction, the tech- nique is known as cathodic corrosion pre- vention. 9 In contrast, CP is an intervention techniqu e used for lifetim e extension , potentially adding 20 to 40 years of service life to existing structures. For both techniques, a protective cur- rent is applied to the structure from exter- nal anodes, most often sacrificial anodes comprised of Al/Zn/In alloy, or impressed current anodes made of activated titanium mesh installed in the subsurface of the structure. It is essential for the reinforcing steel to be an electrically continuous struc- ture for this method to work successfully. Corrosion monitoring of in-service founda- tions, through sensors and/or inspections, is necessary to determine if and when CP should be applied. Although the impressed current option utilizes electrical power to maintain the electrochemical potential needed to miti- gate corrosion, it contributes much less CO 2 to the environment than would be in- curred should the whole structure require replacement in the interim years. A partial life cycle analysis that considers the CO 2 im- pact from power consumption is presented here under the subheading Impressed Cur- rent and Carbon Emissions. Alternative strategies for achieving long-term durabil- ity through corrosion control are provided in Table 2. Impressed Current and Carbon Emissions Power consumption of impressed cur- rent systems has been estimated to run be- tween 1 to 3 W/1,000 m 2 of concrete for new construction and 3 to 15 W/1,000 m 2 of concrete for extending lifetimes of existing systems. 8 Assuming a thickness of ~0.3 m for systems like highway bridge decks, it is possible to estimate the total energy con- sumption required per year per cubic meter of concrete and compare this to the lifetime emissions. Power consumption for impressed cur- rent for n e w c onstr uction i s 0.3 to 1 W/1,000 m 3 × 24 h/day × 365 days = 3 to 9 W-h/m 3 /y ; and for existing construction is 1 to 5 W/1,000 m 3 × 24 h/day × 365 days = 9 to 44 W-h/m 3 /y. Assuming that the impressed current power is generated from coal, the carbon emissions are ~1 kg CO 2 /kW-h. Then the CO 2 emitted due to impressed current per year per m 3 concrete is 3 to 9 g CO 2 /m 3 /y (new build) and 9 to 44 g CO 2 /m 3 /y (existing TABLE 1. ESTIMATED MATERIALS FLOW (PRODUCTION, WASTE, AND RECYCLING) FOR CONCRETE AND STEEL IN THE UNITED STATES Material Production Rate (Mt/y) Waste Rate (Mt/y) Recycling Rate (Mt/y) Net Demand (Mt/y) Concrete 919 200 100 819 Steel 91 12.5 11 90 Note: Mt = million metric ton. TABLE 2. STRATEGIES FOR ACHIEVING LONG-TERM DURABILITY— CORROSION CONTROL New Structures Existing Structures Enhanced concrete mix designs: achieve low-permeability concretes with low chloride diffusion coefficient CP: cathodically polarize the reinforcement to decrease the corrosion rate Carbon steel (CS) substitutes: replace CS by using other alloys such as corrosion-resistant alloys (CRAs) Coating and sealants: protect the surface of the concrete against aggressive species Cathodic prevention: cathodically polarize the reinforcement from the start to increase the chloride corrosion threshold Chloride ion extraction: apply an electric field with electrodes at the surface of the concrete to extract the Cl – by migration Coatings and sealants: protect the surface of the concrete against aggressive species

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