Chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion in cracked concrete: the influence of time of wetness on corrosion propagation

Literature data on the influence of concrete cracks on corrosion propagation of reinforcing steel are contradictory. This might be due to very different exposure and test conditions but also to a lack of time-resolved data in cyclic wetting–drying exposure. Here, the influence of the environmental conditions on the corrosion rates in cracked concrete is studied experimentally. The results show that the corrosion rate in cracked concrete depends on the duration of wetting and drying phases and the relative humidity (RH) during the drying phase. The lower the ambient RH in the drying phase, the faster the cracks dry, which depresses the corrosion rate in the periods between the wetting events. A model is proposed to estimate corrosion rates in cracked concrete cyclic wetting/drying exposure.