Experimental investigation on the short-term impact of temperature and moisture on reinforcement corrosion

In this study, reinforced concrete specimens with and without mixed-in chlorides were conditioned at different relative humidities and subsequently subjected to varying temperatures. Results of the study confirmed that neither temperature nor moisture content have a major impact on the corrosion state and rate of passively corroding reinforcement. For actively corroding reinforcement, a temperature and moisture dependent corrosion rate was observed. The temperature dependency could be described by the Arrhenius equation with moisture dependent activation energies of approximately 10 kJ/mol at 75 RH and 35-40 kJ/mol above 85% RH. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.