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This paper examines the use of corrosion inhibitors in order to protect the reinforcement of concrete. For this purpose mortar specimens were constructed with or without corrosion inhibitors and were partially immersed in sodium chloride. Corrosion inhibitors were used as admixture into concrete and were sprayed on the external surface of mortar specimens. In all mortar specimens, electric junction between reinforcements was achieved. The methods that were used for the evaluation of the reinforcement corrosion in concrete, included half-cell potential measurements, polarization curves of reinforced rebars and mass loss of the reinforcement. Finally, the durability of concrete after the use of corrosion inhibitors was also examined.

In the present study, the use of industrial waste materials for the improvement of corrosion resistance and durability of concrete was investigated. For the experimental procedure, waste material generated by electrolytic manganese dioxide production and iron mill scale (calamine) in different proportions were used as cement replacements. Concrete specimens in various sizes were prepared, while the corrosion resistance was measured on cylindrical reinforced-cement mortars; specimens without additives (reference) were also constructed for comparison reasons. After demoulding, the specimens were partially immersed in sodium chloride solution up to testing. Current measurements and corrosion rate of steel rebars embedded in mortars were estimated, while the compressive strength and porosity of concretes were also measured. The experimental results indicate that additives may be used as supplementary cementitious materials in low replacement levels (5% w/w). Additionally, the additives seem to provide anticorrosion protection on the reinforcement steel against chloride ingress.

This study refers to the cooling tower of Megalopolis (construction 1975) and protection from corrosive environment. The maintenance of the cooling tower took place in 2008. The cooling tower was badly damaged from corrosion of reinforcement. The parabolic cooling towers (factory of electrical power) are a typical example of construction, which has a special aggressive environment. The protection of cooling towers is usually achieved through organic coatings. Because of the different environmental impacts on the internal and external side of the cooling tower, a different system of paint application is required. The present study refers to the damages caused by corrosion process. The corrosive environments, the application of this painting, the quality control process, the measures and statistics analysis, and the results were discussed in this study. In the process of quality control the following measurements were taken into consideration: (1) examination of the adhesion with the cross-cut test, (2) examination of the film thickness, and (3) controlling of the pull-off resistance for concrete substrates and paintings. Finally, this study refers to the correlations of measurements, analysis of failures in relation to the quality of repair, and rehabilitation of the cooling tower. Also this study made a first attempt to apply the specific corrosion inhibitors in such a large structure.

Purpose – This paper aims to develop an electrochemical dechlorination method for large objects in a short time, which were for a long time in the sea. Traditionally, in conservation, chlorides are extracted from marine iron artifacts using complete immersion of those objects in alkaline solutions with or without electrolysis. However, these techniques are time-consuming and very costly, especially when applied to large marine artifacts such as cannons and anchors. Design/methodology/approach – An appropriate sponge was chosen based on resistance to NaOH and the rate of exacted chlorides. Application of electrochemical dechlorination in situ and removal of chloride were measured by the scanning electron microscope (SEM)-EDAX method on the corrosion products and by titration of the electrolysis solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) method is used for identification of corrosion products before and after application of electrochemical chloride extraction. Findings – The electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE) method is applied against the corrosion of reinforced concrete. From the authors’ research, it is obvious that ECE can successfully extract chlorides from dried large metallic objects exported from the sea. The method of ECE removes the majority of chlorides from the metal during conservation treatment so that the application of organic coating will allow the object to remain stable over a long period. Originality/value – A new methodology was developed for dechlorination of metallic objects exported from the sea in a short time and thus the consumption of chemical reagents was cut down.