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Non-destructive monitoring methods and continuous monitoring systems based on them are crucial elements of modern systems for the management and maintenance of assets which include reinforced concrete structures. The purpose of our study was to summarise the data on the most common sensors and systems for the non-destructive monitoring of reinforced concrete structures developed over the past 20 years. We considered systems based on electrochemical (potentiometry, methods related to polarisation) and physical (electromagnetic and ultrasonic waves, piezoelectric effect, thermography) examination methods. Special focus is devoted to the existing sensors and the results obtained using these sensors, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of their setups or other equipment used. The review considers earlier approaches and available commercial products, as well as relatively new sensors which are currently being tested.

Spherical zinc is well known as an effective pigment for the corrosion protection of carbon steel. However, a high proportion of spherical Zn in a coating leads to difficulties in fabricating the coating solution and increased cost. In this work, the influence of flake ZnAl alloy in silicate coatings on the corrosion protection properties of steel substrates was investigated. The electrochemical behaviour of coatings containing different flake ZnAl alloy content immersed in NaCl solution (3.5 wt%) was evaluated using an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method. A salt spray test was performed to evaluate corrosion on the coating surface. Pull-off tests of the coatings before and after the salt spray process were performed, and the surface morphology was analysed to determine the degradation of corrosion resistance. The results show that silicate coating containing flake ZnAl alloy (25 wt%) possesses the highest total resistance (1417 Ω) and the longest time to the appearance of white rust (720 h). The surface morphology of the coating containing 25 wt% flake ZnAl alloy was found to include corrosion products with the most compacted surface, which effectively prevents the penetration of electrolytes to the interface between the coating and the steel.

Surface pretreatment plays important role in improvement of corrosion resistance and adhesion of organic coatings. A new generation of metal pretreatments based on nanosize zirconium oxide or ogranosilane film has been investigated recently as an alternative method to phosphatation. In this paper, ZrO2/silane composite film on carbon steel was prepared and characterised by field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrum and electrochemical measurements. The effect of ZrO2/silane surface treatment on the protection properties of powder coating was studied by salt spray test and adhesion measurement. The results obtained showed that ZrO2 was rapidly precipitated on the steel surface after first 1 minute immersion and ZrO2/silane film formed after 4 minutes immersion give best protective properties. Powder coating on carbon steel with ZrO2/silane pretreatement has equivalent protection performance like powder coating with  phosphate pretreatment.

Carbon steel was treated by immersion in silane doped hexafluorozirconic acid solution. Treated surface was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electrochemical methods. The effect of ZrO2/silane pretreatment on the protective properties of powder coating was studied by adhesion measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The obtained results showed that the morphology and electrochemical characteristics of ZrO2/silane film depend on solution pH. Surface morphology was uniform and compact at solution pH = 4. The best corrosion performance obtained with the film formed in solution with pH and immersion time of 4 and 4 mins, respectively. The ZrO2/silane pretreatment significantly improved adhesion and corrosion resistance of powder coating on carbon steel.