Reinforcement corrosion in coastal and marine concrete: A review

Abstract

Concrete is used as a structural material for construction of buildings, jetties, harbors, etc. in many coastal and marine locations. The reinforcement used in concrete is susceptible to corrosion, resulting in loss of steel area, loss of bond, expansion of the reinforcement volume leading to cracking or spalling of concrete. Marine environment induces higher corrosion of reinforcement, compared to in-land locations. Concrete exposed to tidal fluctuations, or to the action of waves and currents are among the most severely affected. Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete is of major concern in coastal and marine environment. Control and monitoring of corrosion is a big challenge to engineers. In the recent years, different investigators reported their studies in this area. Depending on the severity of the exposure conditions, different corrosion inhibitors and protection methods have been attempted with varying degrees of success. The present article presents a generic review of the corrosion issues in marine concrete. Drawing from the experiences of the various researchers, the corrosion measurements, and corrosion control schemes, including use of coated reinforcements and corrosion inhibitors are discussed. The durability performance based design of concrete in the probabilistic framework and the life cycle cost analysis for durability design decisions have been identified as the future direction of corrosion protection of coastal and marine structures.