Assessment of high performance concrete containing fly ash and calcium nitrite based corrosion inhibitor as a mean to prevent the corrosion of reinforcing steel

This research analyses the effectiveness of the water-to-cement ratio (w/c), fly ash and a calcium nitrite based corrosion inhibitor to prevent the corrosion of reinforcing steel embedded in high performance concrete. The interactive effect between the inhibitor and fly ash was evaluated because the occurrence of a negative effect when both ingredients are added together in a concrete mixture has been reported. All the concrete mixtures studied in this investigation had 8.2% of silica fume. Twenty seven prismatic concrete specimens were fabricated with dimensions of 55 × 230 × 300 mm each containing two steel rods embedded for the purpose of corrosion monitoring. The specimens were exposed to a simulated marine environment with two daily cycles of wetting and drying for one year. To evaluate the deterioration of the specimens corrosion potentials and linear polarization resistance tests were carried out. The results indicate that the use of a low w/c, the addition of fly ash and the addition of the corrosion inhibitor contributed to the reduction of the corrosion of steel in the concrete specimens. The results further suggest that the combination of fly ash and corrosion inhibitor does not promote the deterioration of the concrete matrix.