An experimental study of the cathodic polarization of the reinforcement in chloride contaminated concrete

This paper reports an experimental study on the influence of chloride contamination on the polarization resistance, concrete resistivity, and the potential shift of concrete reinforcement under different cathodic protection (CP) current densities. Reinforced and non-reinforced concrete specimens of varied chloride contents and exposed to ventilated condition at 50±5% relative humidity and room temperature of 20±3°C were investigated. Five levels of cathodic current densities of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mA/m2 were applied during the cathodic polarization. A new correlation between the concrete resistivity and reinforcement corrosion rate was obtained and compared with previous work. The effect of concrete resistivity and polarization resistance on the reinforcement potential shift were also discussed. In the last, based on the findings of the research, some useful conclusions can be drawn