Examination of Reinforcement Steel Bars Exposed to the Atmosphere

Abstract

Reinforcement steel bars are often exposed to the atmosphere before use in concrete structures. This exposure results in corrosion of these reinforcement bars. Corrosion of reinforcement bars is a common form of degradation of reinforced concrete structures. The electrochemical attack affects the mechanical properties of steel rebars. This study analysed the effect of exposing reinforcing steel bars to the atmosphere. The bars were divided into two; one part was exposed to the atmosphere for a period of four months during the rainy season while the other was unexposed. Afterwards; some mechanical, corrosion and metallographic tests were carried out on the steel samples. The results obtained showed that the hardness, impact strength and ductility increased with exposure while the yield and tensile strengths decreased with exposure. The exposed bar had high corrosion rates than the unexposed bar in 1M hydrochloric acid (HCl) while in 1M sodium chloride (NaCl), the corrosion rates for both the exposed and unexposed bars did not follow a particular trend.