Corrugated stainless steels embedded in mortar for 9 years: corrosion results of non-carbonated, chloride-contaminated samples

Abstract

Mortar samples reinforced with 5 different corrugated stainless steels were tested for 9 years in 2 different conditions: partial immersion (PI) in 3.5% NaCl, and chloride addition to the mortar and exposure to high relative humidity (HRH). The monitoring during the exposures was carried out with corrosion potential (E-corr) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. A year before finishing (after 8 years of exposure), the reinforced mortar samples were anodically polarised to obtain more information about the pitting resistance of the passive layers formed under the different conditions. The last year of exposure was established to study the progress or repassivation of the pits. The PI is the most aggressive testing condition and it causes low-intensity corrosion in S20430 austenitic stainless steel after 7 years of exposure. The S32205 duplex stainless steel shows very good corrosion behaviour