Retrofitted corrosion monitoring in cracked concrete of infrastructure buildings

Infrastructural buildings are subject to a high risk of reinforcement corrosion resulting from deicing salts. A lot of effort is put in the design of these buildings in order to minimize this risk and ensure the durability during their service life. However, the evaluation of the effectiveness of these measures as well as the resulting corrosion state is an essential but critical part in the assessment of the structural condition. Therefore a versatile corrosion monitoring system was developed, which can be retrofitted in structures which are subject to a certain corrosion risk. In a first case study this monitoring system was installed in two parking structures in southern Germany which were subject to cracks in the concrete cover, combined with a chloride exposure during winter periods. All basic electrochemical parameters of reinforcement corrosion could be measured allowing for an evaluation of the corrosion development before and after the coating measure. The principle of the monitoring system proved to be an effective tool and can be used in a wide range of structures (bridges, parking garages etc.).