What are some preventative measures that can be taken to combat future corrosion in new structures?
There are a variety of strategies for corrosion protection in new structures, including:
- Mix Design: The first step to preventing corrosion is to use good quality concrete. Good quality concrete mixes provide a protective environment for reinforcing steel. For the purpose of preventing corrosion, concrete mixes should be designed to be less porous and more resistive to the flow of energy.
- Topical Treatments: Similar to designing concrete mixes to be less porous, barriers and sealers are used to prevent corrosion inducing contaminates from entering the concrete.
- Corrosion Resistant Reinforcement: If the concrete does get contaminated with things like CO2 or chlorides, the reinforcement will resist corrosion. Some examples include: epoxy coated rebar, galvanized rebar, stainless steel rebar, alternative steels rebar (like mmfx and zbar), fiberglass and carbon fiber rebar.
