In the study two different methods were used to monitor corrosion of steel embedded in concrete. Electrochemical noise and electrical resistance techniques are frequently used in various industrial fields, especially in the oil and chemical-processing industry, but very rarely in concrete structures. Both techniques were slightly modified and tested in carbonated concrete specimens during successive wetting (exposure to salt water) and drying cycles. The results of the measurements were compared with the results of corrosion assessments of the rebars after the specimens were disintegrated. It was confirmed that both methods are effective for measuring corrosion of steel embedded in concrete, and somehow compatible. Electrochemical noise technique can detect various stages of the corrosion process (the initiation of corrosion, dynamic behaviour of corrosion during wetting and drying of concrete), whereas electrical resistance probes indicate cumulative corrosion damage. The results of both methods indicated also some general characteristics of corrosion processes in concrete.
Keywords: corrosion in concrete, carbonation, contamination with chlorides, wetting/drying cycles, electrochemical noise, electrical resistance probes, dynamic corrosion process