Assessments of the severity of corrosion born potentials mapping at the concrete surface are disturbed by potential gradients in the concrete. Experiments have been carried out with the purpose of determining the origin and magnitude of potential gradients associated with potential measurements at concrete surfaces. It has been found that charge separations leading to liquid junction potentials and streaming potentials contribute to a large degree. The magnitude of the measured potential gradients was sometimes more than 100 mV. Gradients up to 30 mV was observed between embedded reference electrodes as a result of water exposure at the concrete surface. A theoretical model of streaming
potentials in concrete is developed, based on the observed drift in surface potentials.
Keywords: Concrete, corrosion, potential, liquid junction potential, streaming potential.