EIS Investigation of the Corrosion Behavior of Steel Bars Embedded into Modified Concretes with Eggshell Contents

Abstract

This investigation is focused on evaluation of the corrosion behavior of embedded steel bars (SB) into concretes. Conventional and modified concretes with eggshell are prepared. Although the effect of calcium carbonate on mechanical behavior is recognized and reported, their effects as eggshell (ES) particles replacing portions of sand and cement contents are reasonably scarce. Corrosion behavior is evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the potentiodynamic polarization technique. Equivalent circuit and porous electrode behavior are also considered. The novelty concerns a promising use of concrete with ES content to maintain corrosion resistance concatenated with reasonable structural properties. For this purpose, three distinct concrete mixtures are proposed, i.e., a reference and two modified concretes. One replaces 10 wt.% with cement and another 10 wt.% with sand content. It is found that porous electrode behavior helps to predict the corrosion mechanism. Finer ES particles in concrete mixture provides a rapidly passivation on rebar. This reflects positively in corrosion current density after long-term immersion. Additionally, an environmentally friendly aspect associated with economical factor constitutes a promise use of the concrete.