Corrosion monitoring of reinforced concrete structures: The DGZfP specification B12 Collaboration

Corrosion monitoring of reinforced or prestressed concrete structures has become increasingly important in recent years. Areas of application include components that are no longer accessible after completion or where potential field measurements cannot be carried out due to existing coatings. Corrosion monitoring can also be used to monitor the progress of corrosion in corroding systems, e.g. to prove the success of repair measures according to repair principle 8 in accordance with EN 1504‐9 or repair method 8.3 in accordance with the DIBt repair guideline. It also could be used to prove the functionality of cathodic corrosion protection systems in accordance with ISO 12696. Despite the increasing importance of corrosion monitoring, no guidelines or recommendations existed until 2018. This gap was closed by the English version of specification B12, “Corrosion Monitoring of Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures,” of the German Society for Non‐Destructive Testing, which was published in 2021. This article introduces specification B12 by explaining the basic measurement principles and illustrating the potential of corrosion monitoring in new and existing buildings. For corrosion monitoring of steel in concrete, the depth of chloride ingress is a major indicator. An embedded so‐called “anode ladder” reaching the critical chloride content could be evaluated by measuring the corrosion initiation at each steel bar.