Evaluation of a surface coating in retarding reinforcement corrosion

This paper reports results of an investigation conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a concrete surface coating in reducing the permeability of concrete and retarding reinforcement corrosion. An underground structure located on the Arabian Gulf coast was coated with this coating and the properties of concrete and reinforcement corrosion were monitored for a period of two years. An improvement in the physical properties of concrete was indicated due to the application of the coating. The corrosion potentials indicated an increase in the corrosion activity in the early period of application in certain components. At later periods, however, the reinforcement corrosion activity was noticeably lower than that in the pre-application condition, indicating the usefulness of the coating in retarding reinforcement corrosion.