Corrodibility and Adherence of Reinforced Concrete Rebars Electroplated with Zinc and Zinc-Nickel Alloys

Reinforced concrete is the main structural material used in the world in the construction of bridges, roads and commercial and residential buildings. One effective method for preventing corrosion of steel reinforcement is the application of galvanic coatings to the reinforcement itself. The present study evaluated the performance of three groups of reinforcing steel bars (black steel, used as a reference and rebars electroplated with Zinc and Zinc-Nickel alloys) to corrosion and adherence to the concrete matrix. For the analysis of corrosion, the specimens were subjected to two different accelerated corrosion tests: salt spray exposure and wet and dry semi-cycles. The corrosion potential was measured for the qualitative monitoring of the corrosion process and the corrosion rate was estimated. In order to evaluate the steel-concrete adherence, the pullout test was used, in accordance with RILEM-CEB-FIP. The results showed that Zinc and Zinc-Nickel coatings increased the durability of the reinforcing bars and the accelerated corrosion test of wetting and drying cycles proved to be more aggressive compared to the salt spray method to evaluate the corrosion process in the reinforced concrete specimens. Additionally, galvanized reinforcement reduced adherence to the concrete matrix.