Rust / Corrosion of Reinforcement Bars – A challenge

to overcome
www.engineeringcivil.com/rust-corrosion-of-reinforcement-bars-a-challenge-to-overcome.html

By
Mr.Sourav Dutta
Manager (Civil)
Tata Steel Ltd

Rusting/Corrosion are mainly caused due to:

1. Prolonged exposure of rebar to atmosphere/rainfall without any precaution.
2. Aggressive/saline/toxic environment.

RUST is caused by the reaction of air (O2) and moisture (H2O), and it is a common and
natural phenomenon for most steel products. IT SHALL NEVER BE CAUSE OF
CONCERN/REJECTION OF REBAR, AS PER BIS.

Fig : Guideline of BIS1786-2008

CORROSION is an electrochemical reaction between a metal and its environment.

Corrosion occurs when steel reacts with chloride ions (Cl-), CO2 in presence of toxic
environment. Corrosion is uneven erosion/pitting of metal surface/ribs due to intense
rusting and is harmful to the intended service performance of rebar.NEVER USE
SEVERELY RUSTED OR PITTED REBARS.

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Fig : Rusted rebar (fit for use)

Fig : Corroded rebar (unfit for use)

Precautions against Rusting / Corrosion during construction

Fig (s) : Guidelines as per BIS4082-1996

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Fig (s) : Guidelines as per BIS4082-1996

1. Never keep your rebar in direct contact with ground, and without any tarpaulin cover
for longer period of exposure. It is recommended that in case of longer storage, the
reinforcement bars should be stacked above ground level by at least 150mm.

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2. It is recommended that in case of longer storage, the stacked reinforcement bars
should be painted by a cement wash [may be cement : water=1:3].

Fig :Wrong Practise: Laying of rebars on ground

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Fig : Good Practise: Stacking of rebars as per BIS guidelines

3. It is observed that the uncovered column rebars projected off above floor slab level is
particularly worsely affected at the junction of slab top with the projected rebars. The
reason for same is that during curing for 28 days (in general) or rainfall, the water
accumulates at this junction. To prevent enhanced rebar corrosion and subsequently
adverse effect on rebar strength at this point, it may be recommended to construct
concrete kicker/starter of 75mm height. This starter is a part of column and will protect
the reinforcement.

Fig :Construction of concrete kicker (Typ.) for columns

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Fig : Column Kicker (Typ.)

4. In line with point no.2, in case of longer period of exposure it may be recommended
that the exposed reinforcement bars should be painted by a cement wash [may be
cement : water=1:3].

Fig :Exposed rebar (prone to rust/corrosion quickly)

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Fig : Exposed rebar (painted with cement wash)

Measures recommended for preventing Corrosion of embedded reinforcement in

concrete [Based on BIS9077-1979, Code of practise for Corrosion protection of
steel reinforcement in RB and RCC construction]

1. The concrete should be properly compacted by tamping or vibration and adequately

cured. After the RCC structure is passed for quality and finish, it may be rendered with
cement plaster of 1:2 or 1:3 proportion.

2. Calcium chloride should not be used as far as possible for accelerating the setting and
hardening of cement concrete, as this may accelerate corrosion of the reinforcement in
all mixes of concrete.

Fig :Table 16 of BIS456-2000

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3. Cement, sand, stone aggregates and water, should be tested for chloride and
sulphate contents, as corrosion of the embedded reinforcement bar is likely to happen if
the total water soluble chloride and sulphate contents exceed the limits of 50 ppm and
500 ppm respectively in raw concrete mix. In such cases, a protective coating on the
bars may be necessary.

4. Adequate nominal cover thickness should be provided to steel reinforcement

satisfying durability requirements as per table 16 of BIS456-2000 (table 16A on fire
resistance requirement also needs to be satisfied along with it). To be noted: deviation of
clear cover allowed as per BIS456-2000 = +10, -0 mm.

5. Existing RCC structures may be protected from reinforcement corrosion in aggressive

atmospheres by applying protective surface coatings to the exposed surfaces of
concrete. Such coatings may be of following types: (i) Cement-sand-asphalt/coal tar pitch
mixture coating (cement : molten asphalt or coal tar pitch : dry sand = 1:1:3), (ii) Cement-
sand-mortar with neat cement finish (cement: sand mortar=1:3, cement: water
slurry=1:2), (iii) Epoxy coating or epoxy mortar rendering. Please check BIS9077 for
more details on application.

6. Heavy rusting of reinforcement should be removed by wire brushing or application of

commercially produced derusting and phosphating jellies of approved quality.

7. Since it may not be possible to restrict the chloride and sulphate content within the
tolerable limits in marine atmospheres or in contact with sea water, the reinforcement
bars should be coated with a protective coating of inhibited cement slurry (for guidance
on application, please refer appendix-B of BIS9077). It should be ensured that no oil or
paint is applied as a protective coating to the reinforcement bar.

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In context of point no. 7, it is to be noted that protective coatings involve considerable
cost involvement, stringent process control, and possibility of damage during handling or
fabrication (cutting and bending) of rebar. Moreover, such coatings minimise bond
strength by 20%, and the extent of protection to rebar is not known as per BIS.Smallest
damage in coating can initiate corrosion under severe environment.

At this junction, to avoid such headache on coatings, Tata Tisconoffers you “CRS”:
Corrosion resistance steel, which possess inbuilt corrosion resistance properties in rebar
(due to inherent chemistry composition of the mother billets). It has been found that
Corrosion resistance index (CRI) of Tiscon CRS is 1.30, i.e, Corrosion rate of Tiscon
CRS is (1.3-1)/1.3 = about 23% lesser in comparison to ordinary Fe500D rebars.

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Disclaimer: This document aims only at highlighting good construction practises and
meaningful applications during/after construction, to overcome the challenge of rust /
corrosion of reinforcement bar. In any case the desired result is not obtained on following
the write-up, the author shall not be responsible.

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We at engineeringcivil.com are thankful to Sir Sourav Dutta for submitting this very
useful information to us. We hope this will be of great use to all the civil engineers who
are looking for this information.

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