Comparison between surface and bulk hydrophobic treatment against corrosion of galvanized reinforcing steel in concrete

The effectiveness of bulk hydrophobic treatment against corrosion of galvanized steel reinforcement in concrete specimens with w/c = 0.45 and w/c = 0.75 was compared with that of surface treatment, even in the presence of cracks 0.5 and 1 mm wide in the concrete cover. In this case surface hydrophobic treatments were applied both before and after cracking as a preventive and a restorative method against reinforced concrete deterioration, respectively. The obtained results in terms of water absorption, electrochemical measurements, chlorides penetration, and visual observations carried out on reinforced concrete specimens during the exposure to wet–dry cycles in 10% NaCl solution showed that bulk hydrophobization is the most effective treatment in improving the corrosion resistance of galvanized steel reinforcements in concrete also in the presence of cracks. Surface hydrophobization is very effective just in the first few exposure cycles to the aggressive environment and when used as a restorative method which is able to cancel the deleterious effect of cracks only 0.5 mm wide.