The corrosion potential of stainless steel rebars in concrete: Temperature effect

This work reports the temperature dependence of the corrosion potential of passive stainless steel rebars embedded in concrete or in alkaline media. The corrosion potential mirrored the temperature variations and the coefficient (mV/°C) increased as the average temperature range increased. These variations were observed in the long time-scale domain (several hours) and were interpreted based on temperature-induced changes in the chemistry of the passive layer. This behaviour and its interpretation have not been reported before and are of great importance from the point of view of understanding the electrochemical behaviour of stainless steel rebars and the inspection and durability of reinforced concrete structures.

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► The corrosion potential of passive stainless steel rebars embedded in concrete varies with the temperature.
► The temperature coefficient (mV/°C) increases as the average temperature range increases.
► The corrosion potential oscillations are interpreted using the chemistry of the passive layer.
► Increasing temperature induces oxidation and hydration of the passive film.