Electrochemical chloride removal for reinforced concrete with steel rebar cage using auxiliary electrodes

In this paper, a new approach of electrochemical chloride removal (ECR) using the auxiliary electrodes was proposed and the performances of this method were investigated by experiments. Two kinds of electrode setups were investigated: the radial type and the layer type. The results showed no matter which setup was used the chloride removal percentage all exceeded 70% after 8-week treatment. The chloride enclosed by the steel rebar cage could be successfully pushed out from concrete using auxiliary electrodes. The half cell potentials of rebars after 8-week treatment were all higher than −270 mV(CSE) and the corrosion rates were lower than 0.05 mpy, it indicated that after ECR treatment the corrosion risk of rebars was low. In addition, after ECR the surface hardness was enhanced via the results of rebound strength test. The pH value of concrete was also enhanced during the ECR process.