Effects of some mineral additions to Portland cement on reinforcement corrosion

•Emphasis to derive corrosion performance from microstructure•Methodology for assessing future corrosion performance of cements•Methodology for diffusion coefficient, chloride threshold and corrosion rate

In the present the paper, various tests are described using white and ordinary Portland cement blended with fly ash and a slag to assess their effect on reinforcement corrosion. Natural and accelerated chloride diffusion, carbonation and corrosion tests were performed. The results indicate that the most resistant cement against chloride attack is the slag cement which on the other hand, performed as the less resistant to carbonation in the conditions of the test. The most resistant to carbonation is the ordinary Portland cement having the higher portlandite content. As there is the demand to link microstructure and observed performance of the different cementitious materials, an attempt is made. The work emphasizes the effect of mineral additions on the corrosion process in order to collect systematic information about the controlling parameters in the different periods of the service life of reinforced concrete structures.