Improved Tafel-Based Potentiostatic Approach for Corrosion Rate Monitoring of Reinforcing Steel

Potential step voltammetry (PSV) was introduced in earlier works as an advantageous alternative to traditional methods for measuring corrosion rate in reinforced concrete. The present study aims to improve PSV to maximize its applicability in corrosion rate monitoring, that is, beyond the narrowly-defined steel–concrete systems in which was initially validated. It was therefore identified necessary to address the most suitable PSV pulse amplitudes to accurately obtain the Tafel lines and, therefore, corrosion rate in steel-mortar systems with well-differentiated ohmic drop. PSV findings were compared to reference methods, i.e. Tafel intersection and linear polarization resistance. As a novelty, we propose a procedure to improve the reliability of the PSV-determined Tafel lines, which is based on three protocols (P1, P2 and P3). P1 consists of a specific pulse sequence to accurately characterize the morphology of the polarization curve without disturbing the system. P2 consists of two short pulses for determining the ohmic drop compensation factor. Finally, P3 consists of a simple calculation procedure to accurately adjust the PSV pulse amplitudes (∆V) to the steel–concrete system assessed, thus obviating the need for preset values and, therefore, ensuring accurate corrosion rate results. The procedure proposed is intended to improve PSV with a view to its consolidation as a reliable tool for the unsupervised monitoring of real structures.