Effects of electrodes location in a three-electrode system on polarization measurements of reinforcing steel in concrete cores drilled from a structure
This article describes results from d.c. polarization measurements of rebar fragments in concrete cores drilled from a structure. In the first stage of tests, a traditional arrangement of three electrodes was applied, in which the working electrode was the rebar in a cylindrical core, the counter electrode was a stainless steel disk, and the reference electrode was a traditional Ag, AgCl vertical bar Cl- electrode in a glass body. The counter and reference electrodes were applied to a flat surface of the specimen covered with a wet felt washer or conductive gel. In the second stage of tests, an alternative electrode setup was used, in which the reference electrode was covered with the varnish and silver powder additive present on the specimen side surface, and a graphite rod in the specimen was used as the reference electrode. Results from tests performed under dry air conditions indicated that traditional electrodes applied to concrete surface caused significant discrepancies in results, and consequently their analysis became impossible. And electrodes permanently embedded into concrete provided satisfactory results for tests under the same conditions.