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www.engineeringcivil.com/rust-corrosion-of-reinforcement-bars-a-challenge-to-overcome.html
By
Mr.Sourav Dutta
Manager (Civil)
Tata Steel Ltd
RUST is caused by the reaction of air (O2) and moisture (H2O), and it is a common and
natural phenomenon for most steel products. IT SHALL NEVER BE CAUSE OF
CONCERN/REJECTION OF REBAR, AS PER BIS.
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Fig : Rusted rebar (fit for use)
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Fig (s) : Guidelines as per BIS4082-1996
1. Never keep your rebar in direct contact with ground, and without any tarpaulin cover
for longer period of exposure. It is recommended that in case of longer storage, the
reinforcement bars should be stacked above ground level by at least 150mm.
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2. It is recommended that in case of longer storage, the stacked reinforcement bars
should be painted by a cement wash [may be cement : water=1:3].
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Fig : Good Practise: Stacking of rebars as per BIS guidelines
3. It is observed that the uncovered column rebars projected off above floor slab level is
particularly worsely affected at the junction of slab top with the projected rebars. The
reason for same is that during curing for 28 days (in general) or rainfall, the water
accumulates at this junction. To prevent enhanced rebar corrosion and subsequently
adverse effect on rebar strength at this point, it may be recommended to construct
concrete kicker/starter of 75mm height. This starter is a part of column and will protect
the reinforcement.
4. In line with point no.2, in case of longer period of exposure it may be recommended
that the exposed reinforcement bars should be painted by a cement wash [may be
cement : water=1:3].
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Fig : Exposed rebar (painted with cement wash)
2. Calcium chloride should not be used as far as possible for accelerating the setting and
hardening of cement concrete, as this may accelerate corrosion of the reinforcement in
all mixes of concrete.
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3. Cement, sand, stone aggregates and water, should be tested for chloride and
sulphate contents, as corrosion of the embedded reinforcement bar is likely to happen if
the total water soluble chloride and sulphate contents exceed the limits of 50 ppm and
500 ppm respectively in raw concrete mix. In such cases, a protective coating on the
bars may be necessary.
7. Since it may not be possible to restrict the chloride and sulphate content within the
tolerable limits in marine atmospheres or in contact with sea water, the reinforcement
bars should be coated with a protective coating of inhibited cement slurry (for guidance
on application, please refer appendix-B of BIS9077). It should be ensured that no oil or
paint is applied as a protective coating to the reinforcement bar.
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In context of point no. 7, it is to be noted that protective coatings involve considerable
cost involvement, stringent process control, and possibility of damage during handling or
fabrication (cutting and bending) of rebar. Moreover, such coatings minimise bond
strength by 20%, and the extent of protection to rebar is not known as per BIS.Smallest
damage in coating can initiate corrosion under severe environment.
At this junction, to avoid such headache on coatings, Tata Tisconoffers you “CRS”:
Corrosion resistance steel, which possess inbuilt corrosion resistance properties in rebar
(due to inherent chemistry composition of the mother billets). It has been found that
Corrosion resistance index (CRI) of Tiscon CRS is 1.30, i.e, Corrosion rate of Tiscon
CRS is (1.3-1)/1.3 = about 23% lesser in comparison to ordinary Fe500D rebars.
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Disclaimer: This document aims only at highlighting good construction practises and
meaningful applications during/after construction, to overcome the challenge of rust /
corrosion of reinforcement bar. In any case the desired result is not obtained on following
the write-up, the author shall not be responsible.
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We at engineeringcivil.com are thankful to Sir Sourav Dutta for submitting this very
useful information to us. We hope this will be of great use to all the civil engineers who
are looking for this information.
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