Corrosion at low moisture content in both carbonated and chloride polluted concrete – Villa E-1027, a case study

Abstract

Corrosion in reinforced concrete is generally attributed to either carbonation or chloride presence in the vicinity of the bars. But in the field of cultural heritage, especially for the most ancient monuments, it is not rare to encounter both carbonated and chloride polluted concrete, inducing heavy corrosion, as was the case in the Villa E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, on the French Mediterranean seashore. The villa was designed by Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici between 1926 and 1929. Due to aggressive environmental conditions and a period of dereliction, the concrete of the villa was quite heavily decayed and a deep restoration was led between 2000 and 2006. But after a little more than 10 years, and despite active maintenance, the villa is again facing corrosion induced decay. Prior to the definition of a new restoration protocol, to better evaluate the corrosion activity, in 2017 a permanent monitoring of moisture and temperature both in the air and in the concrete was installed. In the meantime, a series of instant electrochemical measurements was performed from 2017 to 2018. A first analysis of the results of the monitoring and the non-destructive tests clearly evidences that probably due to the conjunction of the carbonation of the concrete and external active chloride pollution, corrosion can happen at quite low moisture content.

Concrete of tomorrow: corrosion performances in marine environment

“…environmental conditions and specially rain events on the data collected, evidencing the need for continuous monitoring [2] [3] [4]. Nevertheless, those monitoring techniques have rarely been installed on real structures in natural ageing conditions [5] and still need to be validated. Therefore, the two types of technologies were considered and compared: embedded sensors and non-destructive testing.…”

Use of a CFRP reinforcement anode for the cathodic protection of an iconic building

“…So that the only efficient treatment for such a corrosive environment was impressed current cathodic protection. However, the implementation of such a technique remains quite invasive for a historical monument, even if miniaturization attempts were already tested on patrimonial concrete [11]. Nevertheless, in the specific case of Le Touquet Belfry, as the corrosion was very severe and mainly affecting the inner concrete structure, which is not visible from the outside and not open to public visits, ICCP seamed acceptable in relation to the conservation doctrine [12].…”