Numerical Study on Polarization Resistance Evaluation with Consideration of Current Dispersion Range

Abstract

Recently, the polarization resistance method is highly noticed as a non-destructive test method to evaluate the corrosion rate of rebar in concrete structures. The corrosion rate can be estimated from the apparent polarization resistance and the polarized area. It is necessary to know the polarized area so as to estimate the accurate corrosion rate. The polarized area is affected by many factors, such as the polarization resistance, the electrical resistance of concrete, the covering depth and the diameter of a rebar. In this study, to examine the influence of these factors on the polarized area, the current distribution in concrete is analyzed by a finite element method. From the analysis, it is clarified that the distribution is strongly affected by the factors, and that the distribution depends on only the ratio of the polarization resistance to the electrical resistance of concrete.