ABSTRACT
Corrosion of reinforcing steel embedded in kaolinite clay was studied for a two year exposure period. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarisation (POL) revealed a decrease of the corrosion rate (CR) of the steel bars up to average values of 2.5 μm y−1. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques showed the formation of a thick and compacted corrosion layer composed of several iron oxides, namely, Fe2O3, Fe (OH)2, Fe3O4 and FeCO3. The external corrosion product is composed mainly of magnetite (Fe3O4) and siderite (FeCO3). EDX mapping showed a homogeneous distribution of the elements across the cross-sectional of the corrosion layer.
Acknowledgements
A special acknowledgment must be given to the members of the LOMC laboratory (University of Le Havre, France) for all support and assistance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).