Performance of corrosion inhibiting admixtures in a marine environment

Corrosion of reinforcing steel is a major contributor to early deterioration of concrete structures in a coastal environment. This paper presents the results of an eight year field study involving 25 reinforced concrete panels exposed to a marine tidal zone. Seven different corrosion inhibiting admixtures and two pozzolans were used to compare their effectiveness at preventing or delaying onset of corrosion. This study was funded by the Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, Harbors Division, in order to evaluate commercially available corrosion inhibiting admixtures when used in concretes made with basalt aggregates common to Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. The corrosion-inhibiting admixtures included in this project were Darex Corrosion Inhibitor (DCI), Rheocrete CNI, Rheocrete 222+, FerroGard 901, Xypex Admix C-2000, Latex-modifier, Kryton KIM, and the pozzolans were fly ash and silica fume.