Corrosion Characteristics of Rebar and Fibre Reinforced Concretes in Selected Environments

The corrosion characteristics of rebar and fibres reinforced concretes in selected aggressive environments were investigated. Steel rebar and different fibre materials consisting of steel fibre, coconut fibre, glass fibre, and polymer fibre were used as reinforcements. Corrosion characteristics of these reinforced concretes were evaluated using visual inspection, compressive strength test and accelerated impressed current technique in 3.5wt% NaCl. Analysis of the results indicated that concrete reinforced with polymer and steel fibres after corrosion exposure exhibited lower reduction in compressive strength at 10%, 17%, respectively compared to conventional rebar concrete which had a loss of about 20% across the selected environments; whereas strength loss averaged 44% and 28% in concretes reinforced with coconut and glass fibres, respectively. The findings from this investigation suggested that steel and/or polymer fibres are suitable substitute for rebar in reinforcing concrete