Abstract
The correlation between sensor output and corrosion rate of reinforcing steel was evaluated by laboratory electrochemical tests in saturated $Ca(OH)_2$ with 3.5 wt.% NaCl and confirmed in concrete environment. In this paper, two types of electrochemical probes were developed: galvanic cells containing of steel/copper and steel/stainless steel couples. Potentiodynamic test, weight loss measurement, monitoring of open-circuit potential, linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to evaluate the corrosion behavior of steel bar embedded in concrete. Also, galvanic current measurements were conducted to obtain the charge of sensor embedded in concrete. In this study, steel/copper and steel/stainless steel sensors showed a good correlation in simulated concrete solution between sensor output and corrosion rate of steel bar. However, there was no linear relationship between steel/stainless steel sensor output and corrosion rate of steel bar in concrete environment due to the low galvanic current output. Thus, steel/copper sensor is a reliable corrosion monitoring sensor system which can detect corrosion rate of reinforcing steel in concrete structures.