Abstract
In order to quantitatively evaluate corrosion state, rate and environment of reinforcing steel in concrete structures, an embeddable minisensor has been newly developed. This sensor has both a counter electrode and a pseudo-reference electrode made of gold. Minisensors can be embedded adjacent to reinforcing steel in order to minimize the concrete cover effects on the three kinds of electrochemical characteristics to be measured. Using minisensors, continuous monitoring is possible to catch the sensitive corrosion behavior. This paper describes the results of investigation on the influence of pH, contamination with both chloride ion and calcium nitrite of immersed cementitious solution on both the natural potential and polarization resistance readings using minisensors in comparison with the ordinary electrode method having both a Ag/AgCl reference electrode and a platinum counter electrode. As a result, it was clarified that the minisensor has a satisfactory performance for measuring the electrochemical characteristics of reinforcing steel in concrete.
