ENHANCING THE LIFE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES USING CATHODIC PREVENTION: ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE FORMER HOLLYWOOD ROAD

POLICE QUARTERS
C. T. Wong, M. K. Leung, C. Y. Kan, H. M. Chow and K. Y. Li Architectural Services Department, HKSAR, China. Email: kancy@archsd.gov.hk

ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been increasingly awareness among the public towards adaptive re-use and rehabilitation of aged buildings rather than demolishing them for redevelopment. In such projects, concrete repair forms an inevitable part. Yet, for chloride-contaminated concrete, the conventional chip and patch method cannot arrest further deterioration of the defective concrete. The fresh concrete, though passivates the steel in the repair region, elevates the steel potential in the surrounding still contaminated concrete (Sags et al, 2005). Thus, the risk of corrosion increases in the surrounding region. Cathodic prevention and/or protection have therefore been employed for such repair. This paper presents the design and installation of a system of cathodic prevention using galvanic anode cells in repairing defects of the reinforced concrete structure in the project of adaptive reuse of the former Police Married Quarters located at Hollywood Road, Hong Kong. Details of the set-up of the in-situ measurement and the results of the monitoring work of the anode cells embedded in concrete in this project will be discussed. KEYWORDS Life Cycle Costing, Concrete Repairs, Cathodic Protection and Prevention, In-Situ Monitoring, Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters. INTRODUCTION In the last decade in Hong Kong, adaptive re-use and rehabilitation of aged buildings have drawn much attention from the public. Though the design life of reinforced concrete structures is usually taken as 50 years, there have been so many reinforced concrete structures that have survived over such design life. Corrosion of the steel reinforcement has been commonly recognised as the dominant factor of deterioration of reinforced concrete structure. The steel reinforcement in concrete is, however, normally passivated as a consequence of the alkaline nature of the cement paste (pH ~12.5 to 13.9 (Duff and Farina, 2009)), which facilitates the formation and maintenance of a passive iron oxide film. Consequently, the corrosion rate is low and minimal maintenance suffices for decades. However, the corrosion rate will increase to an unacceptable level if the concrete at the steel reinforcement depth becomes either carbonated or chloride-contaminated (or both). Spalling of concrete structure therefore often occurs in aged buildings and is commonly repaired by conventional chip and patch method at the corroded area. However, further corrosion and spalling are found at the repaired location again in a relative short time. The repair life cycles are often shorter than expectation and the continuous repairing cost constitutes a major portion of the maintenance cost, and hence should not be neglected in the life cycle of a structure. It has been established that the presence of a number of contaminants cause the deterioration of steel of concrete, e.g. seawater salts, airborne salts, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, chloride containing substance and sea dredged aggregates. In order to effectively solve the problem, cathodic prevention has been used to halt future corrosion of steel reinforcement, especially in chloride-contaminated concrete. Yet, limited research has been carried out in Hong Kong and few publications have been published summarizing the application of such method in actual repair work. This paper describes the usage of sacrificial anodes, including the installation and monitoring work in the project of adaptive reuse of the former Police Married Quarters located at Hollywood Road in Hong Kong, which was originally built in the 1950s.

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CORROSION MECHANISM Corrosion of steel is subjected to an electrochemical reaction which involves four essential active components, namely, the anode, the cathode, electron flows and the electrolyte. The anode is the location where the steel loses its electrons and the electrons are gained at the cathode. The electrons flow through the corroding steel itself from the anode towards the cathode and thus a voltage difference is induced. The electrolyte is the solution or a substance (such as water, soil and concrete) that can conduct electrical currents by containing free ions, both positive and negative, with equal charge. In the corrosion process of steel, iron atoms (Fe) lose its electrons and become iron ions (Fe2+) forming the anodic reaction. With the presence of oxygen (O2) and water (H2O), hydroxide ions will be produced by gaining the moving electrons forming the cathodic reaction. Rust, i.e. iron (III) hydroxide, is then the chemical by-product of the corrosion process and accumulates at the surface of steel. The increasing size of rust and its induced expansive stresses finally crack the concrete surface and spalling occurs. This in turn triggers the progressive deterioration of concrete. The key reactions of steel corrosion are as follows: Fe Fe2+ + 2e4e- +O2 + 2H2O 4(OH)Fe2+ + 2(OH)- Fe(OH)2 4Fe(OH)2 + 2H2O + O2 4Fe(OH)3 (Anodic reaction) (Cathodic reaction) (Ferrous hydroxide) (Ferric hydroxide) (1a) (1b) (1c) (1d)

Once the alkaline passive environment around the steel reinforcement has been lost, the above equations will be triggered. Corrosion in Chloride-Contaminated Concrete Prior to the 1970s in Hong Kong, chloride may be present in some buildings due to the incorrect use of marine sand or sea water in the concrete mixes. Otherwise, concrete may contaminated by the spillage of seawater which is commonly used as flushing water in toilets. Different mechanisms take place for chloride-contaminated concrete. Equations (2a) - (2e) show the corresponding reactions of steel corrosion in chloride-contaminated concrete. For chloride-contaminated concrete, the conventional chip and patch repair method is still widely adopted. Loose or delaminated concrete is removed from the full circumference of the steel and continue along until there are no visible signs of corrosion. However, after cleaning the steel reinforcement and repairing the area with chloride-free patch, potential difference will be induced between the new repair patch and existing chloride-contaminated concrete. This repairing work actually accentuates corrosion in the reinforcing steel adjacent to the repair area as shown in Figure 1. This triggering action is to create incipient anodes, new corrosion sites just outside the repaired area (Sags et al, 2005), and is often referred as incipient anode induced corrosion or halo corrosion damage. As such, conventional repair method is not applicable to chloride-contaminated concrete, and alternatives (e.g. impressed current cathodic protection, sacrificial anode cathodic protection, coating, dechlorination) have already been explored and adopted in such repair. Among them, cathodic prevention provides a simple and inexpensive method (Bertonlini et al, 1998), and has been adopted in Hong Kong since the 2000s. Yet, few publications have been published on the long-term performance of such method.

Figure 1 Incipient anode induced corrosion (Source: modified from Ball and Whitmore, 2003)

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GALVANIC CATHODIC PROTECTION AND PREVENTION To extend the service life of the repairing work of reinforced concrete, galvanic (sacrificial) cathodic protection or cathodic prevention, which are described as Principle 10 in BS EN 1504:9 (BSI, 2008), could be an effective solution. Both galvanic cathodic protection and prevention are to generate a small electrical current by connecting two dissimilar metals together, i.e. embedding sacrificial anodes in repaired area. These anodes are sacrificial in nature and interfere with the corrosion reaction on the steel. In other words, the sacrificial anode must be some other metals with a more negative electrode potential difference from the steel, e.g. zinc (Figure 2), aluminium or magnesium. Whitmore and Ball (2005) explained that zinc sacrificial anode has become the most common material today due to its high corrosion efficiency and low rate of expansion.

Figure 2 Typical layout of zinc galvanic sacrificial anode (Source: Sergi, 2009) Bertonlini et al (1998) and BS EN 12696 (BSI, 2000) illustrate (Figure 3) that the basic difference of the two methods is the application of different intensity of electrical potential to the concrete and hence changing its corrosion potential (degree of passivity). The amount of current used to the steel reinforcement in cathodic prevention is only to prevent the onset of corrosion but not enough to control existing corrosion. Pedeferri (1996) gave the current densities needed to prevent, reduce or stop corrosion as: between 0.5 and 2mA/m2 to get prevention conditions, up to 15 mA/m2 to reduce the corrosion rate; and up to 20mA/m2 to repassivate a corroding rebar. Such indicated current densities have then been incorporated into European code, and BS EN 12696 distinguishes cathodic protection from cathodic prevention by their current density. The current density of cathodic prevention ranges from 0.2mA/m 2 to 2mA/m2 while that of cathodic protection ranges from 2mA/m2 to 20mA/m2, which is approximately one order of magnitude larger than the former. For cathodic protection, BS EN 12696 requires that a depolarization level of the steel reinforcement after disconnection of the anodes for periods of either 4 hours or 24 hours shall exceed 100mV. There is, however, no such requirement for cathodic prevention.

Figure 3 Schematic illustration of changing paths of potential and chloride content on steel reinforcement surface during its service life (Source: Bertonlini et al, 1998 and BS EN 12696)

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APPLICATION OF CATHODIC PREVENTION IN THE FORMER POLICE MARRIED QUARTERS The Site The site is located in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong and the area of the site is about 6,000 m2. There are three existing buildings (Figure 4) within the site including two residential blocks (Block A and Block B) and a 2-storey ancillary building (the JPC building), which were the former police quarters and have been vacant since 2000. The buildings were constructed in the 1950s and are now about 60 years old. These former police quarters are being preserved, reinforced and refurbished for conversion into a creative industrial centre at a contract sum of about HK $360M, which is scheduled to open to the public in 2014.

Figure 4 Location plan of the site The Structure Block A and Block B are reinforced concrete structures of eight storeys and seven storeys respectively founded on strips footings at a depth varying from 1.2m to 4.5m below ground. The plan area of each block is 72.1m14.6m. They comprise of reinforced concrete beams and slabs structures supported on reinforced concrete walls spaced at about 4.1m c/c typically (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Typical framing plan of a residential block Structural Condition Structural condition survey was carried out by Chung & Ng Consulting Engineers Ltd. and Architectural Services Department to assess the structural conditions of the existing buildings in 2009-2011. A number of insitu tests (including comprehensive visual inspection, hammer tapping, carbonation, concrete cover, moisture level tests and corrosion potential measurement) and laboratory tests (including cement content, chloride content, concrete core tests and tensile test of rebar) had been carried out. The structural survey results are summarized in Table 1 as follows:

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Tests Concrete core test Tensile test on rebars Concrete cover Carbonation depth

Table 1 Summary of structural survey results Findings Mean in-situ equivalent cube strength = 30MPa avg. t design strength = 20MPa Yield strength of 250MPa for mild steel Measured cover depths 22mm to 32.5mm (generally greater than the design value of 25.4mm) Measured results of 32mm to 90mm (carbonation has penetrated the concrete cover and reached the rebars) In general area: 0.1 to 0.3% of cement content 0.8 to 1.5% of cement content Measured potentials range from 0mV to -47mV with respect to a copper/copper sulphate electrode (more positive than -200mV, i.e. probably no corrosion as defined in ASTM C876) Measured potentials range from -365mV to -610mV with respect to a copper/copper sulphate electrode (more negative than -350mV, i.e. probably an active corrosion area as defined in ASTM C876)

Chloride content At bathrooms and toilets: In general area: Corrosion potential At bathrooms and toilets:

DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF SACRIFICIAL ANODE CELLS As discussed above, conventional chip and patch repairing method cannot inhibit further corrosion of steel reinforcement in chloride-contaminated concrete. Sacrificial anode cells have therefore been adopted at those chloride-contaminated areas, i.e. the bathrooms and toilets of the residential blocks. Pang et al (2010) reported that this technology has been successfully used in the concrete repair works for some housing estates in Hong Kong. Anode Design and Installation For prevention of incipient anode induced corrosion, sacrificial anodes with zinc content of 60 grams (Figure 6) were designed and installed along the perimeter of the repairing area. The spacing of the sacrificial anode was designed in accordance with the reinforcing steel density and the recommendation by the manufacturer in Table 2. The design anodes spacing was also considered together with the chloride content in the structure and the local corrosion level.

Figure 6 Sacrificial anode used in the project Table 2 Recommended spacing for sacrificial anodes with zinc content of 60 grams by manufacturer Steel density ratio, As,surf. / Ac,surf. Maximum spacing between anodes (steel surface area / concrete surface area) (mm) 610 As,surf. / Ac,surf  0.6 500 0.6 As,surf. / Ac,surf  0.90 430 0.90 As,surf. / Ac,surf  1.20

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The sacrificial anodes were secured as close as possible to the concrete patch edge by wrapping the tie wires around the cleaned reinforcement bars and twisting tightly. No free movement of anodes was allowed and sufficient clearance between anodes and concrete surface was provided to allow encasing the anodes with repair material. Figure 7 and Photo 1 show the typical layout and a view of the installation of sacrificial anodes to the r.c. wall respectively. An ohm meter was applied to confirm the electrical connection between the tie wire and reinforcement bars by measuring their DC resistance (Photo 2). The specified resistance was not greater than 1:, and the specified potential difference was to exceed 1mV. Otherwise, the whole system was malfunctioned due to discontinuity, and steel tie wire would then be applied to the exposed reinforcing bars to enhance the electrical continuity.

Figure 7 Typical installation of sacrificial anodes

Photo 1 Sacrificial anodes installed at a chloride-contaminated wall

Photo 2 Measurement of resistivity of the system

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Upon completion of the installation of the sacrificial anodes, the concrete area was patch repaired with polymer modified cementitious material following the Principle 3.1 in BS EN 1504-9. A particular point to be noted is that to ensure the proper function of cathodic prevention, the resistivity of the mortar should be less than 15,000 ohms, and hence, epoxy mortar is inappropriate. MONITORING The designed corrosion prevention system was then monitored to check for its long-term performance. The most effective method is to measure the current output of the sacrificial anode cells. The current density requirement as per BS EN 12696 ranges between 0.2mA/m2 and 2mA/m2 of the steel area for cathodic prevention. To set up a monitoring system, a normal sacrificial anode cell was modified (Figure 8) by connecting a 2.5mm2 copper core wire with sheathing to one of the steel tie wire from a normal anode and cut the unused tie wires as short as possible to ensure no contact between the modified anode and steel reinforcement. The modified anode was placed in the patched repair area and the lead wire was extended to the junction box. Besides, a cathode connection to rebar was installed and also extended by wire for monitoring. The junction box also provided switches with the following functions: (1) Switch Up = for measuring current to anode (2) Switch Middle = for disconnecting from anode (3) Switch Down = for connecting anode to rebar When the current to the anode was measured, only the anode being measured was switched up. All other switches were either in middle or down position.

Figure 8 Setup of monitoring system For each monitoring station, the initial readings of energizing current were recorded. Monitoring readings were then taken periodically including current, instant-off potential of the steel and 24 hour off potential of the steel. The current being produced by the monitoring anodes was then found out to calculate the current density. Depolarization of the steel could be found out from the 24 hours off potential and instant off potential value. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The anodes were installed at 400mm spacing along the edge of repair area and the design life of anodes was specified to be at least 15 years. The total surface area of the reinforcement bars within a 400mm400mm area is calculated as 0.105m2 (horizontal reinforcement: I at 6 c/c; vertical reinforcement: I at 8 c/c). 2 numbers of patch repair areas were installed with 1 number of monitoring anode and junction box. Readings for the first three months after the installation of sacrificial anodes have been taken, and Table 3 summarizes the measurement results.

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Table 3 Readings of galvanic corrosion protection Location: Wall area at 2/F Wall area at 4/F Toilet, Block A Toilet, Block B Repair area: Approx. 1400mm Approx. 1300mm 800 mm 1100 mm Current density: 3.3 - 14.3 mA/m2 1.1 - 7.0 mA/m2 Depolarization potential 7 - 45 mV 11 - 87 mV The cathodic prevention current density as required in BS EN 12696 ranges between 0.2 mA/ m2 to 2 mA/ m2 of the steel surface area. The above are initial readings of current density and the levels of depolarisation taken since mid-May 2012. The initial results prove that the systems have been operating as designed to cathodically prevent further corrosion of the reinforcement. It is, however, noted that the initial current densities at both monitoring stations are much higher than that required for cathodic prevention. Sergi et al (2008) and Sergi (2009) reported that the current will drop with time when the steel is polarized and the repair material dries up. The anode systems for corrosion protection have therefore been designed to be monitored periodically. The continuous monitoring was intended to verify the life-long performance of the designed system. Figure 9 and Figure 10 show the changes of current density for the first three months of installation, and they are generally decreasing and agree with Sergi et al (2008) and Sergi (2009). Figure 11 and Figure 12 illustrate the depolarization potentials for the first three months of installation. The depolraization potentials were found rarely exceeding 50mV. This agrees with the report of Sergi (2009) that the depolarization criterion for cathodic protection systems (i.e. 100mV) is unlikely to be met for cathodic prevention systems.

Figure 9 Current density against time (measured at 2/F, block A)

Figure 10 Current density against time (measured at 4/F, block B)

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Figure 11 Depolarization (measured at 2/F, block A)

Figure 12 Depolarization (measured at 4/F, block B) CONCLUSIONS Corrosion of steel rebars in chloride-contaminated concrete is a major problem of rehabilitation of aged buildings. It would probably be induced soon after the repair at the adjacent area if only conventional chip and patch method is used. New technology such as applying zinc sacrificial anode has been introduced in reinforced concrete for corrosion protection and corrosion prevention. Though it has been used in many rehabilitation projects in Hong Kong, its long-term performance has not yet extensively been studied and published. For the sacrificial anodes installed in this project, initial reading shows the performance is satisfactory and meets the cathodic prevention requirement in BS EN 12696. Long-term monitoring is in progress, and the data will be collected and analysed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to record their thanks to the Director of Architectural Services of the Hong Kong SAR Government for his kind permission of publishing the paper. The authors would also like to thank the staff in Chung & Ng Consulting Engineers Ltd for their works of structural survey, and to the staff in Architectural Services Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government for their help in preparing the manuscript. REFERENCES ASTM (2009), ASTM C 876 09: Standard Test Method for Corrosion Potentials of Uncoated Reinforcing Steel in Concrete (West Conshohocken: ASTM International). Ball, J.C. and Whitmore, D.W. (2003), Corrosion Mitigation Systems for Concrete Structures, Concrete Repair Bulletin, July/August, pp. 6-11. Bertolini, L., Bolzoni, F. and Pedeferri, P. (1998), Cathodic Protection and Cathodic Prevention in Concrete: Principles and Applications, Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 28 , pp. 1321-1331. BSI (2000), BS EN 12696:2000: Cathodic Protection of Steel in Concrete (London: BSI). BSI (2008), BS EN 1504-9:2008: Products and Systems for the Protection and Repair of Concrete Structures Definitions, Requirements, Quality Control and Evaluation of Conformity (London: BSI). Duff, G.S. and Farina, S.B. (2009), Development of an Embeddable Sensor to Monitor the Corrosion Process of New and Existing Reinforced Concrete Structures, Construction and Building Materials, 23, pp. 2746 2751. Pang, H.W., Chan, C.O. and Au, B.L.K. (2010), The Three Enablers of Building Sustainability Building Pathology, Performance Monitoring and Estate Improvement, Presented at Joint Structural Division Annual Seminar 2010, 15 June 2010, Hong Kong.

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Pedeferri, P. (1996), Cathodic Protection and Cathodic Prevention, Construction and Building Materials, 10(5) pp. 391-402. Sags, A.A., Balakrishna, V. and Powers, R.G. (2005), An Approach for the Evaluation of Performance of Point Anodes for Corrosion Prevention of Reinforcing Steel in Concrete Repairs, in Di Maio, A. and Zega, C. (eds), Proceedings of fib Symposium: Structural Concrete and Time, pp. 35-41. Sergi, G., Simpson, D. and Potter, J. (2008), Long-term Performance and Versatility of Zinc Sacrificial Anodes for Control of Reinforcement Corrosion, Presented in European Corrosion Congress, 7-11 September 2008, Edinburgh, UK. Sergi, G. (2009), Ten Year Results of Galvanic Sacrificial Anodes in Steel Reinforced Concrete, Presented in European Corrosion Congress, 6-10 September 2009, Nice, France. Whitmore, D.W. and Ball, J.C. (2005), Galvanic Protection for Reinforced Concrete Structures, Concrete Repair Bulletin, Spetember/October, pp. 20-22.

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