BIPOLAR CONCRETE PENETRATING CORROSION INHIBITORS

EPCOKP-200
Bipolar Concrete penetrating corrosion inhibiting admixture
USES For protection of reinforcement against chlorides. As an admixture to concrete for
protecting reinforcement steel in structure exposed to aggressive corrosion like marine structures,
foundations, jetties, docks, mooring berths, bridges, sewerage systems, chlorinating plants,
chimneys, cooling towers, power plants, refineries & buildings.
PROPERTIES EPCO-KP-200 is a hi-tech corrosion inhibitor system that works on the Bipolar
Inhibition Mechanism (B.I.M) which inhibits corrosion of steel in concrete at both the poles.
Safe to concrete, safe to environment.
Conforms to RDSO Specifications.
EPCOKP-100
Surface applied bipolar concrete penetrating corrosion inhibitor
USES In repairs and rehabilitation of concrete structures, to protect the embedded reinforcement
against chlorides. Also for structures and foundations exposed to salinity.
PROPERTIES
When surface applied it diffuses through the concrete by virtue of its affinity for steel
Corrosion Control:
From the literature survey and case studies it has been reported that 40% of failure of structures
is on account of corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement in concrete. Therefore corrosion
control of steel reinforcement is a subject of paramount importance. First and foremost for
corrosion control is the good quality of concrete through good construction practices. It is a very
vast subject touches the fundamentals of choosing constituents material and good rules to be
followed during various stages or production of concrete, in particular the use of lowest possible
water/cement ratio having regard to workability. In view of the general availability of
superplasticizers, it should be used to cut down the W/C ratio to make dense concrete.

Proper mix design, use of right quality and quantity of cement for different exposure conditions
is to be adopted. Recently it has been realized that lower W/C ratio which has been always
associated with lower permeability is not enough to make impermeable concrete contributing to
high durability. Use of supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash, ground granulated
blast furnace slag (ggbs), silica fume etc. are required to be used as admixtures or in the form of
blended cement in addition to lowest possible W/C ratio to make concrete dense. These materials
improve more than one properties of concrete, which will eventually reduce corrosion of
reinforcement. Tests on mortar containing ggbs have shown that water permeability is reduced

by a factor up to 100. It is also reported that 60 per cent ggbs educed the diffusion of chloride
ions into the concrete by as much as 10 times. Silica fume contributes to the all-round
improvements in the quality of concrete, which are responsible for reducing corrosion of steel
reinforcement. The improvement in the microstructure of hydrated cement paste is ultimately
responsible for protecting the steel reinforcement from corrosion.
In short it can be said that if we make good concrete with low permeability and improved
microstructure, it will be durable by itself and also it can take care of the reinforcement
contained in it o a great extent. It is always not possible to make such ideal concrete, particularly,
in view of the complex environmental and exposure conditions. Further the inherent long term
drying shrinkage and micro cracks in concrete, the problems become more serious. This demands
certain other measures to control the corrosion of steel reinforcement. They are listed and briefly
explained.
1. Metallurgical methods
2. Corrosion inhibitors
3. Coatings to reinforcement
4. Re-alkalization
5. Chloride removal
6. Cathodic protection
7. Coatings to concrete
3.1 Metallurgical Methods:
Steel can made more corrosion resistant by altering its structure through metallurgical processes.
Different methods such as rapid quenching of the hog bars by series of water jets, or by keeping
the hot steel bars for a short time in a water bath, and by such other process the mechanical
properties and corrosion resistance property of steel can be improved. There are many situations
where stainless steel reinforcements are used for long term durability of concrete structures.
3.2 Corrosion inhibitors:
Corrosion inhibitors, which come in powder, gel and liquid form, retard the rate of the corrosion
reaction. They are widely used in many industries to effectively reduce the corrosion rate of steel
and other metals. Commercial products for the control of corrosion of steel reinforcement in
atmospherically exposed concrete were first produced in the 1970's. They increase the time to the
onset of corrosion and then act to reduce the rate of corrosion. They can be introduced into the
concrete mix at the time of construction/ repair or (in a suitable formulation) applied to the
surface of an existing concrete structure. There are three main types of inhibitors:
3.2.1 Anodic inhibitors, which retard the corrosion reaction at the anode: Corrosion can be
prevented or delayed by chemical method by using certain corrosion inhibiting chemicals such as
nitrites, phosphates, benzoates etc. At low dosage there is concern that they will suppress
generalized corrosion but may fail to eliminate all anodic sites. Of the available materials, the
most widely used admixture is based on calcium nitrite but have proved to be deleterious at high
chloride concentrations. It is added to the concrete during mixing of concrete. The typical dosage
is of the order of 10-30 litres per m3 of concrete depending on chloride levels in concrete.

Fig 10 Corrosion inhibiting effects of calcium nitrite

As mentioned earlier, in the high pH of concrete, the steel is protected by a passivating layer of
ferric oxide on the surface of steel. However, the passivating layer also contains some ferrous
oxide, which can initiate corrosion when the chloride ions reach the steel. The nitrite ions present
in the corrosion-inhibiting admixture will oxidize the ferrous oxide to ferric oxide, thus
stabilizing the passivating layer even in the presence of chlorides. The concentration of nitrite
must by sufficient to cope up with the continuing ingress of chloride ions.
Calcium nitrite corrosion inhibitor comes in a liquid from containing about 30 per cent calcium
nitrite solids by weight. The more corrosion inhibitor is added, the longer the onset of corrosion
will be delayed. Since most structures in a chloride environment reach a level of about 7 kg of
chloride iron per m3 during their service life, use of less than 18 litres/ m3 of calcium nitrite
solution is not recommended.
Fig. 10 shows that without an inhibitor the reinforcing steel starts to corrode when the chloride
content at the rebar reaches a threshold level of 0.7 kg/ m3. Although the corrosion process starts
when the threshold level is reacted, it may take several years for staining, cracking and spalling
to become apparent and several more years before deterioration occurs. Adding calcium nitrite
increases this corrosion threshold. When you add 20-litres/ m3, corrosion will not begin until
over 7.7-kg/ m3 of chloride is present in the concrete at the rebar.
3.2.2 Cathodic inhibitors
Which retard the reaction at the cathode and seek to prevent oxygen reaching the reinforcing
steel. At low dosages, they are effective at reducing corrosion rates but are generally less
efficient than the anodic type.
3.2.3 Bipolar inhibitors
They retard the corrosion process both at the anode and the cathode. These combine the benefits
of both anodic and cathodic inhibitors at relatively low dosages. In this category organic
Migratory bipolar corrosion inhibitors are the most widely used.
Migratory Bipolar Corrosion inhibitors are organic inhibitors. They protect the steel at both the
anodic and the cathodic sites. The Bipolar corrosion inhibitor chemistry involves migration of its
molecules by electron density distribution to both the anodic and 11 cathodic sites of the steel.
By virtue of its high vapour pressure, very high affinity and virtue of diffusion these inhibitors
migrate towards the steel in concrete and get deposited in a monomolecular layer. This is true
even in dense concrete. This barrier coating then raises the chloride threshold concentration for
corrosion. Further more the inhibitor within the concrete matrix reduces the rate of chloride ion
migration towards steel. It also dislodges previously absorbed chloride ions and water molecules
on the steel surface.
The basic advantage of the product lies in the ease of use. Studies have proved that addition of
these types of corrosion inhibitors has no deleterious effect on the properties of concrete.
Concrete penetrating corrosion inhibiting admixture upon addition into the concrete matrix plays

a major role in inhibiting the corrosion process. The European Committee for standardization
(CEN) pr. ENV 1504-9 recommends application of Concrete penetrating corrosion inhibitors as a
proven corrosion control strategy. SHRP-S-666 (Strategic Highway Research Programme) has
recommended these types of corrosion inhibitors for concrete structures subjected to chlorideinduced corrosion. General Building Corporation of Japan has evaluated this product in concrete
extensively and has reported rebar life extension by six times. Two codes available
internationally for testing these types of inhibitors are ASTM G 109 & JIS A 6205.
They are available, both as surface applied inhibitors and as admixed inhibitors. Surface applied
inhibitors are used by spraying on the complete surface of the structure being repaired so that
protection to the unexposed reinforcement is taken care of. Admixed inhibitors are used in the
fresh mortar/concrete being placed for strengthening the structure.
Specification for surface applied Corrosion inhibitor
Base
Bipolar Water based Organic inhibitor. Concrete penetrating type.
Colour
Colorless Hazy liquid
Specific Gravity
1.01 1.02 at 25o C
Viscosity at 250C
11-12 sec by Ford B4 Cup.
pH
Minimum 9.5
Dosage
To be sprayed at the rate of 4m2 / ltr
Toxicity
Non-toxic , Eco-friendly.
Evaluation
Should pass JIS - 6205 standard
Specification for Admixed corrosion inhibitor
Base
Bipolar Organic inhibitor. Concrete penetrating type.
Colour
Brownish
Specific Gravity
1.05 1.08 at 25o C
Viscosity at 250C
11-12 sec by Ford B4 Cup.
pH
Minimum 9.0
Dosage
3 kgs per cubic meter of concrete.
Toxicity
Non-toxic, Eco-friendly.
Effect on concrete No adverse effect on physical properties in fresh & hardened concrete in
properties
the absence of any other admixtures. However it is Essential to carry out
trial mix with desired admixtures along with Migratory Corrosion
Inhibitor.
Compatibility for Compatible for higher thermal cycles No deleterious effects
Higher Thermal even at high temperature. Effective even at higher temperatures.
Cycles
Evaluation
Should pass ASTM-G-109 standard & JIS - 6205
Should pass tropical climate test (thermal cycles)
Acceptance Criteria:
Migratory Bipolar Corrosion Inhibitor should be tested as per ASTM-G-109/ JIS - 6205 from
reputed laboratories like CSIR & I.I.T.
Tropical Compatibility:
Material shall have evaluated test reports indicating significant reduction in corrosion rate after
minimum of 90 thermal cycles at 60oC followed by 8 weeks of accelerated corrosion. (Linear
polarization method)
The inhibitor shall be non-toxic & safe to plant and human life.
The principle of most inhibitors is to develop a very thin chemical layer on the surface of the
reinforcement. There is a very wide range of corrosion protection performance from different
inhibitor formulations, even with generic classifications. Independent evaluation and certification
of performance is desirable. However, such evaluations need to be representative of field
concretes and conditions. As the true effect of an inhibitor can only be evaluated from corrosion
rate measurements before and after application and by reference to a control area, such
systematic evaluations are lengthy processes and are in their early stages.