Issue 50

A.G. Lekatou et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 50 (2019) 423-437; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.50.36 423 Focused on the research activities of the Greek Society of Experimental Mechanics of Materials Effect of fly ash on the corrosion performance and structural integrity of stainless steel concrete rebars in acid rain and saline environments Angeliki G. Lekatou, Sofia Tsouli, Christos Nikolaidis, Spyridon Kleftakis University of Ioannina, Department of Materials Science &Engineering, Laboratory of Applied Metallurgy, 45110 Ioannina, Greece alekatou@uoi.gr, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7951-4431 sotsouli@cc.uoi.gr, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5703-9403 chrisnikolaid@hotmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9336-6324 skleftak@uoi.gr , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6526-3758 Ilias K. Tragazikis, Theodoros E. Matikas University of Ioannina, Department of Materials Science &Engineering, Mechanics, Smart Sensors & Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory, 45110 Ioannina, Greece itragazik@cc.uoi.gr , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9601-1908 matikas@otenet.gr , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7912-5003 A BSTRACT . The corrosion behavior of 304L stainless steel rebars in an alkaline solution simulating new concrete subjected to acid rain attack and a mildly to slightly acidic solution simulating corroded cover concrete that ex- posed the reinforcement to direct acid rain attack, was investigated by reverse polarization. Both solutions contained Ca(OH) 2 and fly ash (0-25 wt.% of the dry mixture). Concrete cubes containing 0-25 wt.% fly ash and reinforced with 304L rebars were subjected to salt spraying for 4 m. Although the polar- ization behaviors in the two electrolytes were different, the relative trends with respect to the fly ash contents were similar. The beneficial effect of fly ash (up to 20 wt.%) on the corrosion resistance of 304L rebars was demonstrated. However, a deteriorating effect was realized at 25 wt.% addition. Partial re- placement of cement by fly ash did not significantly affect the tensile properties of the 304L rebar before or after 4 m of salt spraying. The elastic modulus and percent elongation presented a slight decrease after 4 m of salt spraying, ir- respectively of FA content. Corrosion-wise, 304L can replace 316L stainless steel provided that FA has been added to the concrete mixture, even at low contents (10 or 15 wt.%). K EYWORDS . 304L rebars; Fly ash; Acid rain; Reverse polarization; Salt spraying; Tensile properties. Citation: Lekatou, A.G., Tsouli, S., Nikolai- dis, C., Kleftakis, S., Tragazikis, I.K., Matikas T.E., Effect of fly ash on the corrosion per- formance and structural integrity of stainless steel concrete rebars in acid rain and saline environments, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 50 (2019) 423-437. Received: 21.01.2019 Accepted: 29.05.2019 Published: 01.10.2019 Copyright: © 2019 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.