Tânia Dias, Orlando Pereira, Elsa Pereira and Maria Sofia Ribeiro
The action of
styrene-butadiene and acrylic-styrene polymer modifiers on the corrosion rate
of steel embedded in carbonated cement mortar were evaluated by corrosion
current intensity measurements in wetting-drying cycles. The results of polymer
cement mortars were compared with those of an unmodified cement mortar and
discussed. These results were additionally confronted with the air content,
water absorption, resistance to carbonation and electrical resistivity. The
microstructure of the corrosion products was characterised by scanning electron
microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Results confirmed a noticeable
reduction in the corrosion rate of steel rebars embedded in carbonated PCMs
comparatively to unmodified CM.
KEYWORDS: Polymer cement
mortar; Polymer dispersion; Corrosion; Carbonation; Repair mortar.