title: A rapid, non-destructive methodology to monitor activity of sulfide-induced corrosion of concrete based on H2S uptake rate.
abstract: Many existing methods to monitor the corrosion of concrete in sewers are either very slow or destructive measurements. To overcome these limitations, a rapid, non-invasive methodology was developed to monitor the sulfide-induced corrosion process on concrete through the measurement of the H2S uptake rates of concrete at various corrosion stages. The H2S uptake rate for a concrete coupon was determined by measuring the gaseous H2S concentrations over time in a temperature- and humidity-controlled gas-tight reactor. The reliability of this method was evaluated by carrying out repeated tests on different concrete coupons previously exposed to 50 ppm of H2S, at 30 °C and 100% relative humidity for over 32 months. The H2S uptake measurements showed good reproducibility. It was also shown that a severely corroded coupon exhibited higher sulfide uptake rates than a less corroded coupon. This could be explained by the corrosion layer in the more corroded coupon having a higher biological sulfide oxidation activity than the less corroded coupon. Additionally, temperature changes had a stronger effect on the uptake rate of the heavily corroded coupon compared to the less corroded coupon. A corrosion rate of 8.9 ± 0.5 mm/year, estimated from the H2S uptake results, agreed well with the corrosion rate observed in real sewers under similar conditions. The method could be applied to investigate important factors affecting sulfide-induced concrete corrosion, particularly temperature, fluctuating gaseous H2S concentrations, oxygen concentrations, surface pH and relative humidity.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, Gehrmann Building, Research Road, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: x.sun@awmc.uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, Gehrmann Building, Research Road, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: g.jiang@awmc.uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, Gehrmann Building, Research Road, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: phil.bond@awmc.uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Philip L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bond
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infrastructure Performance and Reliability, The University of Newcastle, Australia. Electronic address: Tony.Wells@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, Gehrmann Building, Research Road, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: j.keller@awmc.uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jurg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D003252:Construction Materials / Q000032:analysis*; D003343:Corrosion; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013440:Sulfides; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide
keywords: Concrete corrosion; Corrosion rate; Hydrogen sulfide; Sewer; Uptake rate