Experimental Study on the Sulfuric Acid Corrosion Resistance of PHC Used for Pipe Pile and NSC Used in Engineering

Abstract

In order to compare and investigate the sulfuric acid corrosion resistance of concrete for PHC pipe piles and two kinds of concrete commonly used in engineering, acid accelerated corrosion tests were conducted on specimens with three different strength grades of C30, C50, and C80 in a sulfuric acid solution with pH ≈ 0.85. The appearance of the specimens was observed, and the changes in mass loss percentage, corrosion depth, and stress–stain curves under uniaxial compressive loading were calculated and obtained with the corrosion time. From the comparison of corrosion depth and mass loss percentage of the concrete specimens with three different strength grades of C30, C50, and C80, it was found that the higher the strength grade of the concrete, the more severe the corrosion degree. The shapes of the stress–strain curves of three different strength grades of concrete specimens were basically the same. As the corrosion time was prolonged, the peak stress and the elastic modulus of concrete decreased. From the perspective of long-term corrosion, C80 specimens had a relatively smaller percentage of peak stress loss and a stronger resistance to peak stress loss. The research results provide references for the durability design of concrete structures and the prediction of concrete’s service life in a sulfuric acid environment.

Keywords

• concrete corrosion
• sulfuric acid attack
• strength grade
• corrosion depth
• mass loss
• mechanical properties