Enhanced Corrosion Behavior of Reinforcing Steel in Concrete Using Titanium Nano-composite Thin Films

In this study, a thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) system is performed in order to apply nano-coatings on the structural rebar using titanium (Ti), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and titanium diboride (TiB2). The corrosion reactions occur on the reinforcement surface and in this process, the coatings acting as barriers on the reinforcement play an important role in blocking these reactions. The thin film coatings are nano-structured, compact and homogeneous. The deposition time of thin film in this technique is very short. After the implementation of these coatings on reinforced concrete samples, accelerated corrosion tests were done so that the effectiveness of coatings against corrosion can be examined. These experiments showed that nano-coatings increased the corrosion resistance of the structural steels used in reinforced concrete structures. During the harmful effects that threaten the reinforced sample, the impact of coatings has emerged and reduced the corrosion of steel reinforcements. The best results were obtained with TiB2-coated sample with 48% lower corrosion current and this coating also expanded the damage occurrence time by 119% compared to uncoated rebar.