Corrosion Risk Assessment of Existing Building after Five Years Stricken by Tsunami Aceh 2004

M. Ridhaa,c, Syarizal Fonnaa,b, S. Huznia and A. K. Ariffinb

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University Jl. Tgk Syech Abdurrauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia b Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600 Selangor, Malaysia c Tsunami & Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC), Syiah Kuala University Jl. Tgk Syech Abdurrauf No. 8, Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia Email: ridha@tdmrc.org
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Abstract - Premature deteriorations and failures of the reinforced concrete structures are majorly caused by the corrosion of steels in concrete. The corrosion of reinforced steel occurs when the passive layer of the steel broken down. One of factors that promote such action is the penetration of ion chloride as present in seawater into the concrete. The tsunami that struck Aceh on December 2004 caused many building submerged by seawater. Thus, the buildings become susceptible to the corrosion. This study is conducted on corrosion assessment for tsunami affected building by using haft-cell potential mapping that is already well-known technique and has been widely used in the field for corrosion diagnosing of reinforced concrete. The half-cell potential technique measures the potential on the surface of reinforced concrete. The corrosion level is decided using measured potential data. ASTM C867 that is the criteria for measuring and interpreting potential data on concrete surface is used. Three public buildings in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar are chosen for corrosion assessment. The results show that the potential values on the reinforced concrete surface are varied between 100 mV to -350 mV (copper/copper sulphate reference electrode). The corrosion conditions level of steel in concrete at certain part of building is already at intermediate corrosion risk after five years tsunami. Therefore, the further action is needed to be carried out to prevent the failure of the building in the future. Keywords: corrosion, reinforced concrete, half-cell, potential mapping