P. B. Sassmann
2nd International Conference on the Chemistry of Construction Materials (ICCCM), München, 10.–12. Oktober 2016

Development of ion- conductive polymer resins for the on-site fabrication of corrosion sensors

ABSTRACT: Assessing the corrosion risk in steel-reinforced concrete can be accomplished by implementing monitoring systems. For retrofit installations the electrically conductive connection of sensors and surrounding concrete is currently realised with cement-based embedding mortars. The use of such aqueous systems changes the moisture content of the concrete close to the sensor, which interferes significantly with resistivity and/or potential measurements and makes interpretations of the measured values problematic.
To circumvent these disadvantages, we developed a liquid, reactive, non-aqueous polymer resin with high electrical conductivity that can be used to fabricate sensors directly inside drill holes. This way, a close contact between sensor and the concrete walls is automatically provided. Since the polymer resin is not aqueous, the moisture balance of the old concrete is not altered so that reliable values can be obtained immediately after solidification.