Rebar corrosion detection, protection, and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures in coastal environments: a review

Deterioration due to corrosion is a key issue affecting the durability, safety, and sustainability of buildings and structures. Most cities are located in coastal areas and many reinforced concrete structures in these areas are exposed to aggressive marine environments. Therefore, it is important to provide protection and offer appropriate repair methods of buildings vulnerable to the degrading effects of corrosion. The first step of implementing recovery is determining the level of degradation undergone by exposed concrete structures. However, there is a lack of integrated guiding principles in this field. Thus, this review paper identifies the tests of determining the level of deterioration, with particular attention given to carbonation issues and chloride ion attacks. The paper also provides a categorization of solution methods for protection, maintenance, and repair, based on standards and codes culled from around the world. This research contributes to the field by providing a readily-available reference for practitioners and researchers, on the current state of knowledge on corrosion and repair strategies for coastal concrete structures.