Techniques of corrosion monitoring of steel rebar in reinforced concrete structures: A review

Reinforcement corrosion is a major culprit that undermines the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. It costs billions of dollars each year in the US alone and negatively impacts safety, reliability, resilience, and environmental performance of RC infrastructure. Corrosion monitoring of steel rebar is critical to provide early warning of deficiency, enable timely and effective maintenance strategies, and prevent catastrophes associated with premature failure of RC structures. To improve corrosion monitoring in the engineering practice, this work comprehensively reviews the state of the art of five major types of techniques, that is, electrochemical sensors, optical fiber sensors, sensors based on elastic wave methods, sensing based on electromagnetic methods, and untouched sensors. Each type of technique is systematically divided into sub-categories based on the sensing principle and key characteristics. For each sensor type, its maturity, application range, and the problems that hinder its application are discussed, aimed to provide guidance in selecting the appropriate sensors for specific engineering applications. This work concludes with an overview of opportunities and challenges, including the following six aspects for future research: spatial resolution, sensitivity, and measurement range; reliability and interpretation of the measurement; sensor selection based on three corrosion stages of steel rebar; long-term stability and service life; cost-efficiency of the sensing system; and monitoring of existing structure.