Chemical attack and corrosion resistance of concrete prepared with electrolyzed water

This work investigates the sulfate and chloride resistance of cement composites (mortar and concrete) manufactured using electrolyzed water. Control and electrolyzed water based cement composites were prepared using distilled water and 30 min electrolyzed water, respectively. These were exposed to 5% Na2SO4, 3.5% NaCl, and a combined mixture of 5% Na2SO4 and 3.5% NaCl solution for 200 days. Additionally, rebar reinforced control and electrolyzed water-based samples were exposed to ambient air and 5% NaCl solution for 180 days, and their corrosion potential was monitored. For control specimens, the results show compressive strength losses of 5, 12.4, and 6.1% when exposed to the above solutions, respectively, whilst for electrolyzed water-based specimens, the losses were reduced to 1, 10.1, and 3.4%, respectively. Statistical analysis of the potential values from the accelerated corrosion tests also show reduced corrosion (58 mV less negative potential) in rebar embedded in electrolyzed water-based specimen (548 mV at 180 days) than in control specimen (606 mV). Based on the spectral and microstructural analysis, the enhanced durability performance of electrolyzed water-based specimens is attributed to the lower ingress of deleterious agents through the less porous and compact microstructure of the hardened composites.