Tests on Bond of Galvanized Rebar and Concrete Cured in Seawater

It has been claimed in the past that one of the main concerns regarding the use of galvanized reinforcement is a possible decrease of the rebar/concrete bond strength. The available results in the literature are contradictory to this. Besides, no long-term-study results have been found. In this paper, a series of tests is presented that compares the bond of deformed bare rebars with galvanized ones, exposed up to 10 years to a chloride environment in natural seawater (Mediterranean). In the case of galvanized rebars, the action of an H2 inhibitor has been considered as well. The results show that galvanized rebars maintain bond characteristics throughout the test period, with values much higher than the minimum requirements. The addition of an H2 inhibitor or the use of cements with a high alkali content has shown to be irrelevant in the long term.