Non destructive electrochemical characterizations of reinforced concrete corrosion : basic and symbolic data analysis
Reinforcement corrosion is one of the major structural performance issues that need to be solved to extend the service lifetime of a concrete structure. It is influenced, on the one hand, by the concrete itself sound or contaminated (with chloride or carbonated) and, on the other hand, by the environmental conditions such as temperature and relative humidity (controlled or outdoor). To characterize the corrosion of steel rebar in concrete prisms, several electrochemical measurements such as half-cell potential, linear polarization resistance and impedance were performed and corrosion rates were then calculated. A database containing > 3000 values has been established. These data have been firstly analyzed with basic statistics and secondly they have been modeled as symbolic data and studied with a principal component analysis. It is shown that symbolic principal component analysis is a powerful tool leading to more refined results.