ABSTRACT
Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) is a well-established technique to rehabilitate and protect corroding steel reinforcement in concrete. The ICCP system works on the basis of shifting steel potentials to more negative values using a DC power supply in order to thermodynamically prevent corrosion from occurring. The negative potential repels chloride ions and allows the generation of hydroxyl ions at the steel-concrete interface which leads to an increase in the pH, helping restore passivity. Once passivity is achieved, the applied current can be reduced to maintenance levels that sustain the passive state. The reduction in the current also assists in preserving the operational lifetime of the cathodic protection system, reducing the likelihood of acid attack at the anode.
