Repairing damage caused by corrosion costs billions of dollars annually. One significant contributor to the corrosion problem is decaying reinforcing steel bar (rebar), which causes staining, cracking, and spalling of concrete structures throughout North America. Corroding rebar leads to costly repairs, continual maintenance, and eventual structural deficiencies of the concrete.

Hot-dip galvanizing, commonly specified for its longevity and durability on exposed structural steel, is also effectively and economically used to protect rebar from corroding. Concrete is a porous material and corrosive elements from
the atmosphere permeate the concrete, eventually reaching the rebar, and cause unprotected rebar to corrode. Galvanized reinforcing steel, with its tenacious, durable zinc coating, is uniquely suited to withstand these rigors without causing detriment to the concrete.

This 16-page publication will look at rebar corrosion, hot-dip galvanizing, and how galvanized rebar performs in concrete including design, specification, fabrication, and installation concerns.

The AGA has translated this publication into Spanish. This publication is only available to download as PDFs.