Numerical Simulation to Optimize Impressed Current Cathodic Protection Systems for RC Structures

Corrosion of reinforcing steel is the primary degradation mechanism by which the long-term durability of RC structures can be seriously impaired. In order to mitigate reinforcement corrosion, impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is becoming an interesting option to be used in practice on real structures. In this study, the electrical field distribution of ICCP systems for RC structures with complicated geometry and multiple corrosion boundaries is investigated by using a finite-element method (FEM) numerical simulation method. The numerical optimization scheme for ICCP to control corrosion of RC structures is developed by tuning the amplitude of the impressed voltage, as well as the location and area size of the anode layer. Two prototypes of ICCP systems for RC structures are built to verify the effectiveness of the optimization algorithm under laboratory conditions. The testing results indicate that this optimization design scheme of ICCP systems can effectively control the corrosion of RC structures with multiple boundary conditions.