The Use of Vitreous Enamel Coatings to Improve Bonding and Reduce Corrosion IN Concrete Reinforcing Steel and Stay IN Place Forms at Army Installations

A series of vitreous enamel coatings that contain hydraulically reactive calcium silicates have been developed to improve the performance and service life of steel used as reinforcement in concrete structures.  The new series of enamel coatings combine a layer of alkaline-resistant base coat glass enamel with an outer coating of glass enamel that incorporates dicalcium silicate and tricalcium silicate.  The basecoat protects the steel while the calcium silicates in the outer layer hydrate when placed in fresh concrete and bond tightly to the surrounding concrete paste.  The bond strength between the concrete and steel is increased two to three times that developed with uncoated steel.  The new coating may be of value in increasing the performance and the service life of defense-critical infrastructure.             This paper will discuss both the details of the new coating and the implementation of the coating at a CONUS Army installation.  The performance of the coating to resist corrosion as well as enhance the composite mechanical strength will be presented.