Profometer Corrosion - Half Cell Potential Meter

As direct successors to the Profometer 5+ and Canin+ models, the Profometer 6 instruments continue the successful tradition that began 40 years ago representing the sixth Profometer generation. It is also fully compatible with the Profometer PM 600-630-650 cover meter range using the same readout system, this is an excellent combined system for durability and corrosion assessment work.

In its current version the Profometer brand extends its features to cover additional methodologies related to the testing of reinforcement steel, incorporating both rebar assessment and corrosion analysis functionalities, thus replacing the world renowned Canin instrument for corrosion. Housing specially designed to be used on-site in harsh environments, including carrying strap, integrated stand and sunshield cover High resolution colour touchscreen allowing best possible measuring and analysis of the data for an entire working day (battery lifetime >8h) Dual core processor supporting diverse communication and peripheral interfaces Future proof investment through direct upgrade possibilities to upcoming Profometer products

The half-cell method is used to identify active corrosion of rebars based on the electro chemical properties of reinforced concrete. All the Proceq electrodes (rod or wheel) are based on a Copper / Copper Sulphate (Cu/CuSO4) half-cell. However specific applications or customer preferences sometimes require different reference electrodes. This is why the Profometer Corrosion voltage input range allows also the connection of Silver / Silver Chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes or Saturated Calomel (Hg/Hg2Cl2) reference electrode. The standard cable supplied with the Proceq rod electrode can be easily connected to most third party rod electrodes allowing the full compatibility of the system.

Test Method

Electrical potentials are the most common technique used for assessment of the extent of reinforcement corrosion. A copper sulphate half cell held against the concrete surface can be considered as a battery with one side of the battery being the copper rod in the copper sulphate solution (called a ‘reference half cell’) and the other side the steel bar in concrete. The potential difference (voltage difference) is measured by a voltmeter connected to the rebar and copper rod. The reference half cell is moved from point to point on the concrete surface. As the potential of the copper rod in coper sulphate solution is constant the different voltages measured are the difference in potential created by differences in potentials at the bar surfaces.  However the measurements are not the actual bar potentials, only a reflection of them. The measured values are affected by the resistivity of the concrete, the cover and various other factors.

The electrical potential distribution over a corroding area can be represented as a “funnel” centred on the anode, whose shape and extent is defined by the actual ongoing corrosion as well as by the concrete electrical resistivity. 

System Features

Corrosion Scan

• Intuitive user friendly interface for data acquisition
• Buttons indicate measuring path direction
• Optimized workflow for rod and wheel measurements
• Customizable text can be entered for the specific locations
• Flexible features enable the mapping of any irregular geometry
• Improved digital filtering to remove the effect of external noise (civil and industrial power sources)

Statistical Views

• Immediate on site data interpretation
• Customizable Distribution, Cumulative
• Distribution, Chipping Graph Views
• Predefined ASTM compliant layout

Reference Electrode Configurations

The detection of the hot spots where active corrosion begins involves the measuring of the localized negative values of the half-cell potential (i.e. corrosion potential). When using a rod electrode the user has to define a grid fine enough not to miss any local negative peak, while the use of a wheel electrode on the new Profometer Corrosion ensures a new level of accuracy. The wheel system is fast enough to measure the electrical potential continuously along its linear paths, ensuring the most negative measured value will always be recognized and stored with its associated location.

Profometer Configurations

Learn about the Profometer cover meter range here...

Profometer Link

Proceq Profometer Link PC tool is included with all Profometer 6 Cover Meter and Profometer Corrosion units. It is based on an integrated suite enabling the user to process the data coming from rebar detection / concrete cover as well as corrosion potential measurement. The Profometer units can be connected to the PC via USB and the software is fully compatible with Windows 7, 8 and 10 (32- and 64-bit).

All features available on the touchscreen unit are also implemented on the PC Create custom reports with exported graphs and charts Support for the merging of several corrosion scans into a single graph Picture and table export (csv files) for further processing, combined data evaluation and reporting on any third party software

Technical Specifications