210.5R-2026 (PDF) - Guide for Selecting and Specifying Reinforcing Bar Cleaning Levels

“ICRI Technical Guideline 210.5-2023, Guide for Selecting and Specifying Reinforcing Bar Cleaning Levels, was developed to provide a consistent, objective method for specifying, evaluating, and approving the cleanliness of exposed steel reinforcement during concrete repair projects. The guideline establishes standardized cleaning levels for steel reinforcement that have been cleaned using abrasive blasting or mechanical hand-tool methods, helping owners, engineers, contractors, and inspectors communicate expectations using a common set of criteria. Rather than relying on subjective descriptions of steel reinforcement condition, the document employs visual references and standards-based comparisons to define the degree of surface preparation required before repair work proceeds.

The major revision in the document is the concise identification of the cleanliness levels with respect to the method of removing cement paste and concrete residues from the exposed steel reinforcement. In the previous edition, there were fourteen cleanliness levels, including uniformly and pitted corrosion without preparation. These levels have now been grouped into four distinct categories, RCL0, RCL1, RCL2, and RCL3. RCL0 is described as uncleaned, RCL1 is the lowest level of cleanliness, and RCL3 is the highest level.”

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