Assessment of bond deterioration in corroded RC members incorporating cracking response and tension stiffening

Abstract

Deterioration of bond between steel reinforcement and concrete due to corrosion significantly affects the durability, strength, and serviceability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This paper discusses the effects of reinforcement corrosion on the bond deterioration of RC members through cracking and tension stiffening behaviours. A series of RC members were tested under direct tensile force. A bond reduction model due to the corrosion was proposed by combining the experimental results and available data in the literature. Average widths of tensile crack on the corroded RC members were precisely estimated based on the proposed bond reduction model. Moreover, a simplified numerical model using three-dimensional non-linear finite element (FE) analysis was performed to reproduce the average response of the tensile members. A good agreement of load-concrete strain behaviour was achieved between experimental and analysis results. The constitutive model of concrete including the effect of reinforcement corrosion under tension for FE modelling was discussed. The findings demonstrate the effective evaluation of member responses deteriorated by reinforcement corrosion. Thus, the study will be valuable in improving the assessment of structural durability and performance.

Keywords:

• Bond degradation
• crack width
• finite element model
• reinforcement corrosion
• tensile crack
• tension stiffening

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a Japanese Government Monbukagakusho (MEXT) scholarship, Japan, grant no. 173333 (2019).