Damage Evolution of RC Beams Under Simultaneous Reinforcement Corrosion and Sustained Load

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Materials Science
• Structural Engineering

Background:

• Coastal concrete structures face degradation from reinforcement corrosion and sustained loads.
• Understanding damage evolution is crucial for accurate performance assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) members.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the combined effects of reinforcement corrosion and sustained load on RC beams.
• To develop and validate a finite element model for simulating damage in corroded RC beams.

Main Methods:

• Experimental testing of four RC beams under varying corrosion and sustained load levels.
• Development of a finite element model using a temperature-field method to simulate reinforcement corrosion expansion.
• Analysis of crack patterns, crack widths, and residual loading capacities.

Main Results:

• Coupled corrosion and sustained load significantly increase crack width and number, while decreasing load capacity.
• Corroded beams under 30% and 50% designed load showed residual capacities of 87.5% and 81.8% compared to the control beam.
• The finite element model accurately captured concrete cracking due to reinforcement corrosion, especially under combined loading.

Conclusions:

• The finite element model effectively simulates the damage evolution of corroded RC beams under coupled effects.
• This simulation provides a valuable reference for durability evaluation, life prediction, and numerical analysis of concrete structures in harsh environments.