Reinforcement Corrosion in RC Hollow Piers: Destructive and Non-Destructive Tests

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Materials Science
• Structural Engineering

Background:

• Reinforced concrete bridge piers are susceptible to corrosion, impacting their structural integrity.
• Limited experimental data exists on the cyclic behavior of corroded reinforced concrete hollow cross-section bridge piers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate the effects of corrosion on the cyclic load performance of reduced-scale reinforced concrete hollow bridge piers.
• To compare the behavior of corroded piers with non-corroded counterparts.

Main Methods:

• Corrosion was induced using an electric current and sodium chloride solution.
• Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques, including the SonReb method and corrosion potential measurements, were used to monitor degradation.
• Cyclic-load tests were conducted, with crack patterns recorded by cameras and displacement monitored by an LVDT system.

Main Results:

• Corroded piers showed a change in failure mode from ductile flexural failure (non-corroded) to brittle shear failure.
• Diagonal cracks at approximately 45° were observed as the initial failure indicator in corroded piers.
• Experimental data captured degradation monitoring and mechanical performance under cyclic loading.

Conclusions:

• The study provides valuable experimental data for analyzing the behavior of corroded reinforced concrete hollow bridge piers.
• The cyclic response data can serve as a reference for developing and validating nonlinear capacity models for seismic assessment of corroded piers.