Degradation relationships for the mechanical properties of corroded steel rebars

- Corrosion effects on the mechanical behavior of reinforcing steel rebars.
- Experimental investigation on the constitutive laws of uniformly corroded steel bars.
- Literature review on the mechanical behavior of locally corroded steel bars.
- Degradation laws for the mechanical properties of corroded reinforcement.

In the present work the mechanical behavior of reinforcing steel rebars deteriorated by corrosion is investigated. The effects of both the degradation morphologies (uniform and localized) are considered. In particular, an experimental survey on artificially deteriorated steel rebars, with different diameters and subjected to different corrosion degrees, was carried out in the Laboratory of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, in order to obtain a uniform corrosion. The specimens were subsequently subjected to monotonic tensile tests in order to investigate the influence of the uniform corrosion on their constitutive relationships. On the basis of the obtained responses, decay equations for the main mechanical properties are developed. Finally, with reference to the pitting corrosion, the data presented in literature are collected and statistically analyzed for defining, in this case also, degradation equations suitable to estimate the variation of the steel mechanical properties.