Ratcheting behaviour of corroded steel tubes under uniaxial cycling: An experimental investigation

•The strain ratcheting behaviour of corroded steel tubular was experimentally studied under uniaxial cyclic loads.•Corroded tubes showed significantly higher ratcheting strain rates in comparison to intact tubes.•With corroded tubes, the strain ratcheting response in defected and perfect zones was distinctively different.

The influence of corrosion defects on the ratcheting behaviour of steel tubes under uniaxial cyclic loadings has been experimentally investigated. Different material grades, loading protocols and defect geometries have been considered. Surface defects have been found to be more detrimental to the cyclic response of the tubes, as compared to their monotonic uniaxial response. The axisymmetric wrinkling mode of failure in intact tubes changes to non-axisymmetric modes in defective tubes. In a defective tube the strains in the damaged and perfect parts of the tube ratchet at significantly different rates.