Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6713663 | Construction and Building Materials | 2018 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
This paper presents the results of an experimental study designed to investigate the combined effects of corrosion and sustained loads on the structural performance of reinforced concrete beams. A total of eight RC beams, including both uncorroded beams and corroded ones accelerated by the impressed current method, were tested. All the beams were subjected to a four-point sustained bending load which was equivalent to 17%, 33% or 50% of the designed ultimate load, respectively. Corrosion degree, crack patterns, crack width and mid-span deflection of the beams were monitored during the test. The results showed that reinforcement corrosion had no obvious effect on the transverse crack spacing and a slight effect on the development of transverse crack width for the beams under simultaneous loading and corrosion. A higher load level and a lower current density allow for more sufficient oxidation of corrosion products with a larger volume expansion rate, leading to premature initiation and rapid propagation of corrosion cracking, and more obvious deflection development of RC beams. For a beam under simultaneous loading and reinforcement corrosion, the effect of reinforcement corrosion on its deflection cannot be ignored, because it may exceed creep effect at a relatively low corrosion degree.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Engineering
Civil and Structural Engineering
Authors
Weiping Zhang, Hongfei Zhang, Xianglin Gu, Wei Liu,