Impact of corrosion on low-cycle fatigue degradation of reinforcing bars with the effect of inelastic buckling

•Influence of corrosion and buckling on hysteretic loops of corroded bars.•Impact of corrosion on cyclic stress degradation of bars.•Combined impact of corrosion and buckling on number of cycles to failure.•Combined influence of corrosion and buckling on fracture mechanism.

The combined effect of inelastic buckling and chloride induced corrosion damage on low-cycle high amplitude fatigue life of embedded reinforcing bars in concrete is investigated experimentally. A total of forty-eight low-cycle fatigue tests on corroded reinforcing bars varied in percentage mass loss, strain amplitudes and buckling lengths are conducted. The failure modes and crack propagation are investigated by fractography of fracture surfaces using scanning electron microscope. The results show that the inelastic buckling, percentage mass loss and nonuniform corrosion pattern are the main parameters affecting the low-cycle fatigue life of reinforcing bars. It was found that the fatigue life of corroded reinforcing bars combined with inelastic buckling has a significant path dependency. The results show that in some cases the number of cycles to failure of corroded bars under constant amplitude fatigue test is increased.