Effect of time dependent corrosion rate on residual capacity of corroded RC beam

Abstract

Corrosion is the most commonly severe defect in reinforced concrete (RC) structures and it mainly causes reduced rebar cross-section. The corrosion rate is the determining parameter of the progress of corrosion-induced damage. The present work is focused on the application of finite element (FE) analysis, using DIANA, to predict the residual capacity of reinforced concrete beam with different degree of corrosion. To this aim, existing experimental data is used to develop a FE model of corroded beams and to investigate their behaviour. This model is validated to predict the impact of time and current rate of corrosion on the residual load carrying capacity of corroded RC beams.