Cross-section modeling of the non-uniform corrosion due to chloride ingress using the positional finite element method

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an original and alternative FEM strategy to simulate the expansion and damage in cross sections of concrete elements due to non-uniform corrosion associated with chloride ingress. The strategy embed two-dimensional particle elements in two-dimensional matrix elements to simulate the stress distribution in the steel/concrete interface. This approach is different from the usual ones in which the steel rebar is replaced by forces and the contribution of the reinforcement stiffness is neglected. The reinforced concrete cross section is made by the composition of matrix and particle elements by means of nodal correspondence. This ensures that the number of degrees of freedom is not affected by the reinforcement, which makes the technique highly economical from the numerical point of view. A damage model contributes to the process of concrete degradation due to corrosion. The numerical applications ensure the accuracy of the developed model, showing its applicability in the analysis of non-uniform corrosion propagation in cross sections of reinforced concrete structures.