Experimental and analytical investigations on flexural performance of corroded RC beams using RBSM-based corrosion model

Abstract

Residual strength and structural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to rebar corrosion need to be precisely evaluated for an efficient rehabilitation process. However, the performance of deteriorated structures cannot be specified by using design methods since the damaged conditions are different in each type of structures due to corrosion degree, corrosion position, environmental condition. This study first presents an experimental investigation on the flexural performance of RC beam subjected to rebar corrosion. To complement the test data, an analytical corrosion model developed by the authors, which is based on Rigid Body Spring Method (RBSM), was employed. The results obtained from both analytical model and experiment confirmed that the corroded beam appeared to obtain a significantly lower bending stiffness and lower flexural capacity than those of the sound beam. The developed corrosion model can be able to capture the load-displacement curve of experimental results with good agreement.