Research on the Fatigue Flexural Performance of RC Beams Attacked by Salt Spray

Abstract

The fatigue flexural performance of RC beams attacked by salt spray was studied. A testing method involving electro osmosis, electrical accelerated corrosion and salt spray was proposed. This corrosion process method effectively simulates real-world salt spray and fatigue loading exerted by RC components on sea bridges. Four RC beams that have different stress amplitudes were tested. It is found that deterioration by corrosion and fatigue loading reduces the fatigue life of the RC and decreases the ability of deformation. The fatigue life and deflection ability could be reduced by increasing the stress amplitude and the corrosion duration time. The test result demonstrates that this experimental method can couple corrosion deterioration and fatigue loading reasonably. This procedure may be applied to evaluate the fatigue life and concrete durability of RC components located in a natural salt spray environment.