Numerical model for prediction of corrosion of steel reinforcements in reinforced concrete structures

Abstract

Reinforced concrete structures experience alteration and degradation during their lifetime due to the corrosion of the steel reinforcements. Prevention of the steel corrosion is indispensable to avoid structural degradation. In this paper, a preventive numerical approach of corrosion of steel reinforcements is presented. An in-house program which is part of a developed software called REHA is used in the present work. The corrosion initiation time due to carbonatation and penetration of chloride ions is studied. The model is applied on a case study which concerns a reinforced concrete T-beam of a bridge. The results revealed that the penetration of chloride ions represents the unfavorable case, which leads to rapid corrosion of the steel reinforcement, and the environmental conditions do not have high influence on the crack opening width in the service and spalling phases. The objective of the present model is to act as a decision aid for including the problem of corrosion cracking of steel reinforcements when planning strategies for rehabilitation and maintenance of existing structures or when dimensioning elements of new structures. Keywords: Cracking, Corrosion, Steel reinforcement, Diagnostic, Remedy