Abstract
Determining the reliability of reinforced concrete structures, based on visual inspections of
corroding cracks on the surfaces of structures, is of great interest. In the present study,
models for the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures are presented with a special
emphasis on a model for corrosion crack opening. Experiments and theoretical analysis
conducted by a numerical finite element method (FEM), support that the reduction of the
reinforcement bar diameter due to corrosion is proportional to the corresponding increase
in the crack width, measured on the surface of a concrete specimen, for a given time
interval. More recently, the constant of proportionality, the so-called crack-corrosion
index, has been studied further with respect to its dependence on the diameter of the
reinforcement and the concrete cover. In the present paper, the above work is presented
and extended with more realistic three-dimensional models of the cracked concrete beam.
The crack-corrosion index is evaluated for variations of different parameters, such as bar
diameter, concrete cover, crack length, and type of corrosion product. This paper is an
extended version of a paper by Thoft-Christensen, Svensson and Frandsen (2005)
presented at the IFIP WG 7.5 Conference, Aalborg, Denmark, May 2005.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Structure & Infrastructure Engineering |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 5 |
Pages (from-to) | 381 – 391 |
ISSN | 1573-2479 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |