Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Structural performance of reinforced concrete beams subjected to combined effects of corrosion and cyclic loading

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The deleterious effects of steel rebar corrosion in bridges and viaducts can be potentialized by the cyclic loading to which such structures are naturally exposed. While cyclic loading may lead to progressive bond deterioration and concrete cover cracking, corroded steel rebars may accelerate the fatigue damage accumulation in reinforced concrete elements. Thus, the combined effects of corrosion and fatigue are still more damaging than the disassociated degradation processes. Under this perspective, the experimental program presented in this paper evaluates the synergy between corrosion and fatigue through the load-bearing capacity, vertical displacements at midspan, failure mode, cracking, and fatigue life of corroded reinforced concrete beams submitted to cyclic loading. Corroded reinforced concrete beams (120 × 200 × 1500mm, 2φ12.5 mm, φ 6.3 mm each 100 mm at midspan and 60 mm at shear span) were submitted to 2 million loading cycles (5 Hz) and tested up to failure under a four-point bending scheme. The steel rebar corrosion was accelerated by immersion corrosion testing up to 3–5% (low level) and 8–11% (high level) mass loss. The isolated effects of fatigue and low-level corrosion (3–5%) did not influence the load-bearing capacity and ductility of the reinforced concrete beams, unlike beams submitted to high corrosion levels. The fatigue loading did not influence the load-bearing capacity and ductility of the reinforced concrete beams submitted to low corrosion levels but increased the crack opening, reduced the ultimate load by about 10%, and reduced the ductility of the beams submitted to high corrosion levels. The failure mode changed from ductile to brittle in reinforced concrete beams submitted to high corrosion levels.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. ACI Committee 408 (2003) Bond and development of straight reinforcing bars in Tension. Am Concr Inst

  2. Tepfers R (1979) Cracking of concrete cover along anchored deformed reinforcing bars. Mag Concr Res 31:3–12. http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.1979.31.106.3

  3. Chen E, Leung CKY (2015) Finite element modeling of concrete cover cracking due to non-uniform steel corrosion. Eng Fract Mech, Elsevier Ltd 134:61–78.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2014.12.011

  4. Jin M, Xu J, Jiang L, Gao G, Chu H, Xiong C et al (2014) Electrochemical characterization of a solid embeddable Ag/AgCl reference electrode for corrosion monitoring in reinforced concrete. Electrochemistry 82:1040–6. http://jlc.jst.go.jp/DN/JST.JSTAGE/electrochemistry/82.

  5. Stewart MG (2009) Mechanical behaviour of pitting corrosion of flexural and shear reinforcement and its effect on structural reliability of corroding RC beams. Struct Saf. Elsevier Ltd 31:19–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strusafe.2007.12.001

  6. Fédération Internationale du Béton. fib Bulletin 10 (2000) Bond of reinforcement in concrete. Switzerland: the international federation for structural concrete. https://www.fib-international.org/publications/fib-bulletins/bond-of-reinforcement-in-concrete-pdf-detail.html

  7. ACI Committee 222 (2001) Protection of metals in concrete against corrosion. Am Concr Inst

  8. Bhargava K, Ghosh AK, Mori Y, Ramanujam S(2008) Suggested empirical models for corrosion-induced bond degradation in reinforced concrete. J Struct Eng. 134:221–30.  https://doi.org/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9445%282008%29134%3A2%28221%29

  9. Lin H, Zhao Y(2016) Effects of confinements on the bond strength between concrete and corroded steel bars. Constr Build Mater. Elsevier Ltd 118:127–38.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.05.040

  10. Almusallam AA, Al-Gahtani AS, Aziz AR (1996) Rasheeduzzafar. Effect of reinforcement corrosion on bond strength. Constr Build Mater 10:123–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Meneghetti LC, Garcez MR, Da Silva Filho LCP, Gastal FDPSL, Bittencourt TN(2014) Fatigue life of RC beams strengthened with FRP systems. Struct Concr. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84901853991&partnerID=MN8TOARS

  12. Garcez MR, Meneghetti LC(2017) Fatigue assessment of RC beams post-strengthened in flexure with prestressed FRP

  13. Garcez MR, Meneghetti LC, Teixeira RM(2019) The effect of FRP prestressing on the fatigue performance of strengthened RC beams. Struct Concr. suco.201900079. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/suco.201900079

  14. Branco R, Costa JD, Antunes FV(2014) Fatigue behaviour and life prediction of lateral notched round bars under bending – torsion loading. Eng Fract Mech. Elsevier Ltd 119:66–84.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2014.02.009

  15. Silva ALL, Jesus AMP, De, Xavier J, Correia JAFO, Fernandes AA(2017) Combined analytical-numerical methodologies for the evaluation of mixed-mode (I + II) fatigue crack growth rates in structural steels. Eng Fract Mech. Elsevier Ltd 185:124–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2017.04.016

  16. Ghafoori E, Motavalli M, Zhao X, Nussbaumer A, Fontana M(2015) Fatigue design criteria for strengthening metallic beams with bonded CFRP plates. Eng Struct. Elsevier Ltd 101:542–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2015.07.048

  17. Coca FJO, Tello MUL, Gaona-Tiburcio C, Romero JA, Martínez-Villafañe A, Maldonado E et al (2011) Corrosion fatigue of road bridges: a review. Int J Electrochem Sci 6:3438–3451

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wang L, Yu AP, Liu BC(2010) Behavior of Different Corrosion Ratio RC Beams under Fatigue and Monotonic Loads. Adv Mater Res [Internet]. ;163–167:3074–8. Available from: https://www.scientific.net/AMR.163-167.3074

  19. Bastidas-Arteaga E, Bressolette P, Chateauneuf A, Sánchez-silva M(2009) Probabilistic lifetime assessment of RC structures under coupled corrosion – fatigue deterioration processes. Struct Saf [Internet]. Elsevier Ltd; ;31:84–96. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strusafe.2008.04.001

  20. Wang XH, Gao XH, Li B, Deng BR(2011) Effect of bond and corrosion within partial length on shear behaviour and load capacity of RC beam. Constr Build Mater [Internet]. Elsevier Ltd; ;25:1812–23. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.11.081

  21. Chen S-F, Zheng M-L, Wand B-G(2009) Study of High-Performance Concrete Subjected to Coupled Action from Sodium Sulfate Solution and Alternating Stresses. J Mater Civ Eng 21:148–53. https://doi.org/10.1061/%28ASCE%290899-1561%282009%2921%3A4%28148%29

  22. Yi W-J, Kunnath SK, Sun X-D, Shi C-J, Tang F-J (2010) Fatigue behavior of Reinforced concrete beams with corroded steel reinforcement. Aci Struct Jouurnal 107:526–533

    Google Scholar 

  23. Lin KL, Wu HH, Shie JL, Hwang CL, An C (2010) Recycling waste brick from construction and demolition of buildings as pozzolanic materials. Waste Manag Res 28:653–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Wu Z, Wang X, Iwashita K, Sasaki T, Hamaguchi Y(2010) Tensile fatigue behaviour of FRP and hybrid FRP sheets. Compos Part B. Elsevier Ltd 41:396–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2010.02.001

  25. Wang XH, Bastidas-Arteaga E, Gao Y(2018) Probabilistic analysis of chloride penetration in reinforced concrete subjected to pre-exposure static and fatigue loading and wetting-drying cycles. Eng Fail Anal. Elsevier 84:205–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2017.11.008

  26. Al-Hammoud R, Soudki K, Topper TH(2010) Bond analysis of corroded reinforced concrete beams under monotonic and fatigue loads. Cem Concr Compos. Elsevier Ltd 32:194–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2009.12.001

  27. Rteil A, Soudki K, Topper T(2011) Mechanics of bond under repeated loading. Constr Build Mater. Elsevier Ltd 25:2822–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.12.053

  28. Lu Y, Tang W, Li S, Tang M(2018) Effects of simultaneous fatigue loading and corrosion on the behavior of reinforced beams. Constr Build Mater. Elsevier Ltd 181:85–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.06.028

  29. Balazs GL (1992) Fatigue of bond. ACI Mater J 88:620–630

    Google Scholar 

  30. Tareq N, Al-saadi K, Al-mahaidi R(2016) Fatigue performance of NSM CFRP strips embedded in concrete using epoxy adhesive. Compos Struct. Elsevier Ltd 154:419–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2016.07.073

  31. ABNT (2014) NBR 6118 design of concrete structures. Rio de Janeiro 238

  32. ACI Commitee 215 (1997) Considerations for design of concrete structures subjected to fatigue loading (ACI 215R-97). Farmington Hills (MI);

  33. ABNT (2018) NBR 16697 Portland cement - requirements. Rio de Janeiro

  34. Stein KJ, Graeff ÂG (2019) Experimental analysis on the combined effects of corrosion and fatigue in reinforced concrete beams. Ambient Construído 19:69–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Yoon I (2012) Chloride penetration through cracks in high-performance concrete and Surface Treatment System for Crack Healing. Adv Mater Sci Eng 2012:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. ASTM (2017) ASTM G1-03 standard practice for preparing, cleaning, and evaluating corrosion test specimens. Annu B ASTM Stand, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  37. Fang C, Lundgren K, Chen L, Zhu C (2004) Corrosion influence on bond in reinforced concrete. Cem Concr Res 34:2159–2167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Li H, Li B, Jin R, Li S, Yu JG (2018) Effects of sustained loading and corrosion on the performance of reinforced concrete beams. Constr Build Mater 169:179–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Kearsley EP, Joyce A (2014) Effect of corrosion products on bond strength and flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs. J South African Inst Civ Eng 56:21–29

    Google Scholar 

  40. Sun J, Huang Q, Ren Y(2015) Performance deterioration of corroded RC beams and reinforcing bars under repeated loading. Constr Build Mater. Elsevier Ltd 96:404–15.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.08.066

  41. Lin H, Zhao Y, Ožbolt J, Hans-Wolf R(2017) The bond behavior between concrete and corroded steel bar under repeated loading. Eng Struct

  42. Bastidas-Arteaga E, Sánchez-Silva M, Chateauneuf A, Silva MR (2008) Coupled reliability model of biodeterioration, chloride ingress, and cracking for reinforced concrete structures. Struct Saf 30:110–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the support of the Laboratory of Testing and Structural Models (LEME) and the Laboratory of Physics Metallurgy (LAMEF) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul for allowing access to the infrastructure used to carry out the tests.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel — CAPES Foundation and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development– CNPq for the partial funding that allowed the development of the experimental program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil Engineering Post-Graduation Program: Construction and Infrastructure, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Osvaldo Aranha 99, 7th floor, room 706, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-190, Brazil

    Kássio Joe Stein, Ângela Gaio Graeff & Mônica Regina Garcez

Authors
  1. Kássio Joe Stein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ângela Gaio Graeff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mônica Regina Garcez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

KJS: Methodology, Investigation, Writing–original draft; ÂGG: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing–review and editing; MRG: Data curation, Writing–review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mônica Regina Garcez.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stein, K.J., Graeff, Â.G. & Garcez, M.R. Structural performance of reinforced concrete beams subjected to combined effects of corrosion and cyclic loading. J Build Rehabil 8, 15 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-022-00263-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-022-00263-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation