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Modeling of chloride-induced corrosion in reinforced concrete structures

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Abstract

A numerical procedure is presented in this paper for the prediction of chloride induced steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Finite element analysis is introduced for the mechanical analysis of crack initiation and propagation due to the accumulation of corrosion products around the reinforcement, while the alternating direction implicit method is used to solve the transport equations of temperature, humidity, chloride ions and oxygen in concrete. Based on the assumption of a uniform distribution of corrosion products, a self-adaptation process for the variation of boundary conditions is proposed through a series of diffusion analyses together with crack propagation in concrete. Therefore, the interaction between the corrosion rate and the propagation of cracks in concrete is taken into account. Furthermore, a numerical program is developed and a case study involving bridge deck exposed to a marine environment in Hong Kong is investigated. The results show that interactive behavior has a significant effect on the corrosion rate of the reinforcement, and the non-cracking model significantly overestimates the service life of structures.

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Acknowledgments

The research reported in this paper is funded by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council RGC No.610505 for the development of life cycle cost analysis and management of reinforced/prestressed concrete structures. Also, the support from China Ministry of Science and Technology under national 973 project of 2009CB623200 is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

    Juhui Zhang & Moe M. S. Cheung

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  1. Juhui Zhang
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  2. Moe M. S. Cheung
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Correspondence to Moe M. S. Cheung.

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Zhang, J., Cheung, M.M.S. Modeling of chloride-induced corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Mater Struct 46, 573–586 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-012-9914-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-012-9914-2

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