Finite element analysis of cracks due to reinforcement bars corrosion in RC structures

Concrete cover cracking due to corrosion of steel reinforcing bars is one of the main causes of the reinforced concrete (RC) structures deterioration, exposed to marine environments. Depending on theoxidation level of rebar, corrosion may result in expansion of reinforcement bars. This expansion maycauses the through thickness cracking of the cover concrete; which could indicate the loss of service life structures due to corrosion. In this paper, the parameters which influence the concrete cover cracking have been investigated via finite element method (FEM) for which ABAQUS software was employed.The results indicated that the most important factor in concrete cover cracking is cover thickness to rebardiameter ratio (C/d).

کلیدواژه ها:

reinforcement corrosion ، expansive corrosion products ، concrete cover cracking ، finite element method