The presence of cracks in reinforced concrete structures added to the chloride-induced steel corrosion is worldwide one of the major causes of deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, producing loss of structural strength and stability. This study deals with the influence of artificial cracks on chloride penetration in mortar specimens by presenting both the experimental and the numerical results. The experimental results were obtained using chloride penetration tests on mortar specimens of different sizes, with and without artificial cracks, subjected to chloride exposure. Numerical results were obtained using transient finite element analysis by simulating chloride mass diffusion. Comparisons between the results on chloride penetration concluded that the numerical ones obtained using the mass transfer modulus agrees fairly well with the experimental ones. In addition, the influence of certain crack parameters such as crack length, crack depth and also time exposure on chloride ingress was considered.
Experimental and numerical results of a chloride ingress study conducted on samples drilled from different locations of a reinforced concrete slab, previously loaded until failure, are presented. The experimental part was carried on following the NT Build 492 standard for the non-steady state migration test, then a 3D model was developed using the Abaqus/Standard software based on the FEM in order to simulate chloride ingress in both uncracked and cracked concrete.
Reinforced concrete (RC) became one of the most widely used modern building materials. In the last decades a great interest has been shown in studying reinforcement corrosion as it became one of the main factors of degradation and loss of structural integrity of RC structures. The degradation process is accelerated in the case of RC structures situated in aggressive environments like marine environments or subjected to de-icing salts. In this paper it is shown how steel corrosion of the embedded rebars occurs and how this affects the service life of reinforced concrete structures. Also, an experimental study regarding the combined effect of carbonation and chloride ingress was realized. Samples with and without rebars were drilled from a RC slab which was stored in the laboratory for two years. Non-steady state migration tests were realized in order to determine the chloride profile, while the carbonation depth was measured using the colorimetric method based on phenolphthalein spraying. It was concluded that carbonation has a significant effect on chloride ingress, increasing it.
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