The paper presents a new analytical model to study the evolution of radial cracking around a corroding steel reinforcement bar embedded in concrete. The concrete cover for the corroding rebar is modelled as a thick-walled cylinder subject to axisymmetrical displacement constraint at the internal boundary generated by expansive corrosion products. A bilinear softening curve reflecting realistic concrete property, together with the crack band theory for concrete fracture, is applied to model the residual tensile stress in the cracked concrete. A governing equation for directly solving the crack width in cover concrete is established for the proposed analytical model. Closed-form solutions for crack width are then obtained at various stages during the evolution of cracking in cover concrete. The propagation of crack front with corrosion progress is studied, and the time to cracking on concrete cover surface is predicted. Mechanical parameters of the model including residual tensile strength, reduced tensile stiffness, and radial pressure at the bond interface are investigated during the evolution of cover concrete cracking. Finally, the analytical predictions are examined by comparing with the published experimental data, and mechanical parameters are analysed with the progress of reinforcement corrosion and through the concrete cover.
The bond between concrete and steel is the critical element of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, which directly affects their load carrying capacity and serviceability. Hence the evaluation of bond strength degradation is an essential parameter to predict the residual strength of RC structures affected by reinforcement corrosion. Existing research studies in this field mainly focus on numerical and experimental investigations. Few attempts have been made using analytical approach but there is still a need of reliable model which considers the critical mechanical factors affecting the bond strength of corroded RC structures. This paper presents a simple and realistic analytical model of bond strength degradation by using fracture mechanics combining the action of adhesion, confining pressure and corrosion pressure at steel concrete interface. Finally, the results obtained from the proposed model are examined with published experimental data. The study demonstrates that the proposed analytical model agrees with the experimental data of existing investigations.
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