Incorporation of pre-existing longitudinal cracks in finite element analyses of corroded reinforced concrete beams failing in anchorage

Abstract

Transportation infrastructure is of fundamental importance and must be regularly assessed to ensure its safety and serviceability. The assessment of ageing reinforced concrete bridge stock may need to consider corrosion and cracks, as the likelihood of deterioration increases with age. This work accordingly investigates the incorporation of pre-existing anchorage zone corrosion cracks into the finite element modelling of reinforced concrete beam structural behaviour. Three methods of accounting for cracks were applied: (1) modifying the bond stress-slip relation, ( 2) weakening elements at the position of the crack, and (3) weakened discrete crack elements. The results show that modifying the bond stress-slip relation results in accurate predictions of the ultimate capacity when one-dimensional reinforcement bars are used in the model. Weakening elements at the position of the crack provides reasonable results when the anchorage is modelled with three-dimensional reinforcement bars and a frictional bond model. The implementation of discrete cracks was found to be unsuitable for the studied load situation, as compressive stresses formed perpendicular to the crack. It was concluded that the capacity of the studied case could be well estimated based on visual measurements, without knowledge of the exact corrosion level.

Effect of pre-existing longitudinal and transverse corrosion cracks on the flexural behaviour of corroded RC beams

“…Pre-existing cracks due to cover cracking do not only deteriorate the bond at the concrete-steel interface, but also they can affect the ultimate capacity. Blomfors et al [35,36] indicates the importance of pre-exisiting cracks on the structural behaviour of corroded beams.…”

IFC‐based semantic modeling of damaged RC beams using 3D point clouds

“…Finally, by subtracting the extruded crack in the beam volume, the FE model was obtained (Figure 14). To model crack properties, Blomfors et al 37 discussed two methods of incorporating existing cracks in FE models. In this study, the method of using reduced element properties was selected owing to its convenience and compatibility with the FE model.…”

Failure analysis of anchorage of cable-stayed bridge with internal defects

“…For both kinds of anchorages (with and without internal defects) the same geometric model presented in Figure 5 was considered. This model was generated within the ANSYS program interface 14 using simple geometric figures (see Figure 11 ).…”

“…The FEM is also used to study many other physical phenomena (mechanical stresses, fluid flows, heat transfer, mechanic vibrations, etc.). 13 In this work, the probability of failure of the upper anchorage of a cable-stayed bridge under two conditions: an ideal anchorage model without defects and a model with internal defects, is investigated to determine the influence of the internal defects incorporated in finite element analyses 14 on the behavior of the structural elements.…”