Multi-Mechanical Approach to Structural Performance Assessment of Corroded RC Members in Shear

Abstract

A multi-mechanical model that explicitly takes into account corrosion cracks in structural safety performance is presented to deal with materialized corrosive substances around steel bars and equilibrated damage in structural concrete. The multi-mechanics of corrosive product and cracked concrete are integrated with nonlinear multi-directional fixed crack modeling so that corrosion cracks in structural concrete can be simulated in a unified manner. Structural analysis of corroded RC beams is carried out for experimental verification of the multi-mechanical model in terms of shear capacity and ductility. RC beams, which primarily fail in shear or flexure, are discussed and special attention is addressed to the conversion of failure modes and the absolute capacity. Consideration of inherent cracking on corroded RC members is proven to be crucial for structural performance assessment and the anchorage failure of longitudinal reinforce-ment is found to cause considerable decay of member capacity.