Finite element modelling to predict reinforced concrete corrosion-induced cracking

A finite element (FE) method was proposed to calculate the corrosion penetration depth (r) on steel reinforcement necessary for the first visible crack to appear on the concrete cover. The FE analysis was carried out using the commercial software from ANSYS. The obtained FE method is a function of f...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Castorena-González, J.H., Gaona-Tiburcio, Citlali, Bastidas, David M., Núñez-Jáquez, R.E., Bastidas Rull, José María, Almeraya-Calderón, Facundo
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/206972
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/206972
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Concrete cracking
Concrete cover depth
Corrosion penetration depth
Finite element method
Localized corrosion
Modelling
Steel reinforcements
Description
Summary:A finite element (FE) method was proposed to calculate the corrosion penetration depth (r) on steel reinforcement necessary for the first visible crack to appear on the concrete cover. The FE analysis was carried out using the commercial software from ANSYS. The obtained FE method is a function of free concrete cover depth (C), reinforcement diameter (D), length of the anodic zone (L), and concrete type. The results show a strong influence of localized corrosion (small-size anode versus large-size cathode) on the prediction of the r value. This influence can only be analysed three-dimensionally. The proposed FE method is validated with experimental results from literature. This approach is a novelty in considering the longitudinal direction in the analysis to account for the extension of the anodic cell. Corrosion type strongly depends on the C/L ratio, this leads to uniform corrosion for values between 0.02<C/L<0.1 and localized corrosion for values between 0.5<C/L<4.0.