A novel elastic-body-rotation model for concrete cover spalling caused by non-uniform corrosion of reinforcement. (20th July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Su, Ray Kai Leung; Zhang, Yanlong
• Is Part Of: Construction & building materials. Volume 213(2019)
• Page Start: 549
• Page End: 560
• Publication Date: 2019-07-20
• Subjects: Concrete cover -- Non-uniform corrosion -- Cover spalling -- Analytical model; Building materials -- Periodicals; 624.18
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.04.096
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-0618

Abstract

Highlights: Elastic-body-rotation model for simulating corrosion-caused cover cracking is proposed. The width of surface cracks and bulging of cover are predicted. The thicknesses of corroded steel for initiating and widening cracks are derived. This simple model has been validated by available test results. Abstract: A novel elastic-body-rotation model is proposed to analyze the mechanism and the process of cover cracking and spalling caused by the non-uniform corrosion of widely spaced reinforcements. The width of the cover surface cracks, bulging of the concrete surface and maximum thickness of the corroded steel can be predicted by using the proposed model. The predicted bulging of the concrete cover has been validated by the experimental and numerical results. Using the validated model, the effects of the diagonal crack angle, tensile strength of concrete and cover thickness on the bulging of the cover surface and the thickness of the corroded steel for initiating and widening cracks are investigated with a parametric study. It is found that the diagonal cracking angle has a major influence on the cover surface crack width. In addition, the degree of corrosion in rebars and the width of internal diagonal cracks can be evaluated by simply measuring the width of surface cracks or the bulging of cover surface.