Modeling the Structural Effects of Rust in Concrete Cover
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 137, Issue 3
Abstract
Vast governmental budgets are spent annually to face corrosion problems of steel reinforcement in concrete bridges attributable to the extensive use of deicing salts. Corrosion controls the lifetime of a bridge, which has two distinct periods. During the first period, chlorides diffuse through the cover. When sufficient chlorides are formed at the rebars, corrosion initiates. This marks the start of the second period, during which rust with higher volume to bare steel is produced. The rust puts pressure on the cover, which finally leads to cover spalling. In this paper, a model is developed to determine the time span of the second period. The model includes a volume compatibility condition that allows for the proper introduction of compaction of all materials that contribute to cover spalling, including the rust. A new condition for marking failure of the cover is also established, based on fracture mechanics and strain energies. Finally, a new formula is proposed for the rate of rust production, which allows for the constant rust production at early and nonlinear diffusion dependant rates at latter stages of corrosion.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The work was supported by the EU TMR Network “ConFibreCrete.”
References
Achintha, P. M. M. (2009). “Fracture analysis of debonding mechanism for FRP plates.” Ph.D. thesis, Engineering Dept., Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Achintha, P. M. M., and Burgoyne, C. J. (2008). “Fracture mechanics of plate debonding.” J. Compos. Constr., 12(4), 396–404.
Andrande, C., Alonso, C., and Molina, F. J. (1993). “Cover cracking as a function of bar corrosion: Part I—experimental test.” Mater. Struct., 26, 453–464.
Balafas, I. (2003). “Fibre-reinforced-polymers vs steel in concrete bridges: Structural design and economic viability.” Ph.D. thesis, Engineering Dept. Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Balafas, I., and Burgoyne, C. J. (2009). “Environmental conditions and corrosion initiation in concrete bridges.” Cem. Concr. Res., in press.
Balafas, I., and Burgoyne, C. J. (2010). “Environmental effects on cover cracking due to corrosion.” Cem. Concr. Res., 40(9), 1429–1440.
Bažant, Z. (1979a). “Physical model for steel corrosion in concrete sea structures—theory.” ACI Struct. J., 105(ST6), 1137–1153.
Bažant, Z. (1979b). “Physical model for steel corrosion in concrete sea structures—application.” ACI Struct. J., 105(ST6), 1155–1166.
Bhargava, K., Ghosh, A., Mori, Y., and Ramanujam, S. (2006). “Analytical model for time to cover cracking in RC structures due to rebar corrosion.” Nucl. Eng. Des., 236(11), 1123–1139.
Burgoyne, C. (2004). “Does FRP have an economic future?” Proc. 4th Conf. on Advanced Composite Materials in Bridges and Structures, ACMBS4, Calgary, Canada.
CEB. (1993). Model code for concrete structures (MC-90), Thomas Telford, London.
González, J. A., Andrade, C., Alonso, C., and Feliu, S. (1995). “Comparison of rates of general corrosion and maximum pitting penetration on concrete embedded steel reinforcement.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(2), 257–264.
Hutchinson, J. W., and Suo, Z. (1992). “Mixed mode cracking in layered materials.” Advances in applied mechanics, Vol. 29, J. W. Hutchinson and T. Y. Wu, eds., Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 63–91.
Konopka, P. (2005). “Structural properties of rust.” 4th-year undergraduate project, Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Liu, T., and Weyers, R. W. (1998a). “Modeling the dynamic corrosion process in chloride contaminated concrete structures.” Cem. Concr. Res., 28(3), 365–379.
Liu, T., and Weyers, R. W. (1998b). “Modeling the time-to-corrosion cracking in chloride contaminated concrete structures.” ACI Mater. J., 95(6), 675–681.
Liu, Y. (1996). “Modelling the time-to-corrosion-cracking of the cover concrete in chloride contaminated reinforced concrete structures.” Ph.D. thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA.
Maaddaay, T. E., and Soudki, K. (2007). “A model for prediction of time from corrosion initiation to corrosion cracking.” Cem. Concr. Compos., 29, 168–175.
Martin-Perez, B. (1999). “Service life modelling of RC highway structures exposed to chlorides.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto.
Martin-Perez, B., Zibara, H., Hooton, R. D., and Thomas, M. D. A. (2000). “A study of the effect of chloride binding on service life predictions.” Cem. Concr. Res., 30, 1215–1223.
Melchers, R. E. (2003a). “Mathematical modelling of the diffusion controlled phase in marine immersion corrosion of mild steel.” Corros. Sci., 45(5), 923–940.
Melchers, R. E. (2003b). “Modeling of marine immersion corrosion for mild and low-alloy steels—Part 1: Phenomenological model.” Corros. Sci., 59(4), 319–334.
Melchers, R. E., and Jeffrey, R. (2005). “Early corrosion of mild steel in seawater.” Corros. Sci., 47(7), 1678–1693.
Molina, F. J., Alonso, C., and Andrade, C. (1993). “Cover cracking as a function of bar corrosion: Part II—Numerical model.” Mater. Struct., 26, 532–548.
Nguyen, Q. T., Millard, A., Care, S., L’Hostis, V., and Berthaud, Y. (2006). “Fracture of concrete caused by the reinforcement corrosion products.” J. Phys. IV, 136, 109–120.
Ohtsu, M., and Yosimura, S. (1997). “Analysis of crack propagation and crack initiation due to corrosion of reinforcement.” Constr. Building Mater., 11(7-8), 437–442.
Pantazopoulou, S. J., and Papoulia, K. D. (2001). “Modelling cover-cracking due to reinforcement corrosion in RC structures.” J. Eng. Mech., 127(4), 342–351.
Suda, K., Misra, S., and Motohashi, K. (1993). “Corrosion products of reinforcing bars embedded in concrete.” Corros. Sci., 35(5-8), 1543–1549.
Tepfers, R. (1979). “Cracking of concrete cover along anchored deformed reinforcing bars.” Mag. Concr. Res., 31(106), 3–12.
Timoshenko, S. (1956). Strength of materials: Part II: Advanced theory and problems, 3rd Ed., D. Van Nostrand Company, Princeton, NJ.
Torres-Acosta, A. A. (1999). “Cracking induced by localized corrosion of reinforcement in chloride contaminated concrete.” Ph.D. thesis, College of Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Tuutti, K. (1980). “Service life of structures with regard to corrosion of embedded steel.” Performance of Concrete in Marine Environment, Third Int. Conf. Proc. (ACI SP-65), St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, Canada, 223–236.
Uomoto, T., and Mirsa, S. (1988). “Behavior of concrete beams and columns in marine environment when corrosion of reinforcing bars takes place.” Concrete in the Marine Environment: Proc. of the 2nd Int. Conf., SP-109, V. M. Malhotra, ed., 127–146.
Wang, X. H., and Liu, X. L. (2004). “Modelling effects of corrosion on cover cracking and bond in reinforced concrete.” Mag. Concr. Res., 56(4), 191–199.
Wegner, W., and Yaggi, M. (2001). “Environmental impacts of road salt and alternatives in the New York City watershed.” Stormwater, 2(5).
Weyers, R. E. (1998). “Service life model for concrete structures in chloride laden environments.” ACI Mater. J., 95(4), 445–453.
Williamson, S. J., and Clark, L. A. (2000). “Pressure required to cause cover cracking of concrete due to reinforcement corrosion.” Mag. Concr. Res., 52(6), 455–467.
Zhao, Y. X. (2006). “Modeling the amount of steel corrosion at the cracking of cover concrete.” Adv. Struct. Eng., 9(5), 687–696.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 137 • Issue 3 • March 2011
Pages: 175 - 185
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 16, 2009
Accepted: Aug 23, 2010
Published online: Aug 27, 2010
Published in print: Mar 1, 2011
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.