Title: Mechanical Properties of 30 Year-Old Naturally Corroded Steel Reinforcing Bars

Author(s): Ignasi Fernandez and Carlos G. Berrocal

Publication: IJCSM

Volume: 13

Issue:

Appears on pages(s):

Keywords: corrosion, pit characterization, 3D-scanning, tensile behaviour, reinforced concrete, necking

DOI: 10.1186/s40069-018-0308-x

Date: 1/31/2019

Abstract:
The present paper investigates the mechanical response of more than 120 corroded reinforcing bars extracted from a real bridge after 30 years in service. Corrosion was quantified using gravimetric and 3D-laser scanning measurements. An expression to relate the average and critical corrosion levels was found, the latter being the main parameter gov-erning the capacity of corroded bars. Whereas the strength of the material was not affected by corrosion, the ultimate strain decreased sharply. However, strains were not only affected by cross-sectional reduction but also by the shape of the critical pit and necking at failure.