Title: Concrete Cracking by Localized Steel Corrosion-- Geometric Effects

Author(s): Andres A. Torres-Acosta and Alberto A. Sagues

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 101

Issue: 6

Appears on pages(s): 501-507

Keywords: corrosion; cracking; expansion

DOI: 10.14359/13489

Date: 11/1/2004

Abstract:
This work experimentally estimated the critical amount of steel corrosion (xCRIT) needed for concrete cover cracking of a reinforced concrete element when only a fraction of the steel bar length is corroding. The amount of corrosion needed to crack the concrete cover (xCRIT) was 0.030 to 0.272 mm in specimens with localized corrosion, in comparison to 0.003 to 0.074 mm for more uniform corrosion reported for other investigations in comparable systems. An empirical equation is proposed for xCRIT as a function of specimen dimensions (concrete clear cover C, reinforcing bar diameter f , and anodic length L). In this equation, xCRIT is approximately proportional to the product of the first power of C/f and the square of [C/L + 1].