Title: Correlation between crack width of concrete coating and corrosion of reinforcement in elements exposed to natural environment contaminated with chlorides.

Author(s): Carmen Andrade, Alejandro Munoz Andrés Torres-Acosta

Publication: IMCYC

Volume: 1

Issue: 2

Appears on pages(s): 30-41

Keywords: Corrosion, cracking, remaining life, pitting, corrosion rate, durability

DOI:

Date: 1/1/2010

Abstract:
Reinforcement corrosion leads into several damages which influence the structural load-bearing capacity, among which can be mentioned the cracking of concrete cover. This work gives results on the crack width growing in accelerated corrosion tests and from the observation during several years of real concrete elements. The elements studied were one T beam and one column exposed to the atmosphere of Madrid, Spain. Two empiric expressions have been fitted to the results of cover cracking: w=k Px/(c/φ) and w=k Px/Ro, where w is a crack width in the time, k is a proportional factor, Px is the corrosion penetration in the time, c/φ is the concrete cover/diameter relation and Ro is the original radius of the bar.