Ultimate Flexural Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Elements Damaged by Corrosion

Abstract

Worldwide, steel corrosion is one of the greatest deterioration problems for reinforced concrete structures. Comparing some experimental results from literature with a complex FEM model, the present paper points out the principal aspects that characterize the static behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) elements damaged by corrosion. Moreover, the nondimensional abaci defined for some specific case studies finalized to the evaluation of the residual flexural strength of corroded elements highlight the dangerousness of the corrosion degradation if the failure of the element is governed by the steel.