Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Corrosion and Protection".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2021) | Viewed by 16783

Special Issue Editor

Laboratory of Technology and Strength of Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Interests: mechanical behavior of materials; steel corrosion; failure analysis; corrosion protection; fatigue and fracture mechanics of metals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the most important degradation issues in reinforced concrete structures. Annually, huge amounts of money are spent on the maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation of existing structures in order to ensure their safety. Corrosion phenomena affect reinforced concrete in terms of materials, as non-uniform mass loss of steel reinforcement bars, degradation of their mechanical properties, cracking and spalling of surrounding concrete, and in terms of elements’ bearing capacity, due to bond loss between steel and concrete and due to reduced flexural capacity.

The structural integrity of steel reinforcement plays a key role in the entire structural performance of structures and, consequently, in the durability of reinforced concrete. In recent international regulations, an effort has been made, in order to quantify the corrosion damage and its consequences. Guidelines are provided on the protection methods of RC structures, through cathodic protection or corrosion inhibitors, and on the estimation of corrosion level of damaged structures and their remaining lifetime.

This Special Issue of Metals provides a forum for original research and critical reviews on advances in assessing the corrosion damage of reinforced structures. Areas of interest include the monitoring and measurement of corrosion level, in terms of critical chloride concentration or surface concrete cracking, in the laboratory and on site. Furthermore, the control of corrosion by chemical and electrochemical means is a weighty topic. To conclude, the estimation of corroded reinforced concrete elements’ bearing capacity is the main design criterion of the structures’ durability from the point of view of structural engineers.

Prof. Charis Apostolopoulos
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • rebar corrosion
  • corrosion rate
  • bond degradation
  • durability
  • structural integrity
  • flexural capacity

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 169 KiB  
Editorial
Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures
by Charis Apostolopoulos and Konstantinos Koulouris
Metals 2021, 11(11), 1812; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/met11111812 - 11 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1210
Abstract
The corrosion of steel reinforcement is recognized as one of the most important degradation problems in reinforced concrete (RC) structures [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures)

Research

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25 pages, 6375 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Behavior Evaluation of Tempcore and Hybrid Reinforcing Steel Bars via a Proposed Fatigue Damage Index in Long Terms
by Maria Basdeki and Charis Apostolopoulos
Metals 2021, 11(5), 834; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/met11050834 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2276
Abstract
As it is widely known, corrosion constitutes a major deterioration factor for reinforced concrete structures which are located in coastal areas. This phenomenon, combined with repeated loads and, especially, intense seismic events, negatively affect their useful service life. It is well known that [...] Read more.
As it is widely known, corrosion constitutes a major deterioration factor for reinforced concrete structures which are located in coastal areas. This phenomenon, combined with repeated loads and, especially, intense seismic events, negatively affect their useful service life. It is well known that the microstructure of steel reinforcing bars has a significant impact either on their corrosion resistance or on their fatigue life. In the present manuscript, an effort has been made to study the effect of corrosive factors on fatigue response for two types of steel reinforcement: Tempcore steel B reinforcing bars and a new-generation, dual-phase (DP) steel F reinforcement. The findings of this experimental study showed that DP steel reinforcement’s rate of degradation due to corrosion seemed apparently lighter than Tempcore B with respect to its capacity to bear repeated loads to a satisfactory degree after corrosion. For this purpose, based on a quality material index that characterizes the mechanical performance of materials, an extended damage material indicator for fatigue conditions is similarly proposed for evaluating and classifying these two types of rebars in terms of material quality and durability. The outcomes of this investigation demonstrated the feasibility of fatigue damage indicators in the production cycle as well as at different exposure times, once corrosion phenomena had left their mark in steel reinforcement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures)
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20 pages, 6889 KiB  
Article
Study of the Residual Bond Strength between Corroded Steel Bars and Concrete—A Comparison with the Recommendations of Fib Model Code 2010
by Konstantinos Koulouris and Charis Apostolopoulos
Metals 2021, 11(5), 757; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/met11050757 - 04 May 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2571
Abstract
As is well known, corrosion of steel reinforcement deteriorates the steel–concrete interface and causes concrete cracking, degrading significantly the bond strength. Several experimental studies have investigated the magnitude of residual bond strength due to corrosion, which affects either the function of corrosion-damaged steel [...] Read more.
As is well known, corrosion of steel reinforcement deteriorates the steel–concrete interface and causes concrete cracking, degrading significantly the bond strength. Several experimental studies have investigated the magnitude of residual bond strength due to corrosion, which affects either the function of corrosion-damaged steel bars or the surface crack width in concrete. As a result, linear and exponential correlation relationships have been proposed in order to predict the bond loss due to corrosion. Based on the results of an ongoing experimental campaign on the degradation of bond strength of RC specimens, combined with comparable outcomes from existing literature, this manuscript summarizes a database, comparing with the recommendations of Model Code 2010, to analyze and interpret the corrosion effect on the bond loss and highlights some points that need improvement in the current regulations. As indicated, the density of transverse reinforcement (stirrups spacing) has intense impact on the resulting bond loss due to corrosion. Hence, in order to quantify this aspect, the present manuscript introduces a discretization of confinement levels of RC elements, depending on the stirrups spacing. Based on this, regression analyses of data were conducted to extract fitting curves of bond loss, taking into account the amount of transverse reinforcement and predictive zones of residual bond strength in relationship to either corrosion penetration or surface crack width. Furthermore, the outcomes demonstrate that the corrosion penetration depth is an appropriate assessment tool to correlate the residual bond strength with the corrosion level, whereas the surface crack width on concrete is not yet an effective index, since there is a plethora of factors affecting the crack width. Due to this, more research is needed to improve the current level of knowledge on the surface crack width and link it with the corrosion damage of the steel bar and the residual bond strength due to corrosion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures)
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14 pages, 5480 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Study on Effects of Corrosion and Stirrups Spacing on Bond Behavior of Reinforced Concrete
by Konstantinos Koulouris and Charis Apostolopoulos
Metals 2020, 10(10), 1327; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/met10101327 - 04 Oct 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3184
Abstract
The current experimental study consists of part of an extensive and ongoing research on bond behavior of RC elements damaged by corrosion, focusing on stirrups spacing effect on bonding. For this, RC specimens with different cases of stirrups spacing were casted. Accelerated corrosion [...] Read more.
The current experimental study consists of part of an extensive and ongoing research on bond behavior of RC elements damaged by corrosion, focusing on stirrups spacing effect on bonding. For this, RC specimens with different cases of stirrups spacing were casted. Accelerated corrosion was induced in order to simulate the slow process of nature corrosion on RC specimens and the corrosion damage was estimated in terms of mass loss of steel bars and average width of surface concrete cracking. Subsequently, pull-out tests were carried out to examine the bonding resistance between steel and concrete. The study indicates the great influence of density of stirrups on the percentage mass loss of the embedded reinforcing bar, accompanied by width of surface concrete cracking, as well as on bond strength between steel and concrete. The results of bond stress–slip curves show that the densification of stirrups plays a significant role in bonding, leading to higher bond strength values and delaying the degradation of bond loss as corrosion damage increases. However, it becomes apparent that, although the densification of stirrups (Φ8/60 mm) result in the full anchorage of steel-reinforcing bars, it may be inappropriate, since it can lead to a substantial increase in costs and a rapid rise in corrosion rate, due to potential increase. Furthermore, the recorded values of relative slip at bond strength are between 1 and 3 mm, regardless of corrosion damage or concrete cracking, which depends on the ribs geometry and crushing of concrete in front of them. To conclude, the results of the present manuscript indicate that the increase in transverse reinforcement (stirrups) percentage plays a key role in the durability of reinforced concrete elements and in bond strength maintenance between rebar and concrete. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures)
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19 pages, 5784 KiB  
Article
Copper Corrosion Behavior in Simulated Concrete-Pore Solutions
by Ángel Bacelis, Lucien Veleva and Mario A. Alpuche-Avilés
Metals 2020, 10(4), 474; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/met10040474 - 04 Apr 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3079
Abstract
The copper corrosion was studied for 30 days in two alkaline electrolytes: saturated Ca(OH)2 and cement extract, employed to simulate concrete-pore environments. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Cyclic Voltammetry were carried out at the open circuit potential (OCP), and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) [...] Read more.
The copper corrosion was studied for 30 days in two alkaline electrolytes: saturated Ca(OH)2 and cement extract, employed to simulate concrete-pore environments. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Cyclic Voltammetry were carried out at the open circuit potential (OCP), and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) curves were performed for comparative purposes. Electrochemical current fluctuations, considered as electrochemical noise (EN), were employed as non-destructive methods. The tests revealed that sat. Ca(OH)2 is the less aggressive to the Cu surface, mainly because of the lower in one order pH. In consequence, the OCP values of Cu were more positive, the polarization resistance values were higher by one order of magnitude, and the anodic currents of Cu were lower than those in the cement extract. The analyzed EN indicated that the initial corrosion attacks on the Cu surface are quasi-uniform, resulting from the stationary persistent corrosion process occurring in both model solutions. XPS analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that in sat. Ca(OH)2, a Cu2O/CuO corrosion layer was formed, which effectively protects the metallic Cu-surface. We present evidence for the sequential oxidation of Cu to the (+1) and (+2) species, its impact on the corrosion layer, and also its protective properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures)
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Review

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22 pages, 5706 KiB  
Review
Residual Flexural Capacity of Corroded Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Beams
by Mahdi Kioumarsi, Armando Benenato, Barbara Ferracuti and Stefania Imperatore
Metals 2021, 11(3), 442; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/met11030442 - 07 Mar 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3409
Abstract
Infrastructures and industrial buildings are commonly exposed to aggressive environments and damaged by corrosion. In prestressed reinforced concrete structures, the potential risks of corrosion could be severe since reinforcements are already subjected to high amounts of stress and, consequently, their load-bearing capacity could [...] Read more.
Infrastructures and industrial buildings are commonly exposed to aggressive environments and damaged by corrosion. In prestressed reinforced concrete structures, the potential risks of corrosion could be severe since reinforcements are already subjected to high amounts of stress and, consequently, their load-bearing capacity could abruptly decrease. In recent years, some experimental studies have been conducted to explore the flexural behavior of corroded pretensioned reinforced concrete (PRC) beams, investigating several aspects of residual structural performance. Although many studies have been done in this area, there is no concise paper reviewing the state-of-the-art research. Accordingly, the main objective of this paper is to provide a review of the available experimental tests for residual capacity assessment of corroded PRC beams. Based on the state-of-the-art review, a degradation law for the flexural strength of corroded PRC beams is suggested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corrosion Effects on Durability of RC Structures)
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