Cracking process of reinforced concrete induced by non-uniform reinforcement corrosion

Abstract

Expansion of rust, as a result of reinforcement corrosion, can cause additional internal expansive pressure and initiate cracking to the concrete. This paper presents experimental test and numerical modeling of concrete cracking induced by reinforcement corrosion. The simulation was performed using finite element based program Abaqus CAE using concrete smeared cracking approach. The numerical modeling used non-uniform and uniform corrosion assumption to get more accurate result. Based on the result, the numerical modeling has 3.01% lower stress than the experimental test. The result of the simulation using non-uniform assumption showed more similar cracking pattern with the experimental test compared with uniform assumption.