Experimental study on corrosion induced cracking time of steel in concrete cover with initial middle defect

Abstract

In this paper, based on the initial defects of different sizes in the middle of concrete cover, the corrosion cracking time of the steel with the initial defect in the middle part of the steel was studied by means of the method of electrified accelerated corrosion from an experimental point of view. The results show that the size of the actual initial defect in the concrete cover is the key factor to control the cracking time in chloride environment. Reducing the crack size is helpful to improve the durability of the whole structure. The severity of corrosion expansion and cracking time of concrete cover can be ranked as follows: Thickness of concrete cover > diameter of steel > size of initial defect.