Investigation of the Spatial Variability of Steel Weight Loss and Corrosion Cracking: A Novel X-ray Technique

Abstract

The performance of corrosion-affected RC members depends strongly on localized damages of reinforcement. Therefore, modeling the spatial variability of steel corrosion is very important for the assessment of the remaining service life of corroded structures or time for maintenance. To study the changes of spatial variability of steel weight loss over time, a continuous monitoring is necessary. In this paper, a novel procedure of X-ray technique application in monitoring the spatial growth of a corroded bar in a RC specimen is demonstrated along with the digital image processing of X-ray images to estimate the steel weight loss. The relationship of steel weight loss and corrosion cracking is studied at different stages of corrosion. The validity of the estimation method of steel weight loss is also presented.