Study on Flexural Performance of Architectural Concrete Beams Under Steel Bar Corrosion Conditions

Abstract

Reinforcement corrosion is a common phenomenon in construction, which can significantly impact the performance of building structures. This article designed reinforced concrete (RC) beams with different corrosion conditions (10 days/30 days under electric current) and varying sustained load levels (30%/60%) and briefly introduced specimen preparation, corrosion simulation, sustained loading, and loading methods to understand the flexural performance of different RC beams. The results showed that with an increase in both the number of corrosion days and load levels, the corrosion rate of the RC beams increased. The corrosion rate of F6C3 reached 10.34%; the number of transverse cracks in F6C3 decreased, and the average crack spacing increased. For F0C0 and F6C3, there were 21 and 7 transverse cracks respectively, and the average crack spacings were 78.64 mm and 262.33 mm respectively. Both the number of vertical cracks and the maximum crack width increased. The cracking moment for F0C0 was 11.21 kN•m, and its ultimate bending moment was 64.62 kN•m. The cracking moment for F6C3 was 10.07 kN•m, which was 10.17% lower than that of the F0C0, and its ultimate bending moment was 61.55 kN•m, which was 4.75% lower than that of F0C0. The ultimate bearing capacity of the RC beams also decreased rapidly. The results demonstrate the influence of reinforcement corrosion on the flexural performance of RC beams, which can provide a reference for evaluating and maintaining actual building structures.