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Title:

A Numerical Model for Service Life Prediction of Reinforced Concrete Bridges: From Chemical Ingress to Concrete Cracking

Accession Number:

01151169

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Heterogeneous concrete matrix is commonly treated as a homogeneous medium when the processes of chemical ingress and concrete cracking are modeled. This simplification has caused inaccurate prediction of the service life of reinforced concrete structures. A numerical method to predict the time-to-cracking of reinforced concrete is presented in this paper following three key steps: chemical ingress, steel corrosion, and concrete cracking. The finite element (FE) method was employed to model the ingress of multiple chemicals into variably saturated concrete matrix under externally applied physical fields. Steel corrosion and the accompanying expansion of corrosion products were modeled based on Faraday’s law and quantified in terms of a transient displacement boundary condition for subsequent analysis of concrete cracking. Using a cohesive fracture approach, the cracking pattern of concrete under the expansion force of corrosion products was accurately depicted. The proposed numerical model was validated with laboratory experiments and used to predict the service life of a bridge deck subjected to rebar corrosion. The example investigation shows that the location of steel bars in a concrete structure, which in turn determines the boundary conditions of the FE model, basically controls the cracking pattern of concrete cover. The developed FE model sheds light on the durability of concrete and steel materials subjected to chemical attack and can be used to optimize the design and maintenance of reinforced concrete structures.

Monograph Accession #:

01147878

Report/Paper Numbers:

10-2907

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Pan, Tongyan
Xia, Kaiming
Wang, Linbing

Pagination:

13p

Publication Date:

2010

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2010-1-10 to 2010-1-14
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

Figures (6) ; References (18) ; Tables (2)

Uncontrolled Terms:

Concrete cracking

Subject Areas:

Bridges and other structures; Highways; Materials; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-2907

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 25 2010 11:25AM