Bond deterioration of corroded steel in two different concrete mixes

This paper investigated the effects of rebar corrosion on bond performance between rebar and two different concrete mixes (compressive strengths of 20.7 MPa and 44.4 MPa). The specimen was designed as a rebar centrally embedded in a 200 mm concrete cube, with two stirrups around the rebar to supply confinement. An electrochemical accelerated corrosion technique was applied to corrode the rebar. 120 specimens of two different concrete mixes with various reinforcing steel corrosion levels were manufactured. The corrosion crack opening width and length were recorded in detail during and after the corrosion process. Three different loading schemes: monotonic pull-out load, 10 cycles of constant slip loading followed by pull-out and varied slip loading followed by pull-out, were carried out on the specimens. The effects of rebar corrosion with two different concrete mixes on corrosion crack opening, bond strength and corresponding slip value, initial slope of bond-slip curve, residual bond stress, mechanical interaction stress, and energy dissipation, were discussed in detail. The mean value and coefficient of variation of these parameters were also derived. It was found that the coefficient of variation of the parameters of the corroded specimens was larger than those with intact rebar. There is also obvious difference in the two different concrete mixes for the effects of rebar corrosion on bond-slip parameters.