Flexural Capacity Prediction of Corroded Prestressed Concrete Beams Incorporating Bond Degradation

Abstract

Strand corrosion can cause the flexural capacity deterioration of prestressed concrete (PC) beams. An analytical model incorporating the effects of strand cross-section reduction, material deterioration, concrete cracking, and bond degradation is proposed to predict the flexural capacity of corroded PC beams. The effect of flexural cracks is also included in the model. An equivalent bond stress concept is introduced to consider the effect of flexural cracks, which is further implemented into the flexural capacity prediction of corroded PC beams. The proposed model is validated by the experimental results collected from the previous studies. Results show that the proposed model can give an accurate prediction for the flexural capacity of corroded PC beams. Considering the effect of flexural cracks can improve the precision of the prediction model. The flexural capacity deterioration of PC beams depends on corrosion degree. Strand corrosion less than 5.5% can lead to a slight decrement of flexural capacity. As corrosion progresses the flexural capacity would exhibit a significant deterioration.