Effect of Artificial Corrosion on the Postyielding Performance of Steel Reinforcement

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of corrosion on the postyielding performance of steel reinforcement. Artificial corrosion was induced to the steel reinforcement based on mechanical methods. Different corrosion morphologies were considered in the investigation, including pitting (nonuniform) corrosion and uniform corrosion. The impact of artificial corrosion on the postyielding performance of the steel reinforcement was analyzed according to the experimental tests. The results show that the corrosion morphologies and corrosion degrees influenced the configuration of stress-strain curves significantly. For the uniform corrosion, the configuration of the postyielding curves consisted of the yield plateau and the strain hardening stages even though the corrosion degree reached 50%. While for the pitting corrosion, the postyielding behavior of the steel reinforcement got degraded even more seriously than that of the specimens with uniform corrosion corresponding to the same corrosion degree. Moreover, when the corrosion degree got over 15%, the yield plateau disappeared due to the pitting corrosion.