Experimental investigation and finite element analysis on lateral behavior of reinforced concrete columns subjected to freeze-thaw cycles

In cold regions, lateral load-deformation response of reinforced concrete column exposed to outdoor freeze-thaw environments may be significantly deteriorated. In this paper, a method is developed to model the lateral loaddeformation response of reinforced concrete column that may experience strength deterioration due to freezethaw cycles. The proposed model accounts for uneven distribution of freeze-thaw damage within the crosssection of structural components. The model captures the uneven progression and extent of strength degradation at a given depth in the cross section as a function of number of freeze-thaw cycles. The model is developed using the experimental data from pseudo-static testing of six large scale reinforced concrete columns subjected to freeze-thaw cycles. The column specimens have different concrete strengths and are subjected to different axial loads. An existing model that only considers even distribution of freeze-thaw damage is used to validate the proposed model. Furthermore, the performances of the models are assessed, including monotonic and cyclic responses. Overall, the proposed model can capture the monotonic and cyclic responses of frost-damaged reinforced concrete column relatively well while accuracy is slightly lower for large axial loads. Also, the results reveal an important limitation of the existing even model in modeling freeze-thaw effects.