Correlation between concrete cracks and corrosion characteristics of steel reinforcement in pre-cracked plain and fibre-reinforced concrete beams

This paper presents results on corrosion characteristics of 66 rebars extracted from un- and pre-cracked plain concrete and fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) beams suffering from corrosion for more than 3 years. The influences of fibre reinforcement, flexural cracks, corrosion-induced cracks and loading condition on the maximum local corrosion level (defined as the maximum cross-sectional area loss percentage) and pit morphology were examined. With 3D-scanning, the corrosion characteristics were analysed, and pit types were classified based on the maximum local corrosion level and geometric parameters of pits. Corrosion pits were observed near some flexural cracks, while the bars at other cracks were free from corrosion. Most rebars in FRC had less maximum local corrosion level than those in plain concrete under the same loading condition and maximum flexural crack width. However, the maximum local corrosion level was not dependent on the maximum flexural crack width (0.1 and 0.4 mm). Longitudinal cracks (corrosion-induced cracks) aggravated the total steel loss and changed the pit morphology by promoting the pit length development. However, longitudinal cracks did not always form, even with severe pitting corrosion. A hypothesis about the time-dependent interplay between transverse and longitudinal cracks and corrosion development was proposed. Further studies on predicting the pitting corrosion evolution and experimental work on specimens exposed for longer periods are needed to understand and quantify the long-term durability of concrete structures reinforced with both conventional reinforcing bars and fibres.