Comparison of the mechanical response of a dual-phase and a single-phase steel bar category

In the current study, the effects of chloride-induced corrosion on a dual-phase and a single-phase reinforcing steel are evaluated in terms of mass loss and mechanical characteristics. Comparison of corrosion damage rates between the two types of steel, both of which have been used in real structures, indicates that they demonstrate different resistance against corrosion environments. Two different corrosion procedures were imposed on the steel bar categories, in order to achieve a satisfying correlation with the environmental conditions. Precisely, an effort was made to correlate the electrochemical corrosion method to the natural environment, by exploiting results taken from the salt spray chamber, which has already been correlated to the environment. At the same time, the differences among the two steel bar categories were analyzed, and an estimation was made concerning their degradation in reference to their exposure to the environmental conditions. Although single phase steel recorded higher mass loss, in comparison to the dual phase category, the latter demonstrated higher drop under Low Cycle Fatigue tests- after corrosion. However, taking into account that corrosion damage- and consequently mechanical behavior- varies according to the exposed length of steel reinforcement, many questions can be raised concerning the performance of various steel categories and existing reinforced structures as well. This is because existing regulations still do not take into consideration as a burdening factor the length of the exposed areas. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.