Deterioration of reinforced concrete structural members is an increasing problem in the con- struction sector. The formation of corrosion products from steel reinforcing bars (rebars) leads to an increase in volume and the possibility of cracking and spalling of the…
Deterioration of reinforced concrete structural members is an increasing problem in the con- struction sector. The formation of corrosion products from steel reinforcing bars (rebars) leads to an increase in volume and the possibility of cracking and spalling of the concrete as the tensile capacity of the concrete matrix is exceeded. The ongoing work concerns a parametric study of cracking of cover concrete due to rein- forcement corrosion. The basis of the simulations is a numerical fracture mechanical model for crack initia- tion and propagation in concrete covers. The fracture mechanical model is based on the theory of the fictitious crack, where the expansion of the corrosion products is modeled by the use of a fictitious thermal load. The aim of the paper is to investigate the influence of the cover thickness and the ductility of the concrete on the crack initiation and crack propagation due to reinforcement corrosion. The paper contributes to the under- standing of cover cracking due to reinforcement corrosion with numerical investigations of the mechanical parameters influencing the crack initiation and propagation.