INFLUENCE OF CRACKS ON CHLORIDE DIFFUSION AND REINFORCEMENT CORROSION IN CONCRETE

To study the influence of load-induced cracks on chloride diffusion and reinforcement corrosion in reinforced concrete (RC), eight RC beams with pre-cracks or flexural cracks were immersed in chloride solution with the condition of a dry-wet cycle. Then a half-cell potential method and a RCT (Rapid Chloride Test) were used to evaluate reinforcement corrosion and chloride concentration. Finally, the finite element analysis software ADINA was used to simulate the two-dimensional diffusion of chloride in cracked concrete. Results showed that: 1) Cracks accelerated the chloride penetration in concrete, which will lead to the premature corrosion of rebar and provided conditions for the local two-dimensional diffusion of chloride; 2) The wider the crack width or the smaller the spacing is, the greater effective it did to the chloride-induced corrosion of rebar; 3) Simulation results agree well with experimental results.