Modeling of Chloride and CO2 transport in intact and cracked concrete in the context of corrosion predictions of RC structures

Author(s):  
M Kemper ◽  
J Timothy ◽  
J Kruschwitz ◽  
G Meschke
2021 ◽  
pp. 136943322110105
Author(s):  
M.R. Mostakhdemin Hosseini ◽  
Salvador J.E. Dias ◽  
Joaquim A.O. Barros

The strengthening intervention of RC structures often involves already cracked concrete. To evaluate the effect of the level of damage prior to the strengthening (pre-cracks) on the behavior of the flexurally strengthened RC slabs with prestressed NSM CFRP laminates, an experimental research was carried out. Two pre-cracking levels of damage were analyzed and, for each one, three levels of prestress were tested (0%, 20% and 40%). The obtained results showed that the strengthening of damaged RC slabs with prestressed NSM CFRP laminates results in a significant increase on the load carrying capacity at serviceability limit states. Pre-cracked RC slabs strengthened with prestressed NSM CFRP laminates presented a load carrying capacity almost similar to the corresponding uncracked strengthened slabs. To determine the effective prestress level in CFRP laminates, the variation of strain over the length of the CFRP and over time was experimentally recorded. The prestress transfer length was also evaluated. The experimental results revealed that the transfer length of CFRP laminates was less than 150 mm, and the maximum value of strain loss out of transfer length (around 14%) was measured close to the cracked section of the damaged RC slabs. Significant part of strain loss in CFRP laminates occurred during 24 h after releasing the prestress load.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongchun Cheng ◽  
Yuwei Zhang ◽  
Chunli Wu ◽  
Yubo Jiao

A chloride ion is a key factor affecting durability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. In order to investigate chloride migration in cracked concrete, considering the mesoscopic heterogeneity of concrete, concrete modeled here is treated as a four-phase composite consisting aggregate, mortar, crack, and interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In this paper, two-dimensional finite element models of cracked concrete with different crack widths and crack quantity are established and the control parameters are determined based on the nonsteady-state chloride migration (NSSCM) test. In addition, based on the concrete finite element models, influences of crack width, crack quantity, and erosion time on chloride migration behaviors and characteristics are studied. Furthermore, a prediction model of chloride concentration on the simulated surface of a rebar in concrete influenced by different crack states is established. This model is used to derive the corrosion current density and corrosion depth prediction models of a rebar in this paper, which can be used by engineers to estimate the migration behaviors of chloride and rebar corrosion degree in RC structures in a short time and evaluate the duration of RC structures after knowing the status of cracks and chloride diffusion sources.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 570-578
Author(s):  
A. Hata ◽  
K. Kawamura ◽  
W. Zhao ◽  
M. Chujo

Author(s):  
D Israel ◽  
S Khan ◽  
C R Warren ◽  
J J Zwiazek ◽  
T M Robson

Abstract The roles of different plasma membrane aquaporins (PIPs) in leaf-level gas exchange of Arabidopsis thaliana were examined using knockout mutants. Since multiple Arabidopsis PIPs are implicated in CO2 transport across cell membranes, we focused on identifying the effects of the knockout mutations on photosynthesis, and whether they are mediated through the control of stomatal conductance of water vapour (gs), mesophyll conductance of CO2 (gm) or both. We grew Arabidopsis plants in low and high humidity environments and found that the contribution of PIPs to gs was larger under low air humidity when the evaporative demand was high, whereas any effect of lacking PIP function was minimal under higher humidity. The pip2;4 knockout mutant had 44% higher gs than the wild type plants under low humidity, which in turn resulted in an increased net photosynthetic rate (Anet). We also observed a 23% increase in whole-plant transpiration (E) for this knockout mutant. The lack of functional AtPIP2;5 did not affect gs or E, but resulted in homeostasis of gm despite changes of humidity, indicating a possible role in regulating CO2 membrane permeability. CO2 transport measurements in yeast expressing AtPIP2;5 confirmed that this aquaporin is indeed permeable to CO2.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 2809
Author(s):  
Md. Akter Hosen ◽  
Fadi Althoey ◽  
Mohd Zamin Jumaat ◽  
U. Johnson Alengaram ◽  
N. H. Ramli Sulong

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures necessitate strengthening for various reasons. These include ageing, deterioration of materials due to environmental effects, trivial initial design and construction, deficiency of maintenance, the advancement of design loads, and functional changes. RC structures strengthening with the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been used extensively during the last few decades due to their advantages over steel reinforcement. This paper introduces an experimental approach for flexural strengthening of RC beams with Externally-Side Bonded Reinforcement (E-SBR) using CFRP fabrics. The experimental program comprises eight full-scale RC beams tested under a four-point flexural test up to failure. The parameters investigated include the main tensile steel reinforcing ratio and the width of CFRP fabrics. The experimental outcomes show that an increase in the tensile reinforcement ratio and width of the CFRP laminates enhanced the first cracking and ultimate load-bearing capacities of the strengthened beams up to 141 and 174%, respectively, compared to the control beam. The strengthened RC beams exhibited superior energy absorption capacity, stiffness, and ductile response. The comparison of the experimental and predicted values shows that these two are in good agreement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6772
Author(s):  
Charlotte Van Steen ◽  
Els Verstrynge

Corrosion of the reinforcement is a major degradation mechanism affecting durability and safety of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. As the corrosion process starts internally, it can take years before visual damage can be noticed on the surface, resulting in an overall degraded condition and leading to large financial costs for maintenance and repair. The acoustic emission (AE) technique enables the continuous monitoring of the progress of internal cracking in a non-invasive way. However, as RC is a heterogeneous material, reliable damage detection and localization remains challenging. This paper presents extensive experimental research aiming at localizing internal damage in RC during the corrosion process. Results of corrosion damage monitoring with AE are presented and validated on three sample scales: small mortar samples (scale 1), RC prisms (scale 2), and RC beams (scale 3). For each scale, the corrosion process was accelerated by imposing a direct current. It is found that the AE technique can detect damage earlier than visual inspection. However, dedicated filtering is necessary to reliably localize AE events. Therefore, AE signals were filtered by a newly developed post-processing protocol which significantly improves the localization results. On the smallest scale, results were confirmed with 3D micro-CT imaging, whereas on scales 2 and 3, results were compared with surface crack width measurements and resulting rebar corrosion levels.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Mathern ◽  
Jincheng Yang

Nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is characterized by numerous modeling options and input parameters. To accurately model the nonlinear RC behavior involving concrete cracking in tension and crushing in compression, practitioners make different choices regarding the critical modeling issues, e.g., defining the concrete constitutive relations, assigning the bond between the concrete and the steel reinforcement, and solving problems related to convergence difficulties and mesh sensitivities. Thus, it is imperative to review the common modeling choices critically and develop a robust modeling strategy with consistency, reliability, and comparability. This paper proposes a modeling strategy and practical recommendations for the nonlinear FE analysis of RC structures based on parametric studies of critical modeling choices. The proposed modeling strategy aims at providing reliable predictions of flexural responses of RC members with a focus on concrete cracking behavior and crushing failure, which serve as the foundation for more complex modeling cases, e.g., RC beams bonded with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates. Additionally, herein, the implementation procedure for the proposed modeling strategy is comprehensively described with a focus on the critical modeling issues for RC structures. The proposed strategy is demonstrated through FE analyses of RC beams tested in four-point bending—one RC beam as reference and one beam externally bonded with a carbon-FRP (CFRP) laminate in its soffit. The simulated results agree well with experimental measurements regarding load-deformation relationship, cracking, flexural failure due to concrete crushing, and CFRP debonding initiated by intermediate cracks. The modeling strategy and recommendations presented herein are applicable to the nonlinear FE analysis of RC structures in general.


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