Behavior of corroded RC beams with varying corrosion percentages and shear reinforcement ratio under impact load

Abstract

This study aims to experimentally and numerically investigate the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams designed to exhibit flexure and shear failure behavior by changing the shear reinforcement ratio, which has undergone different corrosion rates under the effect of impact loading. Corrosion is the damage type that affects RC members the most throughout their economic life due to environmental conditions. Studies in literature examine the behavior of corroded RC beams under the effect of static and reversible repeated dynamic loads such as earthquakes or wind. However, the literature does not present a comprehensive experimental study examining the behavior of corroded RC beams under the effect of sudden dynamic impact loads. The planned study selects the corrosion percentage of RC beams and the status of exhibiting shear or flexural failure as experimental variables in a design approach. Acceleration, displacement, and loading time changes under the impact loading applied to corroded RC beams are measured and evaluated with the authors’ free weight drop test setup. The beams’ collapse mechanisms and energy dissipation capacities are interpreted, and the effects of corrosion on the behavior of the beams under the impact loading are investigated. The results obtained from the experimental part of the study and the numerical analysis results performed with the Ls-Dyna finite element software are compared, and the extent to which successful FEA analyses could be obtained is interpreted. It is observed that the corrosion occurring in RC beams negatively affected behavior under the impact loading significantly, reduced the maximum acceleration values measured from the beams by an average of 118%, and increased the maximum displacement and permanent residual displacement values occurring under the applied impact loading effect by an average of 142% and 167%, respectively. Corrosion also negatively affected the energy dissipation capacities of RC beams under the impact loading effect significantly and caused an average decrease of 81%.