# Corrosion Performance and Post-Corrosion Evolution of Tensile Behaviors in Rebar Reinforced Ultra-High Performance Concrete

## TL;DR

This study explores how corrosion affects the strength and behavior of rebar-reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete under saline and electrical conditions.

## Contribution

The study introduces a detailed analysis of corrosion-induced degradation and tensile behavior evolution in R-UHPC with copper-coated steel fibers.

## Key findings

- Rebar embedding in UHPC creates conductive pathways leading to radial and laminar cracks.
- Corrosion reduces bonding between rebar and UHPC, diminishing the material's multiple-cracking behavior.
- Ultrasonic damage factor effectively indicates corrosion cracks and load-bearing degradation.

## Abstract

The application of rebar reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete (R-UHPC) has been increasingly adopted in engineering structures due to its exceptional mechanical performance and durability characteristics. Nevertheless, when subjected to combined saline and stray current conditions, R-UHPC remains vulnerable to severe corrosion degradation. This investigation examined the corrosion performance and tensile behavior evolution of R-UHPC containing 2.0 vol% copper-coated steel fiber content and HRB400 steel rebar with a reinforcement ratio of 3.1%. The accelerated corrosion process was induced through an impressed current method, followed by direct tensile tests at varying exposure periods. The findings revealed that the embedding of rebar in UHPC led to the formation of fiber-to-rebar (F-R) conductive pathways, generating radial cracks besides laminar cracks. The bonding between rebar and UHPC degraded as corrosion progressed, leading to the loss of characteristic multiple-cracking behavior of R-UHPC in tension. Meanwhile, R-UHPC load-bearing capacity, transitioning from gradual to accelerated deterioration phases with prolonged corrosion, aligns with steel fibers temporally. During the initial 4 days of corrosion, the specimens displayed surface-level corrosion features with negligible steel fiber loss, showing less than 4.0% reduction in ultimate bearing capacity. At 8 days of corrosion, the steel fiber decreased by 22.6%, accompanied by an 18.3% reduction in bearing capacity. By 16 days of corrosion, the steel fiber loss reached 41.5%, with a corresponding bearing capacity reduction of 29.1%. During the corrosion process, corrosion cracks and load-bearing degradation in R-UHPC could be indicated by the ultrasonic damage factor.