Comparisons on Reinforcing Bar Corrosion Models of RC Structures in Marine Environment

In marine environment, the physical and mechanical performances of reinforced concrete members will vary distinctly with time, which reduces the safety of the structures. The main factors influencing the durability of reinforced concrete members include the deterioration of concrete, the reduction of reinforcing bar strength, the decrease of reinforcing bar area, the weakening of the bond strength between reinforcing bar and concrete, as well as the concrete material performance, the ratio of water to cement, the thickness of concrete cover and the chloride concentration, etc. The reinforcing bar corrosion model is the key problem in the durability calculation of reinforced concrete structures. Various reinforcing bar corrosion models are presented for the durability calculation of reinforced concrete structures and the values of the parameters in the models determined by different literatures are quite scattered. The calculating results from different models are evidently discrepant. In this paper, the various models for calculating the durability of reinforced concrete structures are compared and the effects of the model parameters on calculating results are investigated through an example. Some conclusions are remarked. It is useful for the further development of durability design theory and durability calculation method of reinforced concrete structures in marine environment.