Cyclic shear testing of artificially corroded reinforced concrete short circular piers

Chloride-induced deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is an increasingly vital topic among asset management and structural maintenance fields, as many RC bridges and other structures are reaching the end of their initial design lives. Deterioration of the transverse reinforcement in RC piers leads to the direct loss of shear and confinement-related mechanical properties as degradation advances with time. This research investigates the seismic response of fourteen short RC circular piers subjected to artificial chloride-induced corrosion. Each pier is designed to trigger a shear-dominated failure and artificially corroded at two current densities. A maximum average mass loss of 10.5% and 43.0% was measured in the longitudinal and spiral reinforcement, respectively. The influence of confinement effectiveness, spiral diameter, and aspect ratio on the rate of shear capacity degradation are included as test parameters in this study. Results indicate that shear deformation begins to govern performance at moderate to severe deterioration, which precedes the onset of brittle shear-dominated failure modes. Ultimate deflection is more adversely affected by increasing corrosion than all other measured properties, with a maximum observed reduction of 70.9% compared to a maximum 37.5% reduction observed in peak shear capacity. Several existing theoretical models are introduced and evaluated on their ability to predict the shear capacity of the experimental tests. Based on the results, those models directly evaluating the circular section without needing an equivalent section transformation offer the most accurate and reliable predictions.