Experimental study on the flexural performance of corrosion-prone concrete beam partly reinforced with carbon textile

Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is gaining popularity due to its sustainability and performance advantages, particularly in applications where conventional steel reinforcement might not work. TRC, a state-of-the-art composite material, combines fine-grained concrete with textile-based reinforcement consisting of high-performance materials such as carbon, glass, or basalt fibres. The results of a study investigating the flexural behaviour of partly replaced carbon textile-reinforced concrete beams subjected to corrosion are presented in this paper. In addition to steel reinforcement, carbon textile coated with epoxy was used as reinforcing material. Carbon textile was used to replace 25, 50 and 75% of the steel reinforcement in beams of size 1000mm length, 100mm width and 150mm depth. The beams cast were exposed to 30 days accelerated corrosion process and the corrosion potential was measured. To evaluate the flexuralnperformance ofnthe beams both before and after corrosion, a four-point bending test was used. An experimental investigation was also done to evaluate the degree of corrosion of the steel bar in each beam. The corrosion products of steel in the tested concrete specimens were examined separately through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Test results showed that during both phases, before and after corrosion, 50% and 75% of steel-provided carbon textile beams outperformed the conventional beam in terms of flexural stiffness and corrosion potential. Hence to enhance the/flexural strength and corrosion resistance of beams, besides steel reinforcement carbon textile can be utilised as textile reinforcement.