Tests of reinforced concrete beams under coupled effects of maximum service loads and variable reinforcement corrosion

An experimental study was carried out to examine the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams subjected to service loads coupled with the corrosion of the flexural reinforcement. The experimental program consisted of tests of six simply supported beams with dimensions of 200 × 300 × 3400 mm. Two beams were loaded to failure using a four‐point bending test, serving as control specimens. Two beams were first loaded to 60% of the beam ultimate load capacity, and then the corrosion process of the longitudinal tensile reinforcement was accelerated using the direct impressed current technique while sustaining the applied loads. Similarly, one beam was corroded under service loads but for a shorter duration to examine the influence of different levels of corrosion. The remaining beam specimen was corroded with no service loads. Test results indicated that corrosion of the main flexural reinforcement resulted in significant reductions in the ultimate load capacity and ductility of RC beams. The results of this study were also compared with test results obtained from corroding small‐scale beams with a smaller percentage of steel and fewer number of bars. The comparison revealed that the reduction rates in ultimate load capacity and ductility associated with corrosion in RC beams under service loads were accelerated when a smaller percentage of steel with fewer bars was used.