Impact of Defects in Steel-Concrete Interface on the Corrosion-Induced Cracking Propagation of the Reinforced Concrete

This paper presents the corrosion-induced cracking performance of reinforced concrete in a chloride condition. The meso-scale structures of concrete specimens were studied according to the X-ray micro-computed tomography test, including the corrosion propagation, the accumulation and transportation of corrosion products, the defects and cracking behaviors of concrete cover. The experimental results show that the defects could provide a reasonable space for the accommodation of corrosion products, which could significantly increase the corrosion process and postpone the cracking performance. The propagation of the cracking path initiating from the corrosion area of the reinforcement to the concrete cover was also captured based on the experimental images, which can make contribution to the recognition of corrosion-induced cracking behavior of the concrete cover.