Analytical modeling of the contact pressure at the steel-concrete interface

This research studies the effect of corrosion on bond strength at the steel-concrete interface in a reinforced concrete member. Bond stress, which can be defined as the shear stress which develops along the lateral surface of the bar, is expressed as a function of contact pressure at the steel-concrete interface. An analytical model of bond which describes the contact pressure between the reinforcing bar and concrete in a reinforced concrete member is developed. The expression for the reduction in contact pressure due to the accumulation of corrosion products is then developed using the model developed for the uncorroded reinforcing steel bar. The developed analytical model was implemented in a finite element analysis, which was conducted using ABAQUS, of pull-out specimens conducted by Amleh (2000). A reasonable good agreement between the experimental and finite element analysis results was obtained.