Corrosion Resistance Of High-Performance Composite Beams

The research concentrated on the corrosion resistance of reinforced self-consolidating concrete (SCC), lightweight SCC (LWSCC), fiber reinforced LWSCC (FRLWSCC), Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and composite (ECC-SCC/LWSCC) beams. The performance of corroded beams were analyzed based on current measurements, half-cell potential readings, crack pattern/width, rebar mass loss and diameter reduction from accelerated corrosion tests. Corroded and their companion uncorroded beams were tested to failure under four-point loading to evaluate load-deflection response, crack pattern, 1st flexure/diagonal cracking load, failure load and failure modes. Composite beams with higher ECC layer thickness exhibited superior corrosion resistance than their lower thickness counterparts and full depth SCC or LWSCC counterparts as well as performance of beams with ECC wrap was better than those with layer. Overall, ECC beams can be a superior alternative of their conventional counterparts and ECC can be used as layer or wrapping in conventional/LWSCC beams to enhance corrosion resistance and structural performance