Axial Compressive Behavior and Calculation Model for Axial-Compressive-Load-Carrying Capacity of Locally Corroded RC Short Columns

The individual effects of the main reinforcement corrosion and stirrup corrosion on the axial compressive behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns were evaluated through axial compression tests on 10 full-scale short columns. The primary experimental parameters were the corrosion location and the corrosion ratio of the steel bar. The electrochemical accelerated corrosion method was applied on nine of the columns, including three columns corroded in the main reinforcement, three columns corroded in the stirrup, and three columns corroded in both the main reinforcement and stirrup. The full-field displacement of the column and strain of concrete were evaluated using a non-contact 3D-DIC (digital image correlation) technique. The results indicated that, with the increase in the main reinforcement corrosion ratio, the width of the longitudinal corrosion crack increased. The transverse corrosion cracks appeared when the stirrup corrosion ratio is larger than 8%, and the increase in stirrup corrosion ratio increased the crack number, but had little effect on the crack width. Compared to the non-corroded RC column, the peak load of specimens with main reinforcement corrosion ratios of 8.02%, 9.01%, and 19.27% decreased by 10.53%, 13.56%, and 19.77%, respectively, and that of the specimens with stirrup corrosion ratios of 7.08%, 12.33%, and 24.36% decreased by 11.59%, 12.07%, and 17.15%, respectively. The axial-compressive-load-carrying capacity of RC columns decreased almost linearly as the corrosion ratio of the main reinforcement increases, while it exhibited an approximately bilinear degradation as the corrosion ratio of the stirrups increases. The stirrup corrosion ratio had less effect on the axial compressive loading capacity of the RC column when it was larger than 7.5%. A model for calculating the axial-compressive-load-carrying capacity of the corroded RC short columns was developed based on the impact mechanisms of the corroded main reinforcement and stirrups on the columns’ axial compressive behavior. The calculated results closely matched the test data, demonstrating that the proposed model can reliably predict the residual load-carrying capacity of corroded columns.