Experimental study on dynamic elastic modulus of reinforced concrete bridge deck panels in salt-freeze environment

Reinforced concrete structures are the most widely used structural form today. In the western salt-alkali areas and in road and bridge engineering environments where de-icing agents are used in the northern regions, chloride ions penetrate the concrete, causing steel reinforcement to lose its passivation and corrode, resulting in durability damage to the reinforced concrete structure. Among all bridge components, the bridge deck panels of reinforced concrete bridges are most severely and directly affected by salt-frost damage. Predicting the service life under salt-frost conditions is an urgent issue to be addressed in the durability design, evaluation, and structural maintenance decision-making of reinforced concrete bridge deck panels. In this study, 15 beam specimens and 75 steel reinforcements were subjected to freeze-thaw tests, and 300 freeze-thaw cycles were performed on the concrete beam specimens to analyze the variation of their dynamic elastic modulus. Freeze-thaw tests were conducted on the steel reinforcement specimens with freeze-thaw cycles of 50 times, 100 times, and 150 times. After the freeze-thaw tests, pull-out tests were conducted to measure the changes in bond strength between the steel reinforcement and concrete, relative slip between the steel reinforcement and concrete, and other data.