Behaviour of reinforced concrete beams subjected to corrosion damage under cyclic loading

Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete structures is one of the main reasons for reduced bearing capacity, causing premature deterioration and reducing their service life. In this research, several reinforced concrete beams were designed identically, subjected to different states of accelerated corrosion (0–11.3%) and tested to determine their variation in flexural behaviour under cyclic loading. The results showed that, in the early stages of corrosion (up to 2%), the bearing capacity, deflection and flexural stiffness were not significantly affected. As the rate of reinforcement corrosion increased, the specimens entered the plastic zone earlier, the bearing capacity decreased by up to 50%, the flexural stiffness reduced by 30% and the deflection increased by up to 230% when compared with the reference beam with no corrosion damage.