A novel concrete column with synergistic seismic performance improvement and corrosion control

Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is an effective technique to inhibit steel corrosion. Combined with the ICCP principle, a novel concrete column with synergistic seismic performance improvement and corrosion control was proposed here, i.e., hybrid carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars/steel bars reinforced concrete (RC) column, in which CFRP bar acts as the reinforcement of concrete columns and the anode of the ICCP system simultaneously. The seismic behavior of the concrete column was investigated experimentally. First, an accelerated pre-corrosion test was conducted with a pre-defined corrosion ratio of 5 % for steel bars. Then, a wet-dry cycle corrosion test was conducted by companies with the ICCP test for 180 days. Finally, the cyclic loading experiment was performed. The results showed that cathodic protection was effective for the proposed structural system, and steel corrosion was controlled obviously. The seismic behavior of the RC column can be ensured with short-term and long-term ICCP. Compared with the nonprotected corroded specimens, the steel corrosion ratio for protected ones has been reduced by 22.95∼48.64 %, leading to the increase of the ductility and cumulative dissipated energy by 5.60∼50.7 % and 10.08∼143.6 %, respectively. In addition, the ductility and stiffness of corroded RC columns with short-term ICCP treatment reduced progressively as the ICCP current density increased. The improvement in the ductility for long-term ICCP is less significant compared with short-term ICCP, because of the gradual deterioration of the CFRP anode and the acidification of the anode-concrete interface. • Concrete column with synergistic seismic performance improvement and corrosion control. • CFRP bar acts as the reinforcement of concrete and anode of ICCP. • Seismic behavior of the proposed concrete column was investigated experimentally.