Experimental investigation of process of corrosion-induced cover delamination using digital image correlation

Abstract

Cover delamination caused by the corrosion of multiple rebars is one of the most predominant deterioration problems of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. To date, there has been little experimental research on cover delamination, and in the few studies that have focused on this issue, different types of failure, such as cracking, spalling and delamination, are not clearly specified. In this study, the mechanism and process of cover delamination are experimentally investigated by using accelerated corrosion tests together with the digital image correlation (DIC) method and the entire process of corrosion-induced cover delamination is experimentally recorded for the first time. The process of the uplifting of the concrete cover is recorded. The crack opening displacement from the delamination cracking is quantitatively analyzed through DIC. Furthermore, the new test results have been used to validate a previously proposed cover delamination model.