Chloride-Induced Corrosion in RC and FRC elements: test procedure and preliminary results

Corrosion of rebars is one of the main issues affecting the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) struc-tures since it reduces their lifespan. Nowadays, it is well-known that the use of fibres enhances the mechanical behaviour of RC structures at Serviceability Limit States (SLS) and Ultimate Limit States (ULS). The use of fibres enhances the cracking pattern, leading to narrower and more closely spaced cracks. The crack width is one of the key parameters for controlling the durability of RC structures. However, even though many research studies have been carried out on this topic, the behaviour of RC elements with and without fibres in both cracked stage and aggressive environments is still not well understood. In this context, this article describes a test procedure specifically developed to evaluate the chloride-induced corrosion in RC elements with and without fibres in service condition (cracked stage). Tension ties specimens of 90 x 90 x 830 mm reinforced by a rebar of Ø12 mm were subjected for 280 days both to a constant load and to wet-dry cycles in a water solution containing 50 g/l of NaCl. Prelim-inary results showed that the adopted test procedure was suitable to speed up and assess the chloride-induced corrosion in RC and FRC elements in cracked stage.