Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture

Rebar corrosion significantly affects the overall performance and the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to the reduction in the bond strength between concrete and rebar, leading to the delamination of the concrete cover. Numerous studies have been conducted using experimental,...

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Main Authors: Ba-Thanh Vu, Xuan-Lam Nguyen, Dac-Duc Nguyen, The-Truyen Tran, Duc-Nhiem Tran, Ngoc-Long Nguyen, Tien-Thanh Bui
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Gruppo Italiano Frattura 2025-07-01
Series:Fracture and Structural Integrity
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Online Access:https://www.fracturae.com/index.php/fis/article/view/5278/4250
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author Ba-Thanh Vu
Xuan-Lam Nguyen
Dac-Duc Nguyen
The-Truyen Tran
Duc-Nhiem Tran
Ngoc-Long Nguyen
Tien-Thanh Bui
author_facet Ba-Thanh Vu
Xuan-Lam Nguyen
Dac-Duc Nguyen
The-Truyen Tran
Duc-Nhiem Tran
Ngoc-Long Nguyen
Tien-Thanh Bui
author_sort Ba-Thanh Vu
collection DOAJ
description Rebar corrosion significantly affects the overall performance and the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to the reduction in the bond strength between concrete and rebar, leading to the delamination of the concrete cover. Numerous studies have been conducted using experimental, analytical, and simulation methods to explore corrosion-induced damage. Regarding simulation methods, previous studies have focused on either uniform or non-uniform corrosion, without an overall comparison between these two scenarios in terms of crack development and displacement of rust expansion. Furthermore, in brittle materials such as concrete, the strain tensor is split into a tension part and a compression part, in which only the strain energy of the tension part controls the crack development. Therefore, this paper provides some novel aspects: (i) Two parts of the strain tensor are orthogonal in the context of the inner product with the elastic stiffness tensor behaving as a metric. This orthogonal condition combined with the phase-field modeling, helps to improve the mechanical behaviors of the materials; (ii) The numerical method (i) is used to simulate and compare the crack path and displacement due to rust expansion of RC structures under uniform and non-uniform corrosion conditions. Several RC cross-sections are conducted as follows: (a) Cross-sections containing one or multiple asymmetrically arranged rebars, with the constant rebar area fraction and the concrete cover thickness unchanged; (b) Cross-sections containing four symmetrically arranged rebars with the 10mm rebar diameter (D10) and the concrete cover thicknesses changed; (c) Cross-sections containing four symmetric D10 rebars and the pores. Through several aforementioned numerical simulation examples, this paper provides an overview of uniform versus non-uniform corrosion-induced fracture in the typical RC cross-sections. This can guide the selection of the appropriate rebar positioning for the realistic RC structures, helping to mitigate rapid deterioration due to the rebar corrosion.
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spelling doaj-art-5e214c582c544dc6a97190f19ab34a2f2025-08-20T02:48:57ZengGruppo Italiano FratturaFracture and Structural Integrity1971-89932025-07-01197316618010.3221/IGF-ESIS.73.1210.3221/IGF-ESIS.73.12Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fractureBa-Thanh VuXuan-Lam NguyenDac-Duc NguyenThe-Truyen TranDuc-Nhiem TranNgoc-Long NguyenTien-Thanh BuiRebar corrosion significantly affects the overall performance and the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to the reduction in the bond strength between concrete and rebar, leading to the delamination of the concrete cover. Numerous studies have been conducted using experimental, analytical, and simulation methods to explore corrosion-induced damage. Regarding simulation methods, previous studies have focused on either uniform or non-uniform corrosion, without an overall comparison between these two scenarios in terms of crack development and displacement of rust expansion. Furthermore, in brittle materials such as concrete, the strain tensor is split into a tension part and a compression part, in which only the strain energy of the tension part controls the crack development. Therefore, this paper provides some novel aspects: (i) Two parts of the strain tensor are orthogonal in the context of the inner product with the elastic stiffness tensor behaving as a metric. This orthogonal condition combined with the phase-field modeling, helps to improve the mechanical behaviors of the materials; (ii) The numerical method (i) is used to simulate and compare the crack path and displacement due to rust expansion of RC structures under uniform and non-uniform corrosion conditions. Several RC cross-sections are conducted as follows: (a) Cross-sections containing one or multiple asymmetrically arranged rebars, with the constant rebar area fraction and the concrete cover thickness unchanged; (b) Cross-sections containing four symmetrically arranged rebars with the 10mm rebar diameter (D10) and the concrete cover thicknesses changed; (c) Cross-sections containing four symmetric D10 rebars and the pores. Through several aforementioned numerical simulation examples, this paper provides an overview of uniform versus non-uniform corrosion-induced fracture in the typical RC cross-sections. This can guide the selection of the appropriate rebar positioning for the realistic RC structures, helping to mitigate rapid deterioration due to the rebar corrosion.https://www.fracturae.com/index.php/fis/article/view/5278/4250phase-field modelingrc structuresuniform corrosionnon-uniform corrosioncrackdisplacement of rust expansion
spellingShingle Ba-Thanh Vu
Xuan-Lam Nguyen
Dac-Duc Nguyen
The-Truyen Tran
Duc-Nhiem Tran
Ngoc-Long Nguyen
Tien-Thanh Bui
Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
Fracture and Structural Integrity
phase-field modeling
rc structures
uniform corrosion
non-uniform corrosion
crack
displacement of rust expansion
title Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
title_full Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
title_fullStr Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
title_full_unstemmed Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
title_short Phase-field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non-uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
title_sort phase field modeling for investigating the effect of rebar positioning and uniform versus non uniform corrosion on concrete fracture
topic phase-field modeling
rc structures
uniform corrosion
non-uniform corrosion
crack
displacement of rust expansion
url https://www.fracturae.com/index.php/fis/article/view/5278/4250
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