CHLORIDE-INDUCED CORROSION OF RC STRUCTURES

This paper describes the service life of the reinforced concrete (RC) structures in chloride laden environments. Presence of chloride ions is the most important causes of reinforcing steel corrosion and the subsequent failure of the whole structure. In this paper, the rate of chloride transport in the concrete is defined using Fick’s second law of diffusion. Various stages of corrosion process are defined base on the available models. A stochastic model is introduced for RC structures corrosion initiation period and cover cracking time period. It is concluded that a "Lognormal" distribution might best describe the initiation period of corrosion. Moreover, it is found that the "Lognormal" and "Normal" distributions could define the cracking time of RC structures elements appropriately.