Lateral displacement capacity of reinforced concrete elements damaged by corrosion

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of corrosion on the lateral displacement capacity and on the global ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) elements, using finite element (FE) analysis. The corrosive phenomenon is simulated accounting for its consequences on the reinforcing bars (variation of the steel geometry and mechanical properties), on the concrete (cracking) and at the interface (variation of the bond-slip behaviour). The parametric analysis, using numerical models, highlights how corrosion significantly changes the structural performance of the element in terms of deformability.