Experimental Evaluation of the Non-linear Behavior of Existing Gerber Half-Joints in Presence of Corrosion

The gerber half-joints assessment is today a topical problem since these are widespread in the italian infrastructure heritage. These elements, classified as “critical” by the recent italian guidelines (LG20), are often affected by chloride corrosion phenomena due to their positioning under the deck joint. The research program, aimed at evaluating the non-linear behaviour of gerber half-joints, includes the cast of sixteen specimens, which were designed and tested until failure according to different design models, reinforcement amount, and increasing corrosion levels of the reinforcement. This paper presents the first results of two un-corroded and two corroded specimens. The experimental outcomes show that both design details and reinforcement corrosion could compromise the strength and ductility requirements of the saddles. Furthermore, the authors believe that the results can represent a strong scientific reference for the analytical and numerical structural assessment of existing corroded gerber half-joints.