Experimental Validation of Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of RC/PC Structures Under Corrosion

Experimental validation of nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) and prestressed concrete (PC) structures is presented, with emphasis on life-cycle assessment of bridges under corrosion. Structural modeling is developed with different levels of complexity using RC/PC beam finite elements and bi-dimensional finite elements for plane stress analysis. The proposed models are validated on the results of experimental laboratory tests on corroded RC beams and full-scale load tests on 50-year-old PC bridge deck beams. The comparison between numerical and experimental results allows to validate the proposed nonlinear analysis methods of corroded RC/PC structures.