Experimental and numerical characterisation of load-induced damage in reinforced concrete members

Abstract : The durability of the cooling towers of nuclear power plants (NPP) is an up-to-date issue: some of them can be affected by some cracks. Cracks formation is accompanied by some damages at the steel-concrete interface. These load-induced damages accelerate the diffusion of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the concrete and along the damaged steel-concrete interface. Carbonation at the interface induces steel corrosion which could cause the development of further cracks in the structure, thus, threaten its durability. To understand the effect of cracking, both in terms of corrosion initiation and propagation, an accurate experimental procedure leading to cracks and steel-interface damage representative of those existing on the cooling towers should be found. The objective of this paper is to characterize numerically and experimentally the damage induced at steel/concrete interface by the applied load during three point bending test. This would be determinant parameter for carbonation and then corrosion in RC structures as cooling towers of NPP.