Abstract
Reinforced concrete (RC) structures suffer from different types of loads during service life, and the corrosion characteristics of steel bars embedded in concrete under load are different from those under non-load. In this paper, when the interface between steel bars and concrete (IBSC) cracked and the concrete cover surface (CCS) cracked, the effects of load on the critical corrosion depth of steel bars were analysed based on the thick-walled cylinder model, and a prediction model for the corrosion-induced longitudinal cracking (CLC) time (i.e., initiation cracking time) of the CCS of RC structures under load was proposed. Finally, the influence of load on the CLC time of CCS was discussed on the basis of the proposed prediction model. The results showed that the load had a significant effect on the critical corrosion depth of steel bars when the IBSC cracked induced by corrosion, while the influence of load on the critical corrosion depth of steel bars when the CCS cracked induced by corrosion was not obvious. When the CCS cracks induced by corrosion under load, the influence of the rust-filling layer on the critical corrosion depth of steel bars was larger than that of the load. With the increase in load, the CLC time of CCS decreased. The calculated values of the proposed prediction model were in reasonable agreement with the experimental values, which can provide a reference for durability evaluation and service life prediction of RC structures and lay the foundation for the investigation of the corrosion depth of steel bars in concrete under load.