Influence of Freezing-and-Thawing Damage on Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Elements

The purpose of this research is to provide a basis on which physical and chemical actions can be included in the design process of reinforced concrete structures by adopting appropriate material models that include deterioration aspects. As an example of physical and chemical deterioration mechanisms, freezing-and-thawing cycles, together with the absorption of capillary water, have been chosen and analyzed. The variation of concrete elastic modulus and bond behavior due to the applied freezing-and-thawing cycles is examined. The results of this work are then implemented in a computational model developed at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The program generates the moment-curvature relation for reinforced concrete structures subject to bending and axial deformations. The model is based on a layer analysis of a cross section, where the bond behavior is particularly considered. The computed moment-curvature relation is compared with data obtained from tests on freezing-and-thawing damaged and undamaged beams.