Premature strength deterioration of concrete structures caused by steel reinforcement corrosion is a concern. The presented work represents results from an experimental investigation involving testing of small scale prestressed concrete beams to correlate steel corrosion to global strain changes in the beam. Concrete beams 6 inch x 6 inch x 21 inch (152.4 mm x152.4 mm x 533.4 mm) with prestressed steel were used in aggressive corrosion environment to accelerate steel cross-section loss. An accelerated impressed current technique was applied to simulate natural process of corrosion in controlling and measuring steel corrosion activity. The strain profile of the loaded corroding beam was monitored by vibrating wire strain gauges (VWGs) at the top and bottom fiber, and then measured to the depth of threaded rebar. The test results obtained from the experimental work were further investigated with the finite element (F.E.) simulation program ANSYS to model the combined influence of expansive corrosion product development, loss of steel cross-sectional area and mid-span static loading on concrete beams. Instrumentation data was also used with F.E. models to validate the change of global strain behavior of corroded beams with corrosion strain time history.
