An investigation into influential factors affecting the time to concrete cover cracking in reinforced concrete structures

Corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete structures has been a major problem worldwide. The volume expansion of corrosion products causes concrete cover cracking. The time to cover cracking plays a key role in the assessment of serviceability of reinforced concrete structures subjected to corrosion. Many analytical, numerical and empirical models have been developed to predict the time to crack initiation due to corrosion. Various factors, such as concrete properties, corrosion rate and properties of corrosion products, have been found affecting the time to crack initiation. In this paper, a review of the four analytical models is presented. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to identify the most influential factors affecting time to crack initiation. The results from sensitivity analysis show that the porous zone and the expansion properties of corrosion products are the most influential factors. © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, London.