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

International audienceThe 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 atthe steel-concrete interface. These load-induced damages accelerate the diffusion of atmosphericcarbon dioxide in the concrete and along the damaged steel-concrete interface. Carbonation at theinterface 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 initiationand propagation, an accurate experimental procedure leading to cracks and steel-interface damagerepresentative of those existing on the cooling towers should be found. The objective of this paper isto characterize numerically and experimentally the damage induced at steel/concrete interface by theapplied load during three point bending test. This would be determinant parameter for carbonationand then corrosion in RC structures as cooling towers of NPP