Flexural performance evaluation of corroded steel beams based on 3D corrosion morphology

Abstract

A non-contact three-dimensional (3 D) scanning system was first employed to capture the corrosion features of three naturally corroded steel beams and to reconstruct the 3 D geometries. A more reasonable corrosion grade parameter φ, which could comprehensively consider the effects of uniform and non-uniform corrosion, was proposed for evaluating the corrosion degree of these beams. Then, four-point bending tests were carried out on the corroded beams to investigate the effects of corrosion damage on the flexural performance. A theoretical formula and a detailed calculation process, which considered the thickness reduction and strength degradation based on the corrosion morphology, were established to evaluate the bending capacity of the corroded beams. Then, a series of parameter analyses was conducted to determine the influence of different corrosion characteristics. Finally, morphology-based numerical methodologies were also proposed to predict the flexural performance including the load and deformation of corroded beams. The research results indicated that the theoretical formula and numerical methods could both provide accurate predictions, which could supply further technical support for the non-destructive detection and assessment of existing steel structures.