A Constitutive Equation and Numerical Study on the Tensile Behavior of Reinforcing Steel Under Different Mass Loss Ratios.

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanical degradation of HRB400 corroded reinforcing steel induced by corrosion and introduces a tailored constitutive model to capture the influence of mass loss ratios. A series of tensile tests were conducted following chloride-driven wet-dry cycles combined with a simulated marine corrosion environment, enabling the quantification of the relationship between mass loss ratios and mechanical performance. A degradation equation based on mass loss ratios was derived and benchmarked against both experimental data and the existing Hooputra's Ductile Damage (HDD) model. The proposed equation achieved approximately 80% accuracy in predicting strength reduction across varying corrosion levels. A finite element model incorporating the HDD framework was developed to simulate tensile failure, successfully capturing key degradation characteristics, including reduced yield strength, diminished ductility, and a shortened yield plateau. Unlike other models, it maintained high predictive accuracy even under severe corrosion. These findings demonstrate the model's potential for structural analysis and reinforcement design in corrosion-prone environments.