Numerical simulation of the behaviour of corroded RC sea walls

Coastal structures such as sea walls and breakwaters are essential structural components of sea defences against flooding and erosion. These structures, however, are subjected to increased magnitude and frequency of hydrodynamic actions, larger overtopping flows and increased stresses within the structures. This situation is exacerbated when reinforced concrete (RC) walls is deteriorated due to corrosion of the reinforcement. The combined effects could lead to inevitable reduction of the service life of the RC walls. Conventional design methods of RC walls do not provide design procedures to predict the mechanical behaviour of corroded RC walls. Specifically, most of the design codes assume the bond between the steel reinforcement and the concrete is intact and do not consider the bond loss, which is induced by corrosion of the reinforcement and concrete cracking. This research therefore attempts to develop a numerical model that can predict the load-deflection curves of RC walls subjected to corrosion with consideration of the bond deterioration. Tile model accounts for the effects of the reduction in the steel reinforcement area and the change in bond strength due to corrosion on the mechanical behaviour of RC walls.