Experimental evaluation of corrosion effects on lateral strength of hollow bridge piers

This work aims to analyze the effect of corrosion on bridge piers under lateral loads, such as those due to wind, traffic or seismic actions. Scaled down reinforced concrete hollow piers were tested under vertical axial load and reversed cyclic horizontal increasing loads. Reference control pier was tested and compared to pier where bars on one side of the member were artificially corroded by imposing an electric current to induce a corrosion penetration. The results of the experimental tests show clearly that even a limited corrosion penetration results in a significant change in structural behavior, as reduction in strength of both stirrups and longitudinal bars changes the failure mode. The reduction in global lateral force capacity is mainly coupled to a significant reduction in ductility and change in failure mode from ductile flexure, with slight interaction with shear, to quite brittle shear failure at lower drift ratios.