Fractal Characterization of Non-Uniform Corrosion of Steel Bars in Concrete Beams after Accelerated depassivation and Seven-Year Natural Corrosion

In this work, the non-uniform corrosion characteristics of steel bars in stressed reinforced concrete beams after accelerated depassivation and seven-year outdoor natural corrosion is analyzed using fractal theory. 3D laser scanning and 3D reconstruction technology are applied to collect the cross-sectional area along the steel bars and obtain the corrosion curves. The non-uniformity of corrosion is analyzed by fractal dimensions which is calculated by variation method. The results indicate that the initial loading level and loading zone have some influence on non-uniform characteristics of steel bars. For an ordinary concrete beam, the increase of load can cause a reduction of fractal dimension of corrosion curves by 5%, which indicates the non-uniformity of corrosion will increase with the increase of load level. The fractal dimension in the bending zone is lower than that in the tension–shear zone, which indicates that corrosion is more non-uniform in bending zone. However, the loading level and loading zone have a slight influence on corrosion level, and the maximum difference of corrosion level caused by load is merely 0.23%. Furthermore, the corrosion level increases with the decrease of fractal dimension, suggesting that the non-uniformity of corrosion increases with the growth of corrosion level. The incorporation of slag powder can help reduce the non-uniformity of corrosion, but the influence on reduction of the corrosion level is about 0.25%. For concrete structures under marine environment, application of slag powder is a good method to slow down the corrosion and reduce the non-uniformity of corrosion.