The PARC_CL 2.1 crack model for reinforced concrete elements subjected to corrosion and long-term effects.

During the service life, existing structures may suffer a combination of time-dependent effects, such as creep, shrinkage and reinforcement corrosion. The corrosion deterioration can significantly affect the durability of reinforced concrete (RC) elements causing premature concrete crushing, size reduction of reinforcement cross-section, degradation of mechanical properties of steel and concrete, and stirrups rupture. Furthermore, to ensure adequate safety and serviceability throughout the life of the structure, the prediction of long-term strains, due to creep and shrinkage, is important. Creep and shrinkage have a considerable impact on the performance of RC structures, affecting stress and strain distribution, increasing deflections and crack width. For this reason, a nonlinear finite element approach, based on multi-layer shell elements and PARC_CL 2.0 crack model is presented in this paper. The PARC_CL 2.1 model is a fixed crack model developed at the University of Parma and implemented in a FORTRAN subroutine UMAT for for ABAQUS that incorporates cyclic constitutive laws of materials and the evolution of corrosion, shrinkage and creep over the time. The effectiveness of the proposed model is validated through comparison with experimental data available in literature.