Experimental Study on the Overall Stability of Corroded H-Shaped Steel Beams

Abstract

The degradation of the overall stability of corroded rolled H-shaped steel beams under bending conditions has not been extensively studied. In the present study, monotonic tensile tests and overall stability tests were conducted on seven rolled H-shaped steel beams that were subjected to electrochemical corrosion in order to discuss the influence of corrosion on the material’s mechanical properties and the overall stability of steel beams under bending conditions. The test results have indicated that the strength, the elastic modulus, and the elongation of the steel declined with an increase in the corrosion rate of the steel beams, and an obvious plastic deterioration phenomenon was observed. In addition, all of the steel beams with different degrees of corrosion were subjected to overall flexural–torsional buckling failure. The stiffness and the overall stability ultimate bearing capacity of the corroded steel beams decreased with the increase in the corrosion rate, and the overall stability of the test beams with a high design corrosion rate degraded significantly. Furthermore, by using the finite element numerical simulation analysis software ABAQUS, a double-reduction corrosion model of the sectional dimensions and the material’s mechanical properties was established. The overall stability ultimate bearing capacities of the steel beams that were subjected to three-point bending and the corresponding load–lateral displacement curves were analyzed. In addition, the finite element numerical simulation results were compared with the test results for verification. Subsequently, the influence of the initial bending on the overall stability ultimate bearing capacity of the steel beams was analyzed by virtue of the verified finite element model. This study will provide a test basis for the evaluation of the bearing capacity of existing rolled H-shaped steel members, as well as an experimental basis and finite element model reference for the follow-up study on the degradation of the mechanical properties of the corroded rolled steel members.