ABSTRACT
This paper presents a numerical study on the effects of longitudinal corrosion distribution, such as the length and the spacing of corrosion areas, on the surface crack development. The study used a newly developed model based on the Rigid Body Spring Method, which accounted for both the crack-dependent corrosion process and the crack-assisted transport of corrosion products. Several corrosion scenarios were compared. The results showed that, in the case of general corrosion, the effect of corrosion degree variation on the crack width is insignificant. In the case of localized corrosion, the surface crack propagates beyond the corrosion area with nearly consistent growing length, and the influence of corrosion degree is unpronounced. When two localized corrosion areas are relatively closely spaced, the formed cracks may join each other, and the maximum crack width can reach the same level by a broader corrosion area.
