Corrosion-induced concrete cracking model considering corrosion product-filled paste at the concrete/steel interface

•A concrete cracking model considering corrosion-filled paste (CP) is proposed.•A model describing thickness of CP and corrosion layer is established.•A coefficient indicating capacity of concrete to accommodate rust is defined.•The application of the model to the non-uniform corrosion case is discussed. When steel corrosion happens in concrete, the corrosion products migrate to the pores at the steel/concrete interface. The relationship between the thickness of the corrosion product-filled paste (CP) and that of the corrosion layer (CL) was analysed and established. This relationship can describe the phenomenon that the corrosion products are filling in the concrete pores and accumulating at the steel/concrete interface simultaneously. Based on this relationship, a corrosion-induced concrete surface cracking model which can quantitatively consider corrosion product-filled paste at the concrete/steel interface is proposed. This model is verified and in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The possibility of the application of the proposed corrosion-induced cracking model to the non-uniform corrosion case is also discussed.