Study of the loss of bond in reinforced concrete specimens with accelerated corrosion by means of push-out tests

•Loss of bond due to reinforcement corrosion is studied by means of push-out tests.•The specimens are slices of concrete prisms reinforced with a smooth steel tube.•The prisms are uniformly corroded in accelerated tests up to several corrosion depths.•Adhesion and friction are the main resisting mechanisms during push-out of the tube.•Corrosion depth affects residual stress and a dilatant behavior is detected. In this work, push-out tests are presented to study loss of bond caused by corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete. The specimens are concrete prisms reinforced with a smooth steel tube, thus, interlocking of bar ribs is avoided, and adhesion and friction are analyzed. The prisms were uniformly corroded up to various corrosion depths. During push-out, widening of the main crack developed during accelerated corrosion was measured. For the corrosion levels applied in this work, the corrosion level influences the residual stress at the end of the test, and the stress and crack widening are related, showing a dilatant behavior.