The principal damage in bridges of the Brazilian federal network is due to reinforcement corrosion. In general, corrosion occurs in regions with insumcient concrete cover and/or excessive porosity and affects mainly the first layer Of the reinforcement. In these cases the traditional deterioration models are not applicable or convenient. Although the appearance may reveal a very Strong structural deficiency, some bridges continue to have a good performance and durability. Some finite elements models were elaborated, using eight-node solid elements for concrete and bar elements for the reinforcement, in order to quantify the importance of reinforcement corrosion to the occurrence of flexural cracks. To simulate the reinforcement corrosion, the first layer of reinforcement was considered integral, 40% and corroded. This paper analyses the concrete and reinforcement stress distribution and the corrosion consequences to structure.
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