Effects of sustained loading and corrosion on the performance of reinforced concrete beams

•Performance of RC beams under simultaneous loading and corrosion is studied.•Flexural behaviour of beams with different levels of corrosion is examined.•Corrosion of reinforcements increases with the corrosion period and loading level.•Increasing loading extends the longitudinal cracks but not the crack width.•Load and deformation capacities of beams decrease with increasing corrosion level.