A risk-cost optimized maintenance strategy for corrosion-affected concrete structures

Chun-Qing Li, Robert Ian Mackie, Wimon Lawanwisut

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    30 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete is the dominant cause for premature failures of reinforced concrete structures located in chloride-laden environments. It is also observed that some severely deteriorated concrete structures survive for many years without maintenance. This raises the question of why and how to maintain corrosion-affected concrete structures, in particular in the climate of an increasing scarcity of resources. The present article attempts to formulate a maintenance strategy based on risk-cost optimization of a structure during its whole service life. A time-dependent reliability method is employed to determine the probability of exceeding a limit state at each phase of the service life. To facilitate practical application of the formulated maintenance strategy, an algorithm is developed and programmed in a user-friendly manner with a worked example. A merit of the proposed maintenance strategy is that models used in risk assessment for corrosion-affected concrete structures are related to some of the design criteria used by practitioners. It is found in the article that there exists an optimal number of maintenances for cracking and delamination that returns the minimum total cost for the structure in its whole life. The maintenance strategy presented in the article can help structural engineers, operators, and asset managers develop a cost-effective management scheme for corrosion-affected concrete structures.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)335-346
    Number of pages12
    JournalComputer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering
    Volume22
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul 2007

    Keywords

    • BRIDGES
    • SERVICE LIFE
    • STIRRUPS
    • BENDING CRACK
    • PREDICTION
    • WATER-CEMENT RATIO
    • COVER-CRACKING
    • MAIN REINFORCING BARS
    • STEEL
    • CHLORIDE-INDUCED CORROSION

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