Issue 39

P. Konecny et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 39 (2017) 29-37; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.39.04 29 Focussed on Modelling in Mechanics Effect of cracking and randomness of inputs on corrosion initiation of reinforced concrete bridge decks exposed to chlorides P. Konecny, P. Lehner VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Structural Mechanics, L. Podeště 1875, 708 33 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic petr.konecny@vsb.cz , http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6667-7522 petr.lehner@vsb.cz, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1478-5027 A BSTRACT . The paper is aimed at the indicative evaluation of the effect of random scatter of input parameters in case of durability of reinforced concrete bridge deck. The time to onset of corrosion of steel reinforcement of concrete bridge deck exposed to chloride is evaluated. The effect of cracking in concrete onto chloride ingress is considered. The selected steel reinforcement protection strategies are: unprotected steel reinforcement, epoxy-coated steel reinforcement and water-proof barrier bellow asphalt overlay. The preliminary model for damage effect on chloride ion ingress through water proof membrane under penetrable asphalt overlay is used. 2-D finite element chloride ingress model is combined with Monte Carlo simulation technique. The innovative crack effect modeling via highly penetrable elements is applied. Deterministic and probabilistic calculations are compared. K EYWORDS . Concrete; Crack; Steel reinforcement; Bridge deck; Corrosion initiation; Probability. Citation: Konecny, P., Lehner, P., Effect of cracking and randomness of inputs on corrosion initiation of reinforced concrete bridge decks exposed to chlorides, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 39 (2017) 29-37. Received: 15.07.2016 Accepted: 21.09.2016 Published: 01.01.2017 Copyright: © 2017 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. I NTRODUCTION he random scatter of input parameters is important feature of many engineering tasks. Thus considering randomness in the numerical modeling via distribution functions of significant parameters is suitable approach in probabilistic reliability assessment even in case of public infrastructure. Typical example of the civil engineering structure of interest is reinforced concrete (RC) bridge structure. The durability of such structure is, in many cases, predetermined by durability of steel reinforcement as proven by many structures requiring premature repairs or replacement. Need for repairs results from defects caused by e.g. the effect of environment or the long term actions of loads including chemical actions. Shortened lifespan leads to increased life cycle costs of the structure thus contributing indirectly to higher burden on public budgets. The production of more durable construction systems and higher quality concrete mixes can help to reduce the overall costs of the structure (see e.g. [1] and [2]). It is assumed that higher durability can be achieved with increased knowledge