ABSTRACT
The prediction of a realistic lifetime and the prolongation of the service life of a structure are important factors to reduce cost. It will therefore be necessary to determine the real lifetime of structures which is often much longer than estimated by usual theoretical models. As a result most structures could be used much longer than their calculated life cycle. This would reduce the overall costs of the structure. However, a lot of structures show unexpected damages, due to increased and unpredictable usage, higher strengthening of the structure, corrosion by environmental conditions, carelessness during construction and maintenance.
