ABSTRACT
Current sustainability requirements impose lower consumption of building materials, less generation of demolition waste, and minimum life-cycle costs. Production of concrete involves a large consumption of raw materials and is one of the largest waste generators in the construction sector; as such, extending the life-cycle of existing infrastructures is extremely important. In this way, there is a need to effectively assess the condition of existing reinforced concrete (RC) components. This implies addressing the effects of different pathologies on the structural performance within the context of reliability evaluation of existing structures. Corrosion of reinforcement is one of the main causes of structural problems in RC construction, leading to a reduction of the cross-sectional area of the bars, and consequently a decrease in resistance capacity. The problem of performance evaluation of existing RC structures and infrastructures is quite distinct from design of new ones. In this research, reliability levels associated with short, axially-loaded, existing RC columns, with loss of cross sectional area of longitudinal reinforcement are evaluated. The joint effects of the in situ concrete compressive strength and reduction of the cross-sectional area of the longitudinal bars are evaluated. The influence of different parameters (concrete compressive strength, number of concrete cores, concrete coefficient of variation, original longitudinal steel ratio, percentage loss of steel, and loads) on the resulting reliability levels is discussed.
