ABSTRACT
In this paper, the degradation processes, e.g., chloride ion transport, concrete carbonation, micro- and macro-corrosion of steel bars, were deeply analyzed and well modeled. Based on the existing results, a novel probability density function (PDF) -informed reliability analysis framework was proposed to evaluate the time-dependent reliability of a reinforced concrete structural member considering the influences of common atmospheric and marine environment actions. Within the proposed framework, the analysis steps, including the transport of environmental media, reinforcement corrosion, bearing capacity calculation and reliability analysis, were involved, in which different deterioration scenarios and failure modes could be considered. Moreover, some illustrative cases were made to present the analyzing processes of the developed framework. Also, the accuracy and efficiency of the reliability calculation were testified by the traditional methods, e.g., Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) and Importance Sampling, etc. The proposed method would further help the establishment and improvement of the life-cycle design and maintenance theory for reinforced concrete structures.
