ABSTRACT

A reinforced concrete (RC) structure is subjected to various mechanical and environmental actions throughout its service life, which results in the degradation of structural performance. RC water infrastructures in marine environments are among such the structures suffering from chloride-induced corrosion owing to its exposure to harsh environments. Since these structures have essential roles for sea transportation and natural disaster prevention, it is necessary to prevent severe damages. Ensuring structural performance requirements of the structure with the concept of life-cycle management can stimulate sustainably social and economic activities at the same time. However, it is not deniable that huge costs are required to maintain these facilities, and benefit loss cannot be avoided if large-scale repair including partial replacement of structural members is undertaken. Since an environmental aspect is a global issue, an optimization of life-cycle management scenario is required to be created for minimizing the repair cost and/or to maximize the benefit as well as to reduce global environmental impact. This paper discusses how to define the optimum life-cycle management scenario for marine RC structures. The following three sustainability indicators are selected for the comparison in the paper: structural performance degradation, life-cycle cost, and carbon dioxide emission.