ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a brief review is given of feedback on performance in service where defects have occurred in different types of structure. The relevance of doing that, in an asset management scenario, is to provide a perspective of the main causes of deterioration and of the variability that can occur. This is of benefit in taking decisions on the nature and scope of investigations which may be necessary to fully understand the present condition of an asset and to underpin assessment, prior to deciding on the nature and timing of any necessary action. In 1986, the author published a paper entitled ‘The design life of concrete
structures’ [2.1]. The main purpose was to review what was then known about durability and to make recommendations for improvements in the design and construction of concrete structures. The argument advanced was that the approach had to be holistic, embracing design and construction issues, in addition to the traditional approach of relying solely on material specifications. The evidence for that came from survey data available at that time. The sense of that data will be provided here, together with more recent information. The objective is to seek out trends and issues, which are of value in assessment.
