Reliability of RC beams under chloride-ingress

An assessment of the reliability of reinforced concrete beams with corroded reinforcement was proposed based on the computation of the reliability index. The corrosion was induced by chlorides provided from de-icing salts or marine breeze. Models for chloride diffusion and corrosion kinetics were chosen depending on the availability of consistent statistical data, and as well as to represent the physical phenomena realistically. The statistical distributions were specified from a wide review of previous studies for environmental parameters (surface chloride concentration or flux, coefficient of diffusion, corrosion current density) and also for geometrical parameters and mechanical properties of materials. Various design specifications were accounted for in designing the beams corresponding to different expected degrees of aggressiveness of the environment and the possibility of concrete cracking. The time-dependant reliability was evaluated taking into account the previous survival period of the structure. The results show the effect on reliability of exposure conditions, quality of concrete and design option according to the french design rules.