Strength assessment in reinforced concrete structures: From research to improved practices

The nondestructive assessment of concrete strength in existing structures is a real and complex challenge. Recent research advances have been done, like the idea of conditional coring or the development of a bi-objective approach for assessing concrete variability. It will be shown here how, through the use of synthetic simulations and the analysis of uncertainty propagation in the investigation and assessment process, it is possible to (a) confirm the interest of these research results, (b) develop a consistent approach for an efficient and reliable assessment of concrete strength in existing structures. This work will be based on the definition of prescribed targets in terms of uncertainty of assessment and on the concept of risk, i.e. probability of missing the targets.