Assessment of Durability of Concrete Structure Subject to Carbonation with Application of Safety Factor

Abstract

A reliability-based method for identifying appropriate safety factors for use in predicting the service life (i.e., corrosion-free life) of concrete structures subject to carbonation is described in this paper. Reinforced concrete (RC) columns located in CO2-rich urban environments were investigated to estimate their service life. Carbonation depths and cover depths were measured for sound, cracked, and jointed concrete cover conditions. The measurements were used to calculate safety factors for columns subject to carbonation. Goodness-of-fit tests were used to obtain optimal probability distributions for carbonation depths and cover depths. A reliability index of 1.28, corresponding to a 10% probability of corrosion initiation, was taken as a threshold for determining the safety factor. The safety factor proposed in this paper can be used to estimate the service life of RC structures subject to carbonation. The sensitivity of the safety factor to the casting method and coefficient of variation of the cover depth were also evaluated.