Effect of reinforcement corrosion on reliability of highway bridges

This paper presents several aspects of a method for reliability assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) slab bridges with corroded reinforcement. It is assumed that corrosion will lead to a reduction in cross-sectional area of the reinforcing steel and/or a reduction in bond strength. Two types of corrosion are considered: general and localized corrosion. The method includes a non-linear finite element structural model and probabilistic models for traffic loads, corrosion propagation, bond characteristics, material properties, element dimensions and reinforcement placement. Reliability is estimated in terms of the reliability index using the first-order reliability method (FORM). For illustrative purposes, bridge reliabilities are calculated for a deteriorating, simple-span RC slab bridge, for ultimate strength and serviceability limit states.