Stochastic analysis of reinforced concrete beams with corroded reinforcement

The life cycle design of reinforced concrete members subjected to chloride-induced corrosion of reinforcement requires that the design satisfies reliability requirements at different times ( to ensure satisfactory performance at different times). This requires development of a rational framework for carrying out time-variant reliability analysis of reinforced concrete structural members. Two possible approaches to this, namely the classical approach and the Monte Carlo simulation approach, are presented. Reliability analyses were carried out for singly reinforced concrete flexural members, made of ordinary Portland cement concrete and concrete with 30% pulverized fuel ash, located in a splash zone environment, and subjected to chloride-induced corrosion. Results indicate that the Monte Carlo simulation technique, although computationally expensive, can be used for realistic estimation of failure probabilities.