Life-cycle structural reliability of concrete bridges considering spatial variability of corrosion and model updating

This paper presents a computational approach to life-cycle structural reliability assessment of concrete bridges under chloride-induced corrosion considering spatial variability of damage and model updating based on the results of diagnostic activities to gather information on material properties and exposure scenario. The proposed approach implements random fields to account for the effects of spatial variability of corrosion and Bayesian inference for model updating. The main steps of the reliability assessment procedure are presented and discussed with emphasis on the application to an existing prestressed concrete box-girder railway bridge.