A quantitative risk-based maintenance strategy for coastal RC structures

A quantitative risk-based maintenance strategy is developed in this paper for coastal reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to corrosive environment and hydrodynamic action. In the maintenance strategy, three types of maintenance, i.e., (i) superficial patching for corrosion-induced longitudinal surface cracking, (ii) major repair for concrete delamination and (in) overall structural strengthening for strength failure, are considered. Taking the time of maintenance due to cracking, delamination and failure as design variables, an optimization algorithm is formulated for the total cost of a coastal RC structure. The maintenance strategy provides a scientific and economic basis in decision-making with regard to (i) what type of maintenance is required and (ii) the timing of this maintenance. Finally, a numerical example is given for demonstrating the validity of the algorithm presented in this paper