Reliability assessment of ageing reinforced concrete structures - current situation and future challenges

This paper provides a brief description of the framework for reliability-based analysis/assessment of ageing reinforced concrete structures. The main emphasis is made on modelling deterioration due to corrosion of reinforcing steel. A critical overview of existing models for corrosion initiation, corrosion-induced cracking, and effects of corrosion on deflections and strength of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is presented, including discussion of future research needs. Recent accomplishments of the authors in this area are described. Special attention is paid to the role of spatial variability of deterioration on results of reliability assessment, which is illustrated by two examples.