Time-dependent structural performance analysis of RC slab exposed to chloride attack by incorporating spatial variability

It is well recognized that the material properties of a reinforced concrete (RC) structure and its dimensions are random due to the spatial variability associated with workmanship, environment and other factors. This randomness causes spatially corrosion damages such as corrosion crack, cover spalling and steel corrosion. Therefore, it is of great importance to simulate deterioration processes of RC structures in a stochastic field context. In this paper, based on a probabilistic model for steel corrosion in RC structures, steel corrosion distributions over RC slab is estimated using 2D Gaussian stochastic fields. In an illustrative example, a time-dependent structural performance of RC slab represented by the stochastic field was estimated using 2D nonlinear finite element method.