In Europe it is estimated that around 50% of infrastructure funding is currently utilised for repair and maintenance of structures. In the UK, chloride ingress into concrete and subsequent corrosion of reinforcement is responsible for the premature deterioration of majority of concrete structures. This can be attributed to two main factors: (1) inadequate concrete specification; and (2) lack of performance-focused maintenance strategies that ensures a required service life. Several service life models (SLMs) exist for studying the chloride induced corrosion and these are great tools for understanding how a concrete will perform in a given exposure environment. However, only very few designers use SLMs and the main reasons for the lack of uptake of this approach are: (1) the complex nature of the models; (2) lack of explanation and guidance on the role of input parameters; and (3) the lack of guidance on the interpretation of outputs. This prompted a study into the benefits and shortcomings of SLMs in order to understand the reasons why this methodology has not been integrated fully into practices in the industry. In this thesis a new approach for identifying the most critical input parameters that could be used in service life modelling of concrete structures which are exposed to chloride exposure environments was proposed on the basis of sensitivity analysis of each parameter on the service life. This approach was established to simplify the process of modelling by reducing complex and numerous input parameters to easily definable (for designers) and/or measurable ones (for asset owners), termed in this thesis as Key Performance Indicators (KPls). The use of KPls was demonstrated through laboratory and field investigations to allow engineers to specify concrete based on expected performance in the chloride exposure environment or asset managers to determine the remaining service life of concrete structures in service.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:695305 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Convie, Colleen |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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