Lifecycle management of harbor and coastal concrete structures

Harbor and coastal concrete structures will exhibit superior performances in marine environments, but are difficult to be well maintained in good conditions; nevertheless they are exposed to extremely severe atmosphere from the viewpoint of materials deterioration. Therefore, it is important to establish a comprehensive lifecycle management system for satisfying required performances. As a part of lifecycle management, this paper focuses on models to predict the progress of chloride-induced deterioration of reinforced concrete deck in open-piled pier. The two kinds of models are cited: 1) material deterioration models for chloride diffusion in concrete and rebar corrosion and 2) the Markov-chain model. The surface appearances of decks were visually inspected and their conditions were judged in terms of the deterioration grade. The progress of deterioration grade over elapsed time was predicted by the models. By fitting the predicted results to the observed deterioration grades, the most appropriate parameters for prediction were proposed.