PROBABILISTIC ANALYSIS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS SUBJECTED TO CORROSION

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Department of Engineering

ABSTRACT
This dissertation is a report of the investigation carried out on the Probabilistic analysis of reinforced concrete columns subjected to corrosion. Corrosion of reinforcement bars is one of the most significant causes of deterioration of reinforced concrete columns. The deterioration leads to a loss of serviceability, functionality and ultimately affects the structural safety. The probabilistic analysis was carried out using MATLAB. The reliability index, β, was computed for various points on the interaction curve using First Order Reliability Method (FORM). The variations of the safety index with respect to the basic variables (Load ratio, yield strength and concrete grade) were examined to analyzed the behavior of columns subjected to corrosion, given the values of the design parameters. Graphs were developed for each mode of the columns. The results indicated that the safety index of the reinforced concrete column decreases as the load ratio of the column is increasing while an increase in yield strength and concrete grade leads to corresponding increase in the safety indices. For reinforced concrete columns and other aggressive environment prone to corrosion attack, a minimum of 0.5 load ratio, 500 N/mm2 yield strength and 30 N/mm2 of concrete grade at corrosion rate of 0.4mm/year with good anti-corrosion properties (epoxy resins) be used in the construction of columns as load carrying components is therefore recommended.