Service Life Prediction of Precast Concrete Structures Exposed to Chloride Environment

Chloride-induced corrosion is widely accepted as one of the primary causes of premature deterioration for concrete structures in marine or deicing salt environment. For precast concrete (PC) structures, such durability problems may even be severer because defects in joint areas, e.g., cracks caused by grout shrinkage and improper construction, can accelerate chloride ion transportation process and may cause the interface shear failure when subjected to seismic load. By applying the path probability model (PPM) and reliability theory, a probabilistic framework was proposed to predict three limit states of PC structures, including corrosion initiation, serviceability limit state, and ultimate limit state. Using Monte Carlo simulation, a beam-to-column joint was further analyzed to illustrate the differences between PC structures and those cast in situ. The analysis indicates that corrosion initiation and serviceability limit state are sensitive to chloride diffusivity at connection area, and the higher pitting factor can significantly influence the bearing capacities of PC structures.