Abstract
Bridge time-variant system reliability is a useful measure to evaluate the lifetime performance of deteriorating bridge structures under uncertainty and is an influential performance indicator in bridge maintenance management programs. This paper proposes a computational methodology based on the Monte Carlo simulations for evaluating the time-variant system reliability of concrete bridges under environmental attacks. Methods related to the reduction of concrete sections and the variation of the load effects acting on the components are investigated using a finite element-based computational program, CBDAS (Concrete Bridge Durability Analysis System), to perform the assessment of lifetime structural performance. With regard to system reliability, a practical technique for searching the structural failure mode is also presented and a program, SRMCS (System Reliability by Monte Carlo Simulations), based on the Monte Carlo simulations is written to calculate and evaluate the structural system reliability of deteriorating concrete bridges. Finally, three numerical examples are presented to display the CBDAS and SRMCS functions.
Highlights
A large percentage of the bridges all over the world are constructed with concrete and reinforcing steel, because of their relatively low cost [1]
This paper proposes a computational methodology based on the Monte Carlo simulations for evaluating the time-variant system reliability of concrete bridges under environmental attacks
Three numerical examples are illustrated to display the functions of CBDAS and SRMCS and of the combination of the two programs: (1) in the first example, the time-variant performance of a reinforced concrete continuous bridge under chloride-induced corrosion is evaluated by means of CBDAS; (2) in the second example, the procedure for computing the system reliability of a two-story truss is displayed in terms of SRMCS; and (3) in the third example, the time-variant system reliability of the same model as the first example is investigated by combining CBDAS with SRMCS
Summary
A large percentage of the bridges all over the world are constructed with concrete and reinforcing steel, because of their relatively low cost [1]. Because of the shortcomings of previous techniques and methods, a finite element- and Monte Carlo simulationsbased computational methodology is proposed for evaluating the time-variant system reliability of deteriorating concrete bridges [8,9,10]. Three numerical examples are illustrated to display the functions of CBDAS and SRMCS and of the combination of the two programs: (1) in the first example, the time-variant performance of a reinforced concrete continuous bridge under chloride-induced corrosion is evaluated by means of CBDAS; (2) in the second example, the procedure for computing the system reliability of a two-story truss is displayed in terms of SRMCS; and (3) in the third example, the time-variant system reliability of the same model as the first example is investigated by combining CBDAS with SRMCS
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