Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Reinforced concrete structures are continuously susceptible to corrosion of reinforcement over a decades-long lifetime, which results in economic losses as well as environmental impacts. Atmospheric CO2 and chloride ingress are two major causes of reinforcement corrosion. The increase of CO2 levels and temperature may increase the likelihood and the rate of reinforcement corrosion. To evaluate the impact of climate change on long term performance of reinforced concrete structures, this research uses multi-physics service life models to predict the performance of reinforced concrete structures subjected to deterioration caused by carbonation and chloride induced corrosion under different climate conditions. The multi-physics service life model is an interdisciplinary modeling framework that combines physical, chemical, electrochemical, and fracture mechanics processes to simulate the carbonation and chloride induced corrosion. Service life and damage risks are assessed with different levels of the atmospheric CO2 concentration, temperature, and relative humidity.