Service life prediction of concrete wharves with early-aged crack: Probabilistic approach for chloride diffusion

Early-aged cracks due to hydration heat and drying shrinkage occur unavoidably in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. These cracks may be the main routes through which chloride ion penetrates into the concrete and also can be one of the major reasons of steel corrosion in RC structures exposed to chloride, such as port and ocean structures. In this paper, the service life of RC structures exposed to the marine environment conditions is predicted considering the crack effect on chloride penetration. First, diffusion coefficients in sound and cracked concrete of wharf structures are obtained through field investigations. Then, through the relationship between diffusion coefficients and crack widths, service life of the cracked concrete is predicted in the probabilistic framework of Monte Carlo Simulation. Furthermore, the predicted service life derived from the field investigations is compared with the values obtained from the traditional method based on allowable crack width concept.