Development of a tool for corrosion prediction in reinforced concrete structures

Abstract

This article details the operation of a predictive tool for corrosion initiation and propagation in reinforced concrete. Its use is intended for managers and project owners and constitutes a decision-making tool regarding maintenance and repair operations. The developed application consists of a graphical interface developed in Python that allows the user simplified access to various (numerical and analytical) models for estimating the durability of reinforced concrete. The phenomena of carbonation, chloride ion penetration, and associated corrosion propagation are considered. Different mathematical methods allow the user to estimate the various input parameters of the models based solely on the knowledge of the concrete formulation and its environment. Finally, a probabilistic approach (FORM) can be implemented for all the models and allows for the estimation of various values such as the probability of depassivation. A case study on two reinforced concrete bridges is carried out as an example.