Fragility Analysis of Monitored Reinforced Concrete Bridges Subjected to Cumulative Effect of Seismic Damage and Corrosion Deterioration

The paper investigates the impact of corrosion deterioration on the seismic vulnerability assessment and life-cycle safety estimation of reinforced concrete bridges. A comparison methodology is proposed to highlight the benefits in terms of life cycle analysis due to the availability of corrosion sensors data exploiting the construction of damage dependent fragility curves and using the PEER equation for the calculation of the seismic probability of failure, updated according to structural health monitoring (SHM) data. To assist the calibration of corrosion probabilistic models and the corrosion deterioration evolution in time, the presence of corrosion sensors is considered. Seismic damage accumulation is assessed considering seismic scenarios of progressive duration, generated through Monte Carlo simulations, based on the mean annual rate values obtained by sampling the seismic hazard curves. The results of the application of the methodology to a case study underline the importance to incorporate corrosion effects for the correct estimation of seismic life-cycle vulnerability and highlight the advantage in safety and economic terms of including corrosion sensors and prevention/protection measures within bridge asset management.