Probabilistic modeling of chloride contamination and corrosion of concrete bridge structures

We present an approach to the uncertainty modeling and analysis of chloride contamination of concrete and corrosion of reinforcing steel of highway bridge structures that are subjected to the damaging effects of chlorides from deicing salts. The statistics of the governing parameters are generated from a field survey of an aging bridge structure that was exposed to the contaminants for about forty years. The uncertainty analysis and prediction of chloride concentration and reinforcement corrosion is carried out using the direct Monte Carlo method. The model predictions agree very well with the field data, which illustrates the capability of a probabilistic model to quantify the actual condition of a deteriorated structure.