Durability Design of Concrete Structures

7Durability Design: Approaches and Methods

As the first chapter in Part 3, this chapter gives a comprehensive framework for durability design of concrete structures. Fundamental concepts for durability design of concrete structures include the structural performance deterioration, durability limit states (DLSs), and service life. On the basis of these concepts a durability design can be achieved through prescription‐based or performance‐based approaches. The former provides directly the design requirements for materials and structural details, while the latter bases the design on the specified DLS and performance deterioration. The use of models in durability design is discussed in depth, with a comprehensive review of the strengths and weaknesses of the available durability models. Moreover, the uncertainty of modeling is especially addressed through deterministic and probabilistic design methods. Life‐cycle engineering is recalled to illustrate the general context of durability design and life‐cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is introduced as a quantitative tool for durability design in a life‐cycle context. As a crucial part of durability design under life‐cycle engineering, the maintenance design is treated for its principles and methods with an application case.

7.1 Fundamentals

The basic idea of durability design is illustrated in Figure 7.1. In the figure a certain structural performance f deteriorates with time from its initial value f₀. This performance, without loss of ...