Reliability based code making for seismic assessment under gas extraction

Until recently earthquakes were not taken into account in the Dutch Building Decree and other Dutch building regulations. Although in 1992, an earthquake happened in Roermond with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale which damaged buildings, this was not seen by the law makers as an argument for the introduction of regulations for earthquake...

Anisotropic concrete compressive strength in existing structures

Assessment of the load‐carrying capacity of existing concrete structures is often based on the concrete compressive strength obtained from drilled cores. These cores are typically drilled perpendicular to the concrete surface, under the assumption that the mechanical properties of the concrete are isotropic. Recent studies however showed that...

On the value of a reliability-based nonlinear finite element analysis approach in the assessment of concrete structures

The objective of this paper is to explore the value of reliability-based nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) over the currently available, standardized assessment methods. To our knowledge, no studies are available on this subject, and this paper provides a first insight into the value and reliability level of these assessment methods. The...

What can we gain from advanced modeling of reinforced concrete structures The added value of nonlinear finite element analysis and reliability based assessment

A proposal for determining the remaining time to chloride induced corrosion initiation of existing reinforced concrete structures

Asset managers would benefit from knowing when to expect corrosion initiation in a particular reinforced concrete structure. However, accepted approaches to test existing structures for the remaining time to corrosion initiation are lacking. This paper proposes such an approach, based on experience in the field and additional considerations....

Long-term performance of marine structures in the Netherlands - validation of predictive models for chloride ingress

For many concrete infrastructural works a service life of 80, 100 or 200 years is required. To convince owners and authorities that these requirements can be met probability-based models for service life predictions have been developed. These models are based on theoretical and experimental laboratory studies. Many of these models focus on the...

Reliability Based assessment of buildings under earthquakes due to gas extraction

In the northern part of the Netherlands over de last decades shallow earthquakes are induced due to large scale gas extraction from the Groningen gas field. Earthquakes occur due to the compaction of the reservoir rock, which leads to subsidence at surface and strain build-up in the reservoir rock and existing faults. The induced earthquakes...

The design value method and adjusted partial factor approach for existing structures

In contrast to the design of new structures, the assessment of existing structures often relies on the subjective judgement of the investigating engineer. An objective verification format for existing structures based on alternative partial factors is however feasible, enabling a rather simple and straightforward, but objective and coherent...

Probabilistic assessment of an aged highway bridge under traffic load

Existing civil infrastructure represents a large economic value. Within the actions applied to the bridges, the traffic load is, in general, the most significant variable action to be considered when the ultimate limit states are under investigation. Consequently, the traffic load models play an important role in the design of new bridges but...

Safety assessment of existing concrete slab bridges for shear capacity

Evaluating and upgrading concrete slab bridges is an important issue. A large part of the existing infrastructure has been built about 50 years ago and the design life has been reached or will be reached in the near future. Also traffic loads have increased significantly over the last 50 years. These structures need to be reassessed in order to...

Safety philosophy for existing structures and partial factors for traffic loads on bridges

Evaluating and upgrading existing structures becomes more and more important. For a large part of the existing infrastructure and buildings the design life has been reached or will be reached in the near future. These structures need to be reassessed in order to find out whether the safety requirements are met. Not only for new structures but...

The DuraCrete approach

In the past years much efforts have been spent on a new design approach for the durability of existing and new concrete structures. The results of these efforts can be seen in recent work of several international scientific committees of Rilem, CEB, CIB and FIER These have finally resulted in the Brite/Euram project DuraCrete where a design...