Seismic Performance Assessment of a Corroded 50-Year-Old Reinforced Concrete Building

Abstract

Deterioration due to corrosion becomes a more serious problem when future earthquakes with unpredicted intensity and time are considered. Therefore, the prediction of performance levels of corroded reinforced concrete structures is important to prevent serious premature damage. In this study, a corroded, 50-year-old high school building was analyzed by considering corrosion effects and is presented here as a case study. The relevant data obtained from the structure were used to predict its performance level for different time periods by combining two major effects of corrosion. Deformation due to bond-slip relationships and loss in cross-sectional areas of reinforcement bars were examined as a function of corrosion rate for five corrosion levels. Plastic hinges were defined as a consequence of corrosion effects, and they were used to perform nonlinear push-over analyses. Incremental dynamic analysis was then performed for 20 individual earthquake ground motion records to predict the structure’s time-dependent performance levels as a function of corrosion rate. Results showed that corrosion had a serious effect on the performance levels of the school building considered in this study by decreasing bond strength.