Mitsuyoshi Akiyama

Integration of the effects of airborne chlorides into reliability-based durability design of reinforced concrete structures in a marine environment

In this paper, the hazard curve associated with airborne chlorides in a marine environment and the computational procedure to obtain the probability of occurrence of corrosion cracking in reinforced concrete (RC) structures are presented. A method for integration of the effects of airborne chloride into reliability-based durability design of RC structures in a marine environment is proposed. By using this method, it is possible to determine the probability of corrosion cracking due to airborne chlorides, regardless of region, distance from coastline, and the properties of the concrete controlled by the water to cement ratio.

Reliability of Bridges under Tsunami Hazards: Emphasis on the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake

The probabilistic estimation of tsunami impact on bridges and the evaluation of potential tsunami risk are important topics, but they are still in very early stages of development. First, this paper presents the damage of bridges during the great Tohoku-oki earthquake and giant tsunami of 11 March 2011 based on the field damage investigation. The damage conditions and the possible failure mechanisms of bridges due to tsunami are particularly discussed. Second, tsunami fragility curves are presented. Empirical tsunami fragility curves based on the utilization of damage data associated with past tsunami disasters have been developed. In this paper, the tsunami fragility curves are established based on simulations. Bridge failure probability can be estimated using the tsunami hazard and fragility curves. Finally, an illustrative example of the reliability estimation of a bridge exposed to tsunami hazard is presented.

Ductility Evaluation of Concrete-Encased Steel Bridge Piers Subjected to Lateral Cyclic Loading

An experimental and analytical study was conducted to investigate the ductility of concrete-encased steel piers, referred to as “steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) construction.” Based on the cyclic lateral loading tests of SRC column specimens, the restorable and ultimate limit states are defined as the point when concrete cover spalling occurs (equivalent to longitudinal bar buckling) and the point when flange buckling of the H-shaped steel occurs, respectively. To estimate the lateral displacement capacity at both the restorable and ultimate limit states, the curvature distribution of the column was calculated based on the buckling analysis of the longitudinal bar, which was restrained by a concrete cover and transverse reinforcement, and of the steel flange encased in concrete. The lateral displacement was obtained by integrating the curvature distribution. Comparison of the computed results with experimental results, including other writers’ reports, confirmed that the proposed method can appropriately ...

Long-term seismic performance of RC structures in an aggressive environment: emphasis on bridge piers

Even though accurate structural models have been developed for the performance of corroded structures subjected to monotonic flexure and/or shear, studies on seismic performance that include corrosion damage are scarce. For the lifetime assessment of structures in aggressive environments and earthquake-prone regions, the effects of corrosion on seismic performance need to be taken into consideration. Whereas the seismic demand depends on the results of seismic hazard assessment, the deterioration of seismic capacity depends on the environmental hazard assessment. The analysis of the life-cycle reliability of corroded reinforced concrete (RC) structures under earthquake excitations is the topic of this paper. It includes (a) estimation of the seismic capacity of corroded RC components; (b) seismic and airborne chloride hazard assessment and (c) life-cycle seismic reliability of bridges with corrosion damage. In particular, this paper introduces the visualisation of corrosion process in RC members using X-ray for modelling the spatial variability of rebar corrosion. A novel computational procedure to integrate the probabilistic hazard associated with airborne chlorides into life-cycle seismic reliability of bridge piers is presented.

Performance Indicators for Structural Systems and Infrastructure Networks

AbstractEstablishing consistent criteria for assessing the performance of structural systems and infrastructure networks is a critical component of communities’ efforts to optimize investment decisions for the upkeep and renewal of the built environment. Although member-level performance and reliability assessment procedures are currently well-established, it is widely recognized that a member-oriented approach does not necessarily lead to an efficient utilization of limited resources when making decisions related to the management of existing deteriorating structures or lifeline systems, especially those that may be exposed to extreme events. For this reason, researchers have renewed their interests in developing system-level assessment methods as a basis to modern structural and infrastructure performance evaluation and design processes. Specifically, system-level performance metrics and characteristics such as reliability, redundancy, robustness, resilience, and risk continue to be refined. The objecti...

Reliability-based capacity design for reinforced concrete bridge structures

In the seismic design of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge structures, there should be no brittle failures, such as shear failures, in the components, and a plastic hinge should be formed at the bottom of the bridge pier. These are important concepts in capacity design to guarantee the safety of bridges subjected to severe earthquakes. These concepts can maximise post-event operability and minimise the cost of repairing bridges after a severe earthquake. In this article, a reliability-based methodology to carry out capacity design with partial factors is proposed and applied to the seismic design of RC bridge structures. This ensures that (i) all of the components undergo the desired ductile failure mode, (ii) the damage due to an earthquake is induced only at the bottom of the bridge pier and (iii) the probability of failure is at most equal to a specified value.

Stress-Averaged Strain Model for Confined High-Strength Concrete

Damage is usually concentrated in a narrow region when a concrete structure fails. The localization phenomenon of the damage influence the structural behavior. In order to assess the structural behavior accurately, the fracture zone and localization behavior have to be captured. In this research, a series of compressive loading tests of reinforced concrete columns were conducted to evaluate the localization phenomenon in confined concrete and the effects of size and geometry of specimens with concrete compressive strength ranging from 42.6 to 120 MPa (6.18 to 17.4 ksi). The experimental results show that in columns with sections ranging from 200 to 500 mm (7.88 to 19.7 in.), the length of the compressive fracture zone increases with the cross section dimension. Post-peak compressive fracture energies are independent of cross section dimension and column height, provided that the columns have the same concrete compressive strength and lateral confining pressure. A formalized stress-averaged strain model for confined concrete has been developed by using the compressive fracture energy. Regardless of gauge length, cross section dimension, and concrete strength, the proposed model provides good agreement with the test results. This model is applicable to concrete columns with up to 130 MPa compressive strength and transverse reinforcement with up to 1450 MPa.

Probabilistic Assessment of Structural Performance of Bridges under Tsunami Hazard

An earthquake can cause multiple disasters. For the reliability estimation of coastal structures and infrastructures in Japan, seismic hazard, tsunami hazard and hazard associated with airborne chlorides need to be taken into consideration. Firstly, this paper presents the damage of bridges during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011 based on the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) damage investigation. Especially, the damages condition and the possible failure mechanisms of bridges due to tsunami are discussed based on the field survey. Secondly, the tsunami fragility curves are presented. These are used to estimate the structural fragility under the tsunami hazards. Bridge failure probability can be estimated using the tsunami hazard curve and the fragility curve. Finally, an illustrative example quantifying the effect of bridge pier height on the reliability of a bridge under tsunami hazard is presented.

Updating the Seismic Reliability of Existing RC Structures in a Marine Environment by Incorporating the Spatial Steel Corrosion Distribution: Application to Bridge Piers

AbstractAlthough several models are available for evaluating the structural performance of corroded reinforced concrete (RC) structures, seismic reliability assessments considering the effect of steel corrosion are currently scarce. Determining how long existing RC structures in an aggressive environment will be able to have a seismic safety level greater than the threshold remains difficult. Life-cycle reliability assessments of these structures under seismic hazards and hazards associated with airborne chloride are discussed in this paper. When predicting the seismic reliability of existing RC structures, observational data from inspection and/or nondestructive testing methods could be used to estimate the current material corrosion level. Considering the effect of steel corrosion in the plastic hinges of deteriorating structures on their seismic capacity is important. The displacement ductility capacity at the occurrence of longitudinal buckling of rebar in RC structures depends on the steel corrosion ...

Experimental investigation of the spatial variability of the steel weight loss and corrosion cracking of reinforced concrete members: novel X-ray and digital image processing techniques

Abstract The material properties of concrete structures and their structural dimensions are known to be random due to the spatial variability associated with workmanship and various other factors. This randomness produces spatially variable corrosion damages, such as steel weight loss and corrosion cracks. The structural capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) members strongly depends on the local conditions of their reinforcements. Modelling the spatial variability of steel corrosion is important, but steel corrosion in RC members can only be observed after severely damaging the concrete members. To understand the steel corrosion growth process and the change in the spatial variability of steel corrosion with time, continuous monitoring is necessary. In this study, X-ray photography is applied to observe steel corrosion in RC beams. The steel weight loss is estimated by the digital image processing of the X-ray photograms. The non-uniform distribution of steel weight loss along rebars inside RC beams determined using X-ray radiography and its correlation with longitudinal crack widths are experimentally investigated.