Influence of Structural Deterioration of RC Piers Due to Steel Corrosion on the Seismic Performance of Bridges

The seismic performance of typical bridge piers with corroded rebars is investigated through extensive NonLinear Static Analysis. Piers featuring different cross sections and heights, as well as different deterioration patterns and intensities, are examined. This is followed by the analysis of multi-span bridges differing in pier layout, number of spans and deterioration scenarios. The ratio between the maximum earthquake intensity level that the structure can withstand before collapse and the code-conforming intensity level for the verification of the collapse limit state is computed. The comparison of results between as-built and deteriorated models clearly proves the relevance of the problem.