Purpose
In the freeze-thaw zone, the pre-stressed concrete of bridge structure will be damaged by freezing-thawing, the bearing capacity of structure will decrease and the safety will be affected. The purpose of this paper is to establish the time-dependent resistance degradation model of structure in the freeze-thaw zone, and analysis the structural reliability and remaining service life in different freeze-thaw zones.
Design/methodology/approach
First, according to the theory of structural design, a calculation model of the resistance of pre-stressed concrete structures in f freeze-thaw zone is established. Second, the time-dependent resistance model was verified by the test beam bending failure test results done by the research group, which has been in service for 20 years in freeze-thaw zone. Third, using JC algorithm in MATLAB to calculate the index on the reliability of pre-stressed concrete structure in frozen thawed zones, forecasting the s remaining service life of structure.
Findings
First, the calculation model of the resistance of pre-stressed concrete structures in freeze-thaw zone is accurate and it has excellent applicability. Second, the structural resistance deterioration time in Wet-Warm-Frozen Zone is the earliest. Third, once the pre-stressed reinforcement rusts, the structural reliability index will reach limit value quickly. Finally, the remaining service life of structure meets the designed expectation value only in a few of freeze-thaw zones in China.
Originality/value
The research will provide a reference for the design on the durability of a pre-stressed concrete structure in the freeze-thaw zone. In order to verify the security of pre-stressed concrete structures in the freeze-thaw zone, engineers can use the model presented in this paper for durability checking, it has an important significance.