Future developments of service life design of concrete structures on the basis of DuraCrete
Siemes, T.; Schiessl, P.; Rostam, S. (2000). Future developments of service life design of concrete structures on the basis of DuraCrete, in: Naus, D. International RILEM workshop on life prediction and aging management of concrete structures. pp. 167-176
In the past years much efforts have been spent on a new approach for the durability design of existing and new concrete structures. The results of these efforts can be seen in recent work of several scientific committees of Rilem, CEB, CIB and FIB. These have finally resulted in the Brite/Euram project DuraCrete where a design manual has been developed for service life design of concrete structures. The essential aspect of the new design method is, that it is based on performances, reliability and a distinct design service life. This is in contrast with the conventional design approach that is based on deem-to-satisfy rules, mainly to prevent degradation of the concrete.DuraCrete offers the possibility to make tailor made designs based on performance characteristics of the materials involved and focussing on the specific environment, use and maintenance strategy for the structure. The method has a high potential for use in practice as it can directly be connected to the modern structural design approach.The project DuraCrete was completed in 1999. Since then new developments have occurred, indicating the new possibilities and advantages of the new service life design method. Some examples are the design of the Western Scheldt Tunnel, the design requirements with respect to durability of important infrastructural concrete structures, the European thematic network DuraNet and further steps in the process of the development of cedes. The paper will highlight these examples and delve into the significance for the concrete industry and the society.
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