Probabilistic Tensile Strength Analysis of Steel Strips in MSE Walls Considering Corrosion
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 5
Abstract
Design for the tensile strength limit state of steel strip reinforcement in mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls must provide for loss of steel thickness due to corrosion. The paper combined key features of zinc and steel corrosion models found in the literature with corrosion rate statistics for buried galvanized steel strips. Examples of loss of strength of reinforcement strips of different thickness for up to 120 years after construction were presented in probabilistic terms. Results of probabilistic analysis for the tensile strength limit state at a design life of 75 years were demonstrated for a typical wall using three different models to compute the maximum tensile load in a strip under operational conditions. The same three models were used to demonstrate a methodology for load and resistance factor design (LRFD) calibration for the tensile strength limit state for steel reinforcement strips. The calculations showed that the accuracy of the load model with respect to measured loads has a strong influence on the magnitude of computed resistance factor for a prescribed load factor and maximum target level of reliability.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Grant No. 94344-2013) and the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) Highway Infrastructure Innovations Funding Program (Grant No. 9017-R-0030). The authors are grateful to Dr. K. Fishman for answering questions related to the interpretation of some data that appear in the NCHRP Report 675.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 5 • May 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 10, 2018
Accepted: Oct 25, 2018
Published online: Feb 27, 2019
Published in print: May 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jul 27, 2019
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