Evaluation of Remaining Bending Resistance of Steel Column Base Plates Considering Effects of Metal Corrosion

Abstract

Steel structures exposed to marine environments are vulnerable to corrosion, significantly deteriorating the structural capacity. Specifically, column base plates are crucial components in many steel structures, which are susceptible to corrosion-induced reduction in bending resistance. This study aims to evaluate the remaining bending resistance of steel column base plates considering the effects of metal corrosion. Three environmental conditions, which are rural, urban, and marine areas, were considered in the evaluation. Two proposed procedures were employed, in which the deterministic and random approaches were considered. The deterministic approach used the component method in EN 1993-1-8 to design the bending resistance of corroded steel column base plates. Meanwhile, the corroded steel structure’s reliability was evaluated using the hybrid Artificial Neural Network-Monte Carlo Simulation (ANN-MCS) method. The reliability of the steel column base plate up to 100-year life-service was evaluated. Moreover, Sobol’s indices were employed to calculate the sensitivity of the input variables. The results revealed that the structural capacity of the steel base plate was reduced by approximately 50% after 100 years in a strongly corrosive environment. The probability of safety of the steel base plate decreased significantly from the rural and urban areas to marine environments.