Data based reliability and risk based assessment for service life extension of structures

One very important contribution to improving the sustainability of existing structures is to extend their service life. This also makes a valuable contribution to resource conservation. Therefore, the assessment and the required safety level of an existing structure are of particular importance. This is one of two contributions which together summarize the past, current and developing approaches to extending service life while ensuring safety. Herein it is presented the reasons why many existing structures no longer meet structural safety requirements. Both the loadbearing capacity and the usability must be guaranteed over a certain period of time at or above a certain safety level. It is examined how these, and their future development, can be reliably assessed by collecting and analysing key data and how this can be used to extend the service life of structures.