On the seismic vulnerability evaluation of RC bridges exposed to corrosion

Recently, the engineering interest about the durability of existing reinforced concrete structures has significantly increased as confirmed by the conspicuous scientific literature. The results of these studies are influencing the development of new structural codes. Among the wide range of existing reinforced concrete structures, motorway viaducts stand out for their strategic relevance. Most of these structures were built between ’60 and ’70 years and, nowadays, the materials degradation phenomena are leading to strength capacity reduction, either in serviceability condition or in presence of exceptional loads such as the seismic action. In order to evaluate the degradation phenomena effects on the seismic vulnerability of motorway viaducts, this paper shows an efficient procedure to evaluate the seismic performance of reinforced concrete bridges starting from the modelling of the materials degradation, according to several scenarios, and by carrying out multimodal pushover analyses.