Hierarchical Life-Cycle Design of Concrete Structures

Concrete structures’ service life lasts decades. In order to deal with all the probable degradations and deteriorations in the whole life span, the concept of concrete structures’ Life-Cycle Design was introduced into China in the 1980s. However, until this day, Life-Cycle Design is still more of a concept to most structure designers and engineers, rather than a practical method. This paper provides a hierarchical method for concrete structures’ Life-Cycle Design, in which the design process is divided into five levels. Safety should be the fundamental requirements for all concrete structures, so as to guarantee a reliable quality. For structures located in severe environments, durability design is necessary so as to ensure the designed service life. Further, when specific economic requirements are set for concrete structures, life-cycle cost (LCC) should be considered carefully in selecting the optimal scheme. Besides, those concrete structures designed to be environmental-friendly should also take into account the specific environmental assessment criteria. Nowadays, user-friendly schemes have attracted increasing attention too; therefore, customers’ demands should also be fully involved in the design process. Considering all the design levels mentioned above, diverse designing criteria are provided accordingly. This paper also uses a road bridge member which exposed to chloride attack in marine environment as an example to illustrate this hierarchical design method. Using the life-cycle-based hierarchical design method, a probable scheme that is safe, durable, economic, environmental friendly, and user friendly is provided.