Reliability specification of crack opening in flexural reinforced concrete elements

The paper focuses on the reliability specification of trouble-free operation crack opening in flexural reinforced concrete structures. The opening width is considered based on the reinforcement safety, i.e., safety due to corrosion.The probabilistic approach is used in this paper. Instead of traditional economic indicators, abstract values were used, i.e., measures of safety and corrosion damage of reinforcement. Both values range from 0 to 1. Basic formulas, calculation sequence and results are given herein. The probability of trouble-free operation is calculated under the assumption that all initial design parameters and external influences are distributed according to the normal law. Calculations are performed depending on the crack opening duration and maximum permissible values of crack opening width. The obtained values of the reliability specification of trouble-free operation depend on the maximum permissible values of the standard crack opening width. They not depend on the crack opening duration. Calculation results can be used in the probabilistic approach to reinforced concrete structures.