Flood-Driven Corrosion Effects on Lateral Response of Coastal Buildings

Many coastal communities are situated in areas of high seismic activity. Coastal flooding exposes structures to saltwater, which corrodes their lateral force-resisting systems, thereby reducing their seismic resilience. The compounding risk from flood and seismic hazards should be quantified to ensure the safety of coastal communities in seismically active areas. This paper focuses on understanding the lateral response of a corroded reinforced concrete moment-resisting frame archetype using a fiber element-based model. Atmospheric and flood-related corrosion were considered and modeled as rebar cross-sectional area loss. Exposure time to corrosion and inundation depth were the parameters studied. The results indicate that coastal flood-related saltwater exposure can reduce the reinforcing bar area up to 36% in 35 years and 95% in 75 years, thereby decreasing lateral strength and stiffness. Loss of reinforcement area in columns can also lead to plastic hinges forming in columns before they form in beams.