Determining the service life extension of silane treated concrete structures: A probabilistic approach

Silane impregnation is a widely used surface protection method in practical engineering for enhancing the durability performance of concrete structures in chloride rich environments. Here a probabilistic model, together with the statistical properties of model parameters, is proposed, to determine the service life extension effect contributed by the silane impregnation considering various uncertainties. The corrosion free service life of silane-impregnated concrete structures is predicted based on the well-developed reliability theory. The model is solved in a numerical way in which Latin hypercube sampling is used to balance the efficiency and precision of the uncertainty analysis. The model is validated through comparisons with on-site exposure data. Through the analysis the importance of considering uncertainties is confirmed which may significantly influence the protective effect of silane impregnation. Further analyses reveal that the service life extension effect of silane may be shorter than the assumptions in many existing studies and an earlier application is more beneficial.