Valutazione di edifici in calcestruzzo armato corrosi in ottica sismabonus

The vulnerability evaluation of Reinforced Concrete buildings requires thorough evaluation of the objectives and an experience-based assessment. As a matter of fact, planning the tests and defining their typology in order to understand the structural behavior and to balance costs and benefits (in terms of reliability of the results) is only the first step that a professional designer has to make in the evaluation of the seismic risk or in the seismic retrofitting/strengthening of a building. All these activities are usually carried out on more or less damaged structures, exhibiting – more often than not - bar corrosion and cover cracking, should reinforced concrete be used. Within this context, the paper is about the finite-element modelling of a simple R/C building, before and after the activation of corrosion in the reinforcement. Neglecting the effect of corrosion on the load-bearing capacity is shown to cause sizable errors in the definition of the seismic-risk class of the building, with huge consequences in terms of structural safety and tax allowance, in agreement with the most recent Italian laws on seismic-prone regions.