Probabilistic modeling of the corrosion of steel structures in marine water-development works

Considering that corrosion takes place as a random process over time, a a probabilistic approach was utilized in this paper. The corrosion of metallic sheet piling employed in the fascia wall of a bulwerk is considered as an example. A stochastic model is constructed on the base of a modified Weibull distribution function with consideration of parameters of the corrosion process as a function of time. One of the factors defining the corrosion rate of the sheet piling is the degree of access of a section of the wall to the zone of variable water level, or the underwater zone. The type of corrosion—continuous or local—is another factor. The accuracy of corrosion prediction in the underwater zone is higher than that in the zone of variable water level.