Climate Change Impacts on the Risk Assessment of Concrete Civil Infrastructures

The service life and performance of the civil infrastructure are affected by the changing climate, and the changing climate features significant uncertainties that require rigorous consideration and quantification so they can be incorporated into the reliability assessment and risk management. A lack of quantification makes it difficult for the stakeholders, designers, and operators of the infrastructure to implement the appropriate decisions for mitigating the risks exacerbated by the changing climate. In this paper, a state-of-the-art review is conducted on existing studies in the literature concerning the influence of climate change on the risk assessment of concrete civil infrastructure. The review covers the following key aspects: (1) climate variables and the associated uncertainties; (2) frequency and intensity of natural hazards under various future climate scenarios; (3) the impact of climate change on the deterioration mechanisms of concrete structures; (4) the risk assessment methodology considering climate change; (5) climate-related multihazard risk assessment; and (6) adaptation strategies for the increasing risk of failure of civil infrastructure caused by climate change. The basic concepts, research development, and challenges concerning the impact of climate change on concrete infrastructure are comprehensively discussed. The review can benefit future research in the field of concrete infrastructure, especially on topics related to structural performance, durability, and risk assessment. Additionally, it will contribute to promoting appropriate adaptation planning and risk-based decision-making for the designers and operators of concrete infrastructure under the changing climate.