Bridge maintenance management based on routine inspection data: a quantitative approach

The United States National Bridge Inventory (NBI) records element-level condition ratings on a scale of 0 to 9, representing failed to excellent conditions. Current bridge management systems apply Markov decision processes to find optimal repair schemes given the condition ratings. The deterioration models used in these approaches fail to consider the effect of structural age. In this study, a condition-based bridge maintenance framework is proposed where the state of a bridge component is defined using a three-dimensional random variable that depicts the working age, condition rating, and initial age. The proportional hazard model with a Weibull baseline hazard function translates the three-dimensional random variable into a single hazard indicator for decision-making. To demonstrate the proposed method, concrete bridge decks were taken as the element of interest. Two optimal hazard criteria help select the repair scheme (essential repair, general repair, or no action) that leads to minimum annual expected life-cycle costs.

Innovation of Substitute Material to Conservation Effort of Eusideroxylon Zwageri on Wooden Bridge Maintenance Project

Infrastructure in the form of bridges is very important for Buntok Regency in Central Kalimantan where the area is swampy or lowland area. Total wood bridge construction is 45% from total 163 bridge in this area that most of them are not proper condition considering some wood materials need to be replaced. The innovation has been created to find the effective way how to maintenance the wooden bridge that has been idle for long time due to broken material on superstructure of the bridge. The floor of bridge that constructed with previous materials of ulin wooden bridge replaced by composite materials with floordeck concrete combination. The implementation of Tampa Bridge maintenance innovation showed better performance in terms of safety, comfortable and smoothness of bridge users from community around. In terms of budget aspect, the maintenance is cumulatively more efficient than if carrying out floor changes every year considering no longer possible to find ulin wood anymore. On technical point of view, with reinforced concrete can be applied to wooden bridges selectively only on ulin wooden bridges whose substructure is still intact and only minor damage to the spoorband and floor occurs. Bridge maintenance procedures need to be create to keep better maintenance for longer life time of the existing bridge that can be applied for another wooden bridge for maintenance.

Evaluation of Illinois Bridge Deterioration Models

The National Bridge Inventory bridge inspection system ranks the condition of bridge components on a scale of zero to nine. The resulting condition ratings represent an important element considered in deciding measures for bridge maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation. Thus, forecasting future condition ratings well is critical to reliable planning for these activities and estimating the costs. The Illinois Department of Transportation currently has deterministic models for this purpose. This study’s objective is to review the current models using condition rating histories gathered from 1980 to 2020 in Illinois for the following bridge components: deck, superstructure, substructure, culvert, and deck beam. The results show the current Illinois Department of Transportation models are inadequate in forecasting condition ratings, producing overestimates of the transition times between two condition rating levels for these components / systems, except for the deck beam, which is underestimated. It is recommended that the mean transition times found in this study from condition rating histories are used to replace the current models as a short-term solution. Further research is recommended to develop probabilistic models as a long-term solution to address observed significant variation or uncertainty in condition rating and transition times between condition rating levels.

Monitoring the Prestressed Rods in the Basel Border Bridge Maintenance Project: Data Analysis during the Passage of Trucks

More than 40 years ago, the expansion joints on the Basel border bridge were constructed using corbels and dapped ends. The consoles had to be reinforced as part of the renovation measures due to damage caused by chloride entry and due to the increased loads. Diagonal rods, which were prestressed, were used. Fiber-optic sensors were additionally installed to these highly stressed rods in order to measure the strains and temperatures. This now makes it possible to measure the actual strains in the strengthening of the corbel, estimate fatigue loads, and set up a warning system in case of overstressing. This article presents the design of the measurement system and the analysis of the data. Furthermore, the reference measurements that can establish the relationship between the measured strains and the loads passed over are presented.