bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fragility analysis of prestressed concrete girder bridges to traffic loads considering tendon corrosion
Authors: Nettis Alessandro , Nettis Andrea , Ruggieri Sergio , Uva Giuseppina 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe paper is focused on the probabilistic structural assessment of existing prestressed concrete girder bridges accounting for traffic loads. Particularly, this study concerns the fragility of the class of prestressed concrete girder bridges characterized by post‐tensioned tendons built in the 1960‐1970 period. The structural safety of such bridge class can be affected by construction errors involving voids in the ducts and degradation conditions in terms of tendon corrosion which can be hardly detected during on‐site visual inspections. The study applies a fragility analysis algorithm to investigate the probabilistic response under traffic loads considering the uncertainty related to material and geometric variables for different scenarios of tendon corrosion. The algorithm is applied for two typical case‐study configurations of simply supported superstructures. The achieved results can be considered as a basis for future typological studies which can be used as a decision support for transport managers to define risk‐informed refined assessment plans.
Recent failures of external prestressing grouted tendons: when the ducts take on water…
Authors: Germain Didier , Labourie Laurent , Vaurigaud Bastien , Gaillet Laurent , Van Schoors Laetitia , Houel Adrien , Godart Bruno 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe article describes recent cases of tendon ruptures by corrosion and investigations carried out on some bridges in France. Several causes related to HDPE ducts have been identified such as damages during handling, threading and tensioning of strands, defective connection of the duct to the anchorage, damage during construction or operation, low quality of HDPE material, etc. These cases of tendon rupture exclusively concern ducts injected with cement grout. To our knowledge, no structure built after the application of the 2001 circular [1] (prohibiting cement grout for the injection of external prestressing) is currently exhibiting major disorders.A warning note on existing structures with external prestressing has been updated by Cerema in November 2018 [2]. It describes the diagnosis methodology based on analysis of documentation, thorough visual inspection, destructive and nondestructive investigations. New non‐destructive techniques such as guided‐wave ultrasonic technique and magnetic leakage field test using permanent magnets and induction coils are presented. Innovative methods of local repair of the ducts are also described. Finally, different protective devices are analysed in terms of worker safety in the event of a sudden failure of tendon.
Structural Condition Classification of Railway Bridge KW51 Before, During, and After Retrofitting
Authors: Al‐Ghalib Ali A. , Mahmoud Sawsan M. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractA linear classification algorithm for various structural states (before, during, and after retrofitting) of railway steel arch bridge KW51 based on Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) of principal components is proposed. The technique is typically employed in other fields, such as genetics, but its use in civil engineering is still limited. The method is applied in two steps, first, the original vibration measurements are projected to a lower dimensional subspace using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The significant principal components are provided as inputs to LDA to constitute the newly transformed subspace. Joining PCA and LDA improves the performance aptitude of LDA when only first major principal components hold the main signature of the features. The acceleration datasets that represent bridge conditions under train passage on the steel arch railway bridge in Belgium, mentioned as bridge KW51 have been utilized for validation of the algorithm. The outcome of the visualization process is further analyzed using three clustering methods (kmeans, Fuzzy C means, and Gaussian Mixture Modelling). The confusion matrix is used to examine the performance of the clustering methods. The proposed algorithm provides promising results that outperformed other classification methods.
Using distributed fibreoptic sensing to monitor repaired structures reinforced with steel‐patches
Authors: Grefe Hinrich , Stammen Elisabeth , Dilger Klaus , Baudone Tommaso , Arutyunyan Garnick , Baitinger Mascha 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAdhesively bonded steel patches present a novel approach to strengthen fatigue cracked steel bridges or similar structures. After the repair, the new weld is covered with an adhesively bonded steel patch, redistributing parts of the load and reducing the overall stress in the repaired structure. Unfortunately, this covers the weld permanently and therefore any form of direct, visual inspection is no longer possible. Hence arises the demand for a technical solution to reliably determine the condition of the repaired weld and its reinforcement. Fibre optic sensors using Rayleigh backscatter offer a spatial distributed strain measurement from which a deformation profile can be generated. This deformation profile allows to determine the load distribution between patch and structure and can be used to identify possible changes in the load distribution which can represent a change in the mechanical properties and therefore a possible defect. Having not only the information about the absolute value of the strain but also its distribution, the expected damage can be located and measured. The deformation profile also allows to separate different forms of failure for example a broken weld, adhesive failure within the patched area or sub surface migrating corrosion.
Life‐cycle performance of noise barriers focusing on installation conditions of fasteners
Authors: Granzner Maximilian , Strauss Alfred , Reiterer Michael , Kari Hannes 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis concept paper discusses the effects of the installation condition of fasteners on the life‐cycle performance of noise barriers. Noise barriers that are erected along high‐speed railway lines are loaded by aerodynamic pressure and suction waves due to the passing trains. As an integral part of railway infrastructures their level of safety must be maintained throughout their entire lifetime. On basis of this concept and study, a potential monitoring‐based approach for the assessment of the life‐cycle performance of NBs is briefly introduced. That monitoring‐based approach finds its place in a holistic four‐stage assessment framework, in other words a progressive four‐stage model in which the information content increases with each model stage and thus successively increases the accuracy of the determined structural conditions at the time of observation and the prediction for the remaining service life of the structure. The objectives of this paper should bring relevant insights for the whole holistic four‐stage model. Depending on how far the degradation of the considered noise barrier has already progressed, the corresponding stage of the holistic assessment concept is activated, which enable infrastructure managers to plan their future investments regarding maintenance, retrofit or rebuilt of noise barriers more economically.
The Challenges of long‐time high‐sampled Structural Health Monitoring: a practical Feedback
Authors: Cartiaux François‐Baptiste , Semiao Jorge 
Published: September 2023

AbstractStructural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems have been widely used in the last years as integrated tools for the management of civil infrastructures. Some SHM projects now reach significant durations of several years, which induces interesting challenges when they imply numerous sensors with high sampling rates. This paper aims to present feedback on a few real cases of long time SHM on civil structures, performed by OSMOS Group as a SHM service provider. The examples include various types of structures, with concrete, masonry, and metallic bridges as well as tunnels, and address the cases of both wired and wireless autonomous SHM systems, some of them with more than ten years of operation. Issues related to the data flow and storage are described, which represent high volumes of data, since the SHM systems are aimed to assess continuously the dynamic response of the structures with 100 measurements every second. Maintenance and upgrading of the SHM systems along such important durations are addressed also. Finally, the discussion focuses on massive data analysis tools dedicated to long‐time SHM, which enable to reduce the amount of raw data into useful synthetic information for anomaly detection and prognosis.
Load‐carrying capacity of Vierendeel bridges in Mechelen
Authors: Van Bogaert Philippe , De Pauw Bart 
Published: September 2023

AbstractFrom 1930 to 1960, in Belgium, steel railway bridges were regularly designed using the vierendeel system. Three railway lines cross the Mechelen‐Leuven canal in the town of Mechelen, providing a unique example of this type of application. Two of these bridges, which were constructed in 1953 were renovated in 2021–2022, including the installation of a new rail fastening. It was discovered that the 1936‐built third and oldest bridge had multiple cracks, mostly in the vertical members of the Vierendeel structure. Furthermore, secondary components like longitudinal beams and cross beams are severely harmed by corrosion. As a result, uncertainty grew over this bridge's ability to support loads. The monuments organization promotes the preservation of these old structures. The material properties, as well as the load‐bearing capacity and the fatigue strength, were evaluated by a thorough experimental and numerical investigation. The results of the examinations suggest that the significant strength variation of the steel components may be the cause of the cracking. It is more likely that cracks developed during the bridge's construction and subsequent repairs than that fatigue is to blame. In conclusion, the arrangement of the three bridges is too special to be destroyed and replaced, and the third bridge may also be sufficiently repaired and rebuilt for long‐term further use.
Repair and Retrofitting of Concrete Bridge Girder Using Epoxy, Micro Mortar, and CFRP Sheets
Authors: Ahmed Khondaker , Moniruzzaman Md , Rupa Kaniz 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBangladesh is connected through bridges and many of them are experiencing damages due to the aging of concrete, weathering effect, or excessive loading. Repair and retrofitting of those bridges are becoming inevitable to make them operational. In this study, the damages of a concrete bridge have been investigated through non‐destructive tests and numerical methods. A repair and retrofitting strategy for the damaged girders has been developed using epoxy injection, shrinkage‐compensated micro mortar, and externally bonded Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets. The micro mortars are injected inside the large cracks and damaged portions of the girders. The flexural zones of the girders were strengthened using U‐shaped CFRP sheets. Field load tests are also conducted to determine the achieved improvement from the repair strengthening work. Dynamic accelerometers, digital probes, and linear variable differential transformers (LVDT) were attached to determine the actual deflections of the girder before and under loading. Finite Element models (FEM) are developed to validate the field data and determine the shear and flexural resistance of the retrofitted girders. The outcomes show that the retrofitted bridge satisfies the design requirements of the AASHTO‐LRFD guidelines.
A methodological proposal for the analysis of bridges inspections data according to the Italian Guidelines
Authors: Mazzatura Isabella , Natali Agnese , Salvatore Walter , Principi Lorenzo , Morici Michele , Dall'Asta Andrea 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe question of maintenance and monitoring of bridges gained attention during the last decade, especially in Italy, after some serious collapses. The first emergency phase was the census and the visual evaluation of the state of maintenance and preservation of existing heritage to highlight the critical conditions for security. For this reason, in 2020 the Italian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure enacts Guidelines, based on a multilevel approach, which allows to save time and resources by deepening the analysis only on the bridges in the worst state of conservation. After two years of inspections, a lot of data had been collected. The data concerns both the geometrical/typological characteristics and the defectiveness of bridges. In the present work, the authors discuss the data of a sample of inspected bridges belonging to some Regions of the Italian infrastructural system trying to analyse them from a statistical point of view. The objective is to standardize an analysis methodology and apply it to a larger number of samples to obtain useful and significant information to refine the inspection procedure and, eventually, to educate algorithms for the a priori provision of the defectiveness level, suggesting a possible prioritization of the bridges to be inspected.
Structural Control and Health Monitoring Contributions to Service‐life Extension of Bridges
Authors: Domaneschi Marco , Martinelli Luca , Cucuzza Raffaele , Noori Mohammad , Marano Giuseppe Carlo 
Published: September 2023

AbstractTransportation Infrastructure networks are acknowledged as crucial for economic growth, territorial coherence, and social change. Unfortunately, some of this vast system's most important structural elements, like the bridges, are rapidly aging while the load conditions that these systems were designed to withstand are now being exceeded as a result of various threats, including natural disasters and newly discovered man‐made phenomena. Considering that a large amount of the existing bridge stock was built many years ago, if countermeasures are not taken, deterioration phenomena and an increase in service conditions larger than those used in the original design may have contributed to diminishing the dependability level. Hence, it becomes crucial to evaluate the existing status of transportation infrastructure, make predictions about its future state, and safeguard it from outside threats. This contribution focuses on an in‐depth investigation of the impact of Structural Control and Health Monitoring in increasing the structural resilience of transportation infrastructure and subsequently its life‐cycle.
Indicators for the Management of Earth‐Retaining Structures
Authors: Amado João Luís , Pratas M. Alexandra , Monteiro Bernardo , Costa André , Pinheiro Maria 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe Portuguese national road and railway Network managed by Infraestruturas de Portugal, S.A. comprises over 20,000 earth‐retaining structures throughout Portugal. The company seeks to improve processes through a dedicated management system that aligns with best asset management practices. The system involves data collection, analysis, and action planning based on inspection observations and analysis of structure condition and criticality. The resulting level of risk informs prioritization of subsequent actions. This work focuses on the indicators and processes supporting risk‐informed decision‐making for earth retaining structures.
How to deal with uncertainties in the assessment of the global warming potential of bridges
Authors: Boros Vazul 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAfter a brief review of previous studies on the ecological life cycle assessment of bridges, some of the shortcomings of the hitherto used methods are highlighted. An approach is introduced which derives probabilistic models for the global warming potential of four construction materials based on a database of Environmental Product Declarations. The methodology is demonstrated on two case studies, where it proved effective in the assessment of the bridge's ecological life cycle. This allows for a more objective comparison of design choices, also considering the uncertainties in the environmental impact of the materials involved. Consequently, decision makers will be provided with more elaborate data and can therefore make better choices in guiding society towards a greenhouse gas emission free future.
Mixed Reality procedures for the maintenance of existing bridges and retaining walls
Authors: Savini Francesca , Castiglia Massimina , Gargaro Danilo , Trizio Ilaria , Fabbrocino Giovanni 
Published: September 2023

AbstractNational and International road networks are made of structures and infrastructures that often exhibit poor performance due to a lack of maintenance. In this context, Italy recently renewed the legislation regarding existing infrastructure analysis to support knowledge and facilitate a homogeneous data acquisition process. Thus a key component of the process consists of the visual inspection protocols complemented by physical and mechanical measures. This applies to all the structures built for the road network operation, including those classified as geotechnical whose deterioration is often neglected or appropriately surveyed. Along with the definition of a data form for collecting datasets on these aspects, a relevant aspect of the process is the implementation of a collaborative environment for the information management and analysis systems supporting the interested parties in the field. The paper reports the design of a base geotechnical inspection form for Retaining Wall and illustrates some aspects of its implementation in a digital environment. Mixed Reality techniques in combination with web‐based tools for data collection are investigated to increase the feasibility and reliability of the visual inspection of existing road networks.
Experimental validation of DFOS monitoring system for a bridge girder made of wind turbine blade
Authors: Rajchel Mateusz , Kulpa Maciej , Siwowski Tomasz 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe relatively new fibre optic measurement technique: distributed fibre optic sensing (DFOS) is provided to control strains and displacements, used in the structural health monitoring of a decommissioned wind turbine blade (WTB) bridge girder. The DFOS system is characterized by the following features: accurate, reliable and continuous strain measurements, possibility of assessing shape and displacements, detection of local damages, high durability. Exemplary results of DFOS measurements performed under laboratory conditions on the full‐scale WTB bridge girder are presented. The paper describes the concept of the WTB bridge girder with integrated DFOS monitoring system to control the girder's behavior under loading. Exemplary data of DFOS efficiency were presented and the overall accuracy and reliability of the DFOS measurement system were revealed.
Interface Shear Analysis of UHPC‐NC with U‐Shaped Shear Stud
Authors: Lu Ya , Lin Lanri , Zhang Xing , Shi Xinbo , Wang Xiao , Wang Hao , Yang Tao , Zhang Chengwu , Wang Rui , Wu Xiangguo 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe composite structure composed of ultra‐high performance concrete (UHPC) and normal concrete (NC) has been widely applied to engineering structures. U‐shaped shear studs play an important role in the combination of the UHPC‐NC interface. To investigate the interface shear characteristics of UHPC‐NC with U‐shaped shear studs, the numerical model with 14 various parameters is calculated based on the interface push tests. The influences of diameter, stud number, NC elastic modulus, NC compressive strength on the shear characteristics of the UHPC‐NC interface are analyzed. The results show that the load‐slip curves of the UHPC‐NC interface with a U‐shaped shear stud have three stages: elastic stage, elastoplastic stage and descending stage. The fitting formula with the power function as the basic function can well express the influence law of diameter on the interface shear capacity. The interface shear capacity is not sensitive to the elastic modulus and compressive strength of NC, and it does not increase or decrease with the increase of stud number, the shear strength of a single stud tends to be constant.
Seismic behaviour assessment and rehabilitation of a masonry three‐arched bridge
Authors: Bencardino Francesco , Curto Roberta 
Published: September 2023

AbstractMany existing historical masonry arch bridges used in the road and railway networks are still in service. However, most of them show a structural performance deficit due to several factors. This study deals with the seismic behavior assessment of an existing masonry three‐arched railway bridge through a nonlinear, non‐adaptive static analysis carried out by a three‐dimensional Finite Element model. Input data were collected from a variety of sources. The structural analysis showed a risk index that was not in compliance with the limit values suggested by current European Standards. In order to improve the structural reliability of the masonry arch railway bridge, a traditional structural rehabilitation was proposed and designed. The bottom faces of the arches and the piles of the masonry bridge were strengthened by reinforced concrete thin slabs and reinforced concrete jackets, respectively, all adequately connected to the existing structure by using steel bar connectors. Finally, a nonlinear analysis of the strengthened structure showed that the new risk index satisfied the seismic vulnerability verification. The proposed structural rehabilitation using traditional techniques appears to be a viable but not unique solution to improving structural reliability.
Dynamic identification and vibration serviceability assessment of a wooden cable‐stayed footbridge
Authors: Nicoletti Vanni , Tentella Luca , Martini Riccardo , Quarchioni Simone , Carbonari Sandro , Gara Fabrizio 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis paper discusses the dynamic characterization of a 3 spans wooden cable‐stayed footbridge newly built in Italy. The footbridge is 235 m long and consists of a 2‐girder wooden deck. The edge spans are simply supported, while the mid one (about 150 m long) is sustained by 16 stays linked to 2 pillars. Ambient vibration tests and operational modal analyses are performed to identify the global dynamic behaviour of the structure and 17 stable vibration modes are identified in the frequency range 0‐6 Hz. Moreover, the vibration serviceability is assessed performing in situ pedestrian load tests following the load protocols provided by Hivoss and Sètra technical guidelines, and verifying the recorded accelerations with the maximum ones suggested by codes (fib bulletin 32 and EN1990:2002).
Weathering steel bridge structure after 30 years of service ‐ assessment experience
Authors: Wierzbicki Tomasz , Królikowska Agnieszka , Żółtowski Mariusz 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe structure of 531.4 m total length bridge was made in early nineties last century and it was regarded as novelty by that time. The interesting point was that the structure was made of original Polish weathering steel prepared for bridge solutions intently. There were several trouble concerning the bridge service, steel cracks and less than expected patina growth due to the unfavorable conditions inside the box girder. Quite recently the bridge was carefully inspected as it was to be an important issue of the modern motorway. There was a question if the bridge is to be demolished, due to the corrosion and structural problems or to be preserved and extended to meet required traffic volume. There was a careful examination performed including metallurgical, corrosion and structural analysis done. The paper is to present the most important outcomes concerning mainly structural issues, but some weathering steel corrosion observation will be provided as well.