Condition Assessment of Roadway Bridges: From Performance Parameters to Performance Goals

2018
Maria Pina Limongelli, Eleni Chatzi, Andrej Anžlin

Deterioration of bridges due to ageing and higher demands, induced by increased traffic load, require the development of effective maintenance policies and intervention strategies. Such concern should be aimed at ensuring the required levels of safety, while optimally managing the limited economic resources. This approach requires a transversal advance; from the element level, through the system level, all the way to the network level. At the same time intervention prioritisation based on the importance of the system (bridge) inside the network (e.g. highway), or of the single structural element inside the bridge is dependent. The first step in bridge condition assessment is the verification of safety and reliability requirements that is carried out using the traditional prescriptive (deterministic) approach or the current performancebased (probabilistic) approach. A critical issue for efficient management of infrastructures lies in the available knowledge on condition and performance of bridge asset. This information is obtained using a collection of significant Performance Parameters at one or more of the three levels (element, system, and network). Traditional techniques for estimation of Performance Parameters rely on already established visual inspection. However, a more reliable description of the system performance is obtained through Non-Destructive Testing and Structural Health Monitoring. Condition assessment essentially pertains to the check of compliance with Performance Goals and requires the definition and computation of Performance Indicators. They are calculated directly from Performance Parameters or from physical models calibrated using the Performance Parameters collected on the structure. Paper overviews the steps to bridge condition assessment regarding safety and reliability.

Keywords
condition assessment, Performance Goals (PGs), Performance Indicators (PIs), Performance Parameters (PPs), reliability, safety
DOI
10.7250/bjrbe.2018-13.421

Limongelli, M., Chatzi, E., Anžlin, A. Condition Assessment of Roadway Bridges: From Performance Parameters to Performance Goals. The Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering, 2018, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp.345-356. ISSN 1822-427X. e-ISSN 1822-4288. Available from: doi:10.7250/bjrbe.2018-13.421

Publication language
English (en)