Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring

, Volume 5, Issue 1, pp 11–28 | Cite as

Action effects in post-tensioned concrete box-girder bridges obtained from high-frequency monitoring

Original Paper
First Online:
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Abstract

In this paper, an investigation into the action effect behaviour on two post-tensioned concrete highway box-girder bridges is performed. The focus is on the determination of the action effects induced in the bridges’ structural elements resulting from both traffic and thermal loading. Long-term monitoring campaigns were carried out, generating over 3 years of measured data. The strain cycles in the reinforcement bars were determined using measurements of the reinforcement bars themselves with strain gauges as well as indirectly through measurement of crack widths. The seasonal effects in the measurements are presented for both cases and thermal strain behaviour is described. The influence of the seasonal behaviour of action effects at an element level is used to demonstrate the differing fatigue damage throughout the year for specific elements. The concept of the average daily damage curve is introduced for fatigue verification based on short-term measurements to accurately account for the seasonal effects.

Keywords

Existing bridge safety verification Extreme traffic loading Fatigue analysis Structural health monitoring Thermal effects 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding provided under the TEAM project, a Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded by the European Commission (FP7 PITN-GA-2009-238648). They are extremely grateful to B + S Consulting Engineers, Bern, Switzerland for the Weyermannshaus data and the helpful discussions with Mr Michael Schulte are gratefully acknowledged. They are also grateful to the Swiss Federal Roads Office for the opportunity to monitor the Morges Bridge presented in this study. Finally, the assistance of Mr Gilles Guignet of EPFL in designing and implementing the monitoring system in the Morges Bridge is gratefully appreciated.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) ENAC IIC MCSLausanneSwitzerland

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