Diagnostic and Prognostic Assessments on a 50 Year-Old Bridge Subjected to Severe Environmental and In-Service Conditions
摘要
A unique opportunity was given to groups of researchers to study the condition of a large bridge structure that has been subjected to severe service conditions for more than 50 years. A number of concrete blocks were extracted from various structural elements of the bridge (top of a pier, slabs, exposed and protected sections of a crosshead beam, sections of exterior and interior longitudinal beams). Non-destructive testing, mechanical testing (compressive strength, Stiffness Damage Test), semi-quantitative petrographic examination (Damage Rating Index) and residual expansion testing were conducted on cores extracted from those elements. This paper provides a summary of the results obtained so far from the laboratory investigations on the cored specimens.