A new Post‐Installed Reinforcement System to Extend Life Time of Existing Structures as Contribution to Sustainability

Abstract

AbstractMost of the infrastructure structures in Central Europe were erected between 1960 and 1990 and are therefore now between 30 and 60 years old. As recalculations of bridges show, frequently deficits in load‐bearing capacity arise due to aging of the structures, the increasing loads on these structures and the changes in the design codes. Often, a complete replacement of these structures is planned, which leads to high investment costs but also to massive traffic disruptions due to the complete or partial closure of the structure. Investigations show clearly that strengthening of existing structures is far more sustainable than building a new bridge. Therefore, in the last decade, research has been conducted at the University of Innsbruck on new, efficient post‐installed reinforcement systems with the help of which the lifetime of existing infrastructure buildings can be significantly extended. These new systems have to be installed in the existing structure as quickly as possible and with a minimum disruption of the traffic. This is the only way to keep traffic disruption and thus environmental impact to a minimum. The development of new systems for the strengthening of existing structures is shown and the positive effects to the environmental impact are figured out at some project examples.