Abstract
Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement-based Composite (UHPFRC) has been increasingly adopted for rehabilitation projects over the past two decades, proving itself as a reliable, cost efficient and sustainable alternative against conventional methods. High compressive strength, low permeability and high ductility are some of the characteristics that render UHPFRC an excellent material for repairing existing aged infrastructure. UHPFRC is most commonly applied as a surface layer for strengthening and rehabilitation of concrete structures, such as bridge decks or building slabs. However, hitherto its implementation with steel structures has so far been limited. In this work, the UHPFRC strengthening of a steel bridge is investigated both in simulation as well as in the laboratory, by exploiting a real-world case study: the Buna Bridge. This Croatian riveted steel bridge, constructed in 1893, repaired in 1953, and decommissioned since 2010, was removed from its original location and transported to laboratory facilities for testing prior to and after rehabilitation via addition of UHPFRC slab. The testing campaign includes static and dynamic experiments featuring state-of-the-art monitoring systems such as embedded fiber optics, acoustic emission sensors and digital image correlation. The information obtained prior to rehabilitation serves for characterization of the actual condition of the structure and allows the design of the rehabilitation solution. The UHPFRC slab thickness was optimized to deliver optimal fatigue and ultimate capacity improvement at reasonable cost. Once the design was implemented, a second round of experiments was conducted in order to confirm the validity of the solution, with particular attention allocated on the interface between the steel substrate and the UHPFRC overlay, as the connection between both materials may result on a weak contact point. A detailed fatigue analysis, based on updated FEM models prior to and after strengthening, combined with the results of a reliability analysis prove the benefits of adoption of such a solution via the significant extension of the structural lifespan.
Highlights
Management of aging infrastructure has become a significant issue for modern societies, leading to expensive repairs or, in the worst case, tragic events resulting in human loss
We offer a comparison of the results from MACEC and Pulse deployed in Table 7, where sufficient agreement is found between the two analysis options
Despite these values resulting in an improvement when applying strengthening solution (4.69 and 12.10, respectively), the most efficient method to ameliorate the local buckling of the thin girder plates relies on the inclusion of stiffeners and not the ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced cement-based composite (UHPFRC) slab, this Performance Indicators (PI) is not considered relevant for this case
Summary
Management of aging infrastructure has become a significant issue for modern societies, leading to expensive repairs or, in the worst case, tragic events resulting in human loss (collapses of the I-35 Minnesota Bridge and the Morandi Bridge in Genoa) To overcome this problem, monitoring strategies have emerged for real-time tracking of condition, combined with new rehabilitation techniques, which are cost effective and minimally invasive in terms of application and operation (Chang et al, 2003). The FE model is exploited to carry out a fatigue analysis, for both stages (prior to and after strengthening), based on the Palmgren-Miner rule (Miner, 1945) In this analysis, the elements prone to fatigue include the existing structure and the stud connection between the slab and the steel. The second chapter establishes Performance Indicators (PI) for quantifying the adequacy of the rehabilitation strategy
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