Probabilistic risk analysis of local verification of Load Model 1 in Eurocode for Soil-Steel Composite bridges in Sweden

Abstract

Bridges must be designed to ensure safety for all users. At the same time, the design should be performed with an appropriate risk level. In Sweden, Soil-Steel Composite bridges (SSCB) are the most common bridge type. For SSCB, local verification of Load Model 1 in Eurocode is most often governing the design. The objective of this study was to investigate whether local verification of LM1 load case could be modified without decreasing the agreed risk level in Eurocode. Weight in motion measurements from real traffic were extrapolated with Rice formula. Monte Carlo simulations were used to simulate the 1000-year return period event to obtain the acceptable risk level as prescribed in Eurocode. The results show that the local verification of LM1 is conservative, considering the acceptable risk level in Eurocode. With a modified implementation of local verification, this paper shows that a potential saving of up to 14% in terms of economic cost and CO2-equivalents is possible. A modified implementation of local verification of LM1 in Eurocode for SSCB is proposed, which could reduce the climate impact by up to 14% associated to the construction of new SSCB in Sweden.