Remaining Life Prediction of an Aged Bridge Based on Concrete Core Test

Abstract

This paper describes a method of the remaining life prediction of an aged RC-T girder bridge based on the concrete core test results. The remaining life prediction of the bridge can also be quantitatively estimated by applying the J-BMS with the field inspection data. It needs to be verified through the concrete core specimen tests extracted from some parts on main girders, deck slabs, and bridge piers, such as compressive strength, carbonation depth, chloride ion concentration, and so on. This study is focused on the performance and validation of the deterioration assessment used on concrete cores, which was collected from the target bridge. In this study, data obtained from collected concrete core specimens were examined by chloride ion and carbonation tests. As a result, carbonation is more dominant than the chloride ion on the deterioration process although the bridge is located within 1km upstream from the mouth of the river pouring into the Seto Inland Sea. The carbonation rate coefficient and the apparent diffusion coefficient of chloride ions were determined, and the remaining life prediction where the main factor of deterioration is carbonation has been found from the concrete core test results. On the estimated cumulative amount steel corrosion (Q) of 75mg/cm2, the remaining life of the bridge is predicted to be approximately 7 years. Also, the localized concrete core test results can be used for an entire span evaluation by visualized distribution results using an approximating function.