Framework for investigating the effect of different design lives on the design of bridges

Abstract

<p>Many developed countries have a national road network including a significant number of bridges in need of renovation or replacement in the coming years. The reason for this is their technical and functional capacity becoming insufficient due to aging and changes in societal demands. Therefore, these bridges need to be adjusted or replaced. National authorities in The Netherlands currently require a design life of 100 years for new bridges, however nowadays it seems reasonable to have a certain flexibility for this parameter. Since the selected design life has its implications on structural solutions and choice of materials, the identification of the optimal design life for bridges seems necessary. This paper gives a summary on the issue regarding the optimum design life of bridges and it highlights the framework of the upcoming research activities.</p>

Probabilistic design life selection procedure for a steel bridge

“…The probability of a premature bridge replacement due to various reasons not related with traffic on the bridge, such as changes in spatial layout of the crossing, seriously affects the outcomes of the analysis and compromises the choice of longer design lives as it is discussed in [1]. However, this road network connection is considered so important that premature demolition of the bridge related to road network development is excluded.…”

“…The probability of traffic loads to remain unchanged has been estimated based on historical changes in traffic loads [1]. It is estimated as 97.8% for the first service year.…”

“…These traffic growth scenarios have been generated based on available traffic measurements and forecasts. Derivation of these scenarios and how they have been applied are described in detail in [1].…”

“…-LCC does not include any user costs and benefits apart of the costs induced by the bridge being closed for traffic as described in [1].…”

“…Such a procedure has been developed at Eindhoven University of Technology together with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), [1]. However, it is based on several assumptions and has its limitations as discussed in this paper.…”