Strengthening of Precast Segmental Bridge built in 1960s using External Tendons

Abstract

Recently more attention has been paid to ageing infrastructure under increased traffic on the roads in Slovakia. As a result, selected prestressed concrete bridges have been inspected. Evidence of their poor technical condition has been discovered including serious faults such as large permanent deflection, wide cracks, extensive prestressing degradation, and others. The original conceptual design and poor quality of prestressing steel protection are often the decisive factor. This paper provides an example of bridge rehabilitation design of the concrete precast segmental bridge in an emergency condition. The bridge in question which is located over the water reservoir Ruzin was built in 1967 as one of the first‐generation precast segmental bridges in Slovakia. Its service life was successfully extended using structural system modification and strengthened using external prestressing. The initial assumptions for the rehabilitation have been based on the detailed analysis of the defects, and assessment of existing conditions including the analytical approach of residual prestressing determination. This concept represents the potential solution for achieving enhanced service life of similar bridges.