BRIDGE MAINTENANCE Presented by,

The bridge maintenance problems are serious handicaps to the Engineers.Poor design and construction may result in worst problems for bridge maintenance.Even if the bridges are well designed and constructed,they may require periodic maintenance.

After the bridge is constructed, it is absolutely necessary to inspect it at regular intervals and to maintain it in such condition that it functions properly. The details of inspection vary with the type of bridge and materials used for construction. The expectancy lives of substructure and superstructure are 100 years and 70 years respectively.

The objective of bridge inspection comprises the monitoring and the evaluation of the performance of each bridge structure throughout its service life so that any deficiency in performance could be detected and corrected early.

Routine Inspections.at monthly intervals Detailed Inspections..at annual intervals Special Inspectionsafter special events

Purpose: to report fairly obvious deficiencies/ developments. Applicable to short span bridges. It involves a general examination of the bridge structure on regular basis to check outward physical evidence of distress that might require repair or maintenance attention. Not very skilled operation,but is conducted quickly every month.

It is an indepth inspection. It involves a detailed visual examination of all bridge components super structure and substructure elements. This is particularly necessary in the case of old bridges and structures of major proportions where structural failure could result in catastrophic consequence.

There are two types: General Type Major Type In the general type: Cover all elements against a checklist. Visual and hands-on inspection,supplemented by standard Instruments and Aids. Produce a written report for each part/element. In the major type: Inspect more intensively than in the General type,and this may require setting up special access facilities.

The trouble spots to be checked up during detailed inspections are:

Behaviour of expansion joints. Cracks in metal work. Damaged structural members. Deterioration and cracks in concrete. Excessive vibrations. Foundation settlement and movement. Indiscriminate past repairs. Inoperative expansion bearings. Loose connections.

SPECIAL INSPECTIONS
This type of inspection is needed after special events. Heavy flood Heavy earthquake Passage of high intensity live load Cyclone It may need the services of an experienced designer as it may involve certain: Design checks Tests

The activities in a rehabilitation process are: Study of project history and environment. Inspection of existing structure. Capacity assessment. Rehabilitation design. Drawings and specifications. Implementation at site.

The first work is to study the history of the bridge and its environments from the available records and drawings. If adequate records or drawings are not readily available,interviewing old employees of related organisations or persons residing in the vicinity of the bridge may provide some valuable information.

Understanding the present condition of the various members of a bridge is a prerequisite for any rehabilitation work. Bridge should be subjected to preventive inspections at regular intervals,requiring close examination of all parts of the structure to identify and quantify any deterioration.

BRIDGE INSPECTION

BRIDGE INSPECTION

Members with high design stresses. Members where water may collect due to inadequate drainage system. Areas which are subject to alternate wetting and drying. Areas which are not easily accessible to painting.

Joints of the deck system. Top and bottom lateral bracings which are liable to bent or buckled. Camber of truss. Creep and longitudinal movement of girders.

The commonly used equipments are:

Temporary

scaffolding This is the most common method of bridge inspection,particularly in cases where this can be constructed from ground level or where this does not interfere with ongoing traffic.

 Lifting

platforms These are platforms mounted on vehicles and can be lifted or lowered vertically by hydraulic or manual method. with platforms These are quite easy and safe equipments,particularly for inspection of the underside of the bridge members. Snoopers Hydraulically operated truck or rail-wagon bucket snoopers allow access from bridge deck to the sides of the bridge.

Boats

Bucket

Capacity of a span relates to the net strength of the individual members available for live loads and impacts,after deducting the requirements for dead load.
The dead load should include not only those for the existing bridge but also the estimated load for the additional materials for repairs

It is necessary to calculate the capacity of all the critical members of a bridge and compare these with the actual live load effects on these members.This will help to identify the members which are deficient and require strengthening. Capacity assessment can be done either by traditional working stress method or by the modern limit state theory.

Having identified the individual members to be strengthened from the results of inspection and capacity assessment,the next activity is rehabilitation design.

Rehabilitation design can be done in two stages:

concept stage design stage

 While

developing alternative schemes,the practical aspect of implementation of the solution should be of paramount importance.It will be futile to arrive at an economic solution which cannot be implemented at site.
work is generally labour intensive and cost of new material input is only a fraction of the total cost.Therefore it is preferable to select a solution which is inherently.

Rehabilitation

Some of the common methods which may be considered for developing conceptual schemes are: Repair of critical members Introduction of new member to the system Reduction of dead load Modification of structural system

Reduction of dead load Reduction in the dead load of a bridge increases its live load carrying capacity. Eg:Replace ballasted railway deck system by sleeper system,which would considerably reduce the dead load of a railway bridge. Modification of structural system The capacity of a bridge can be increased by modifying the basic structural system. Eg:Simply supported spans of longitudinal beams of the deck system may be converted to continuous beams,by suitably modifying the end connections of these beams.

During this stage a few important aspects need to be considered are: Dead load stresses Redundancy and fracture critical member Effects of fatigue Types of connections Effects of eccentricity

DEAD LOAD STRESSES

Once a bridge is erected,the members become stressed due to the dead load effect.It is desirable to relieve the members of this dead load prior to undertaking rehabilitation work.

When a member suffers local buckling due to vehicular collision and is straightened by heating or by mechanical device,residual stresses will be locked into the member.

REDUNDANCY AND FRACTURE CRITIACAL MEMBER

A redundant bridge has multiple load carrying mechanisms,so that in the case of failure of one mechanism,the load will be carried by another. A non-redundant structure doest have multiple load carrying system and consequently failure of a single element may cause collapse of the Redundancy can be broadly divided into 3 categories. Load path redundancy Internal redundancy Structural redundancy

EFFECTS OF FATIGUE
Fatigue effect should be examined properly during the development of rehabilitation details , particularly in the fracture-critical elements. Some of these details which need particular attention include transitions at ends of cover plates,welded connections in tension members and stress raisers such as notches,sharp corners,rivet or bolt holes.

TYPES OF CONNECTIONS

Defective or loose rivets should be replaced by close tolerance or friction grip bolts.These new bolts should carry both dead load and live loads along with the existing rivets and the joints should be checked. Welding on existing rivetted connection should be avoided. Better provide bolted connections instead of welded connections.

EFFECT OF ECCENTRICITY

It is a common practice to strengthen a member by adding additional plate or section on to it .In such a case details should be developed to ensure that the centre of gravity of the strengthened section coincides with the centre of gravity of the original section.In case it is not possible to achieve this,the effects of eccentricty should be considered in the design.

Since rehabilitation work involves working on existing members and connections,it is imperative that the drawings and specifications prepared by the engineer should be clear and unambiguous. All necessary details and preferably the installation sequence of the proposed rehabilitation scheme should be clearly indicated in the drawings and specifications. The working drawings must take into consideration the actual measurements at site,based on the engineers conceptual drawings.

Implementation at site is the final culmination of a rehabilitation scheme.Successful and satisfactory rehabilitation work depends on the quality of work at site . Implementation of repair and rehabilitation scheme for a bridge is mostly a time-bound operation.It is therefore very necessary to make a detailed study of the erection scheme and anticipate any possible problem that may arise during construction.