IABSE Symposium - Rio de Janeiro - August 25-27, 1999 Bridge Inspection and Assessment Julio APPLETON Julio Appleton, born 1949, received Civil Engineer his engineering degree from Instituto A2P Consult Superior Técnico (IST) and his MSe and PhD in Structural Engineering from Imperial College, London. He is ‘full professor of concrete structures, at IST and a partner at A2P, Lda Lisbon, Portugal Summary ‘The methodology and the main aspects of bridge inspection and assessment for concrete and steel bridges are presented in a synthetic form illustrated with the author's experience. Visual inspection and interpretation of test results are discussed. Two examples are presented: a reinforced concrete 35 years old arch bridge and a steel cable stayed 20 years old bridge. Keywords: Bridge; Inspection; Assessment; Marine Environment 1 Planning a Bridge Inspection ‘The paper will cover both aspects of deterioration and structure safety assessment A structure engineer can be engaged in a bridge inspection in a routine or maintenance program or in a situation where the Bridge authority has identified the need to rehabilitate or strengthening the bridge. A preliminary visit is essential, often in the stage of preparing the proposal or contract. This first visit will identify visible signs of deterioration or structure distress and will reveal the required means of access to inspect the bridge. Collecting all data about the bridge is very important. The complete design of the bridge and information about the construction shall be gathered. Planning the inspection is the next step. A safety plan to perform the inspection is required and the preparation of all the logistics including drawings to register the deterioration and their location in the structure is to be done before starting the site works. In what concerns the visual inspection it is very important to get near the structure surfaces what in general requires special means of access. To inspect the deck and high piers with a special vehicle ‘we need, in average, one full day for each 100 m to 200 m of deck for the visual inspection and deterioration mapping. In what concerns testing it is essential to define beforehand the objective of the inspection and to identify the visible problems so that suitable tests are chosen. The number and location of tests is then planned.Structures for the Future - The Search for Quality For deterioration problems the aggressivity of the different micro environments has to be assessed and then the selected representative areas are chosen and there the tests will be specified. In Fig. 1 the location selected to perform the tests to assess the deterioration mechanisms of reinforcement corrosion in Arrabida Bridge [1] is illustrated. The selected zones include areas in the upstream and downstream sections and in the various types of structure elements-beam and slab deck, columns and arch. S Selected areas for testing Fig. 1 Arrabida Bridge When selecting the tests it is very important to establish the objectives with the Client, to be sure of the relevance of the test for that specific problem, to specify the test procedure or norm and to know how to interpretate the test results and how to establish the assessment criteria. 2. Basic Inspection The basic inspection includes the visual inspection and the fundamental tests strictly required to access the degree and extent of the deterioration and structure distress. 2.1 Visual Inspection ‘The visual inspection has the objective of producing a deterioration mapping as illustrated in Fig. 2 and a description of the main visible defects in the superstructure, in foundations, in bearings and ‘expansion joints and in non structural elements. At the same occasion the conformity of the geometry of the bridge with the design drawings shall be checked and hammering to detect delamination executed (very important do be done on this occasion if access is difficult). Through and during the visual inspection excessive deformations can be identified or movements in bearings or joints measured.IABSE Symposium - Rio de Janeiro - August 25-27, 1999 DECK Detoforaton Mapping ‘Cac Cracking in transverse beams Plastic hinge in short columns Cracking in the pier transverse beams Fig. 2 Visual inspection. Main pathologies 2.2 Basic Testing Testing is needed to access the deterioration process which is in general a two phase process with an initiation stage where no defects are visible and a propagation phase, usually much shorter than the initiation one, which leads to visible defects. For concrete bridges basic testing includes the hammering for delamination detection as referred in 2.1, the bar location and cover measurement, the measurement of the depth of carbonation and chloride penetration (this last one of special importance in bridges located near the sea). ‘The number of tests depends on various parameters. As a general guidance tests shall be done in all selected representative zones and concerning an area of the order of 0.5% of the exposed surface. ‘The variability of the test results has to be born in mind as shown in Fig. 3 for the cover measurements in the main girders of Arrabida Bridge.Structures for the Future - The Search for Quality Beam Absolut Frequency Fig. 3 Variation of cover in the main girders ‘The tolerance or error of the test procedure has also to be considered and investigated. For example, when obtaining cover depths, direct measurement by drilling a hole over the bars shall be done to compare the true cover with that obtained in the same location by the electromagnetic equipment. The technique used to obtain the carbonation depth or chloride content at different levels has also different accuracies according to the test procedure. For steel bridges, basic testing includes measuring the thickness and bond of the painting, the loss of section due to corrosion, the use of penetration liquids to identify cracks in welding, the ‘measurement of distortions or deviations from flatness, the checking for loose bolts, ... 3 Special Testing 3.1 Special Tests to Assess a Deterioration Process For concrete bridges cores are a very important mean to see the concrete surface quality and to obtain samples to perform various tests such as: ~ Petrographic analysis and scanning electron microscopy observation with the main objective of assessing the concrete chemical deterioration, such as the alkali silica reactions. = Concrete quality, expressed by the absorption, porosity, diffusion or permeability coefficients = Concrete mechanical properties (strength, deformability modulus,...) ‘When depassivation of reinforcement occurs the rate of corrosion may be of special interest and then electrical potential, concrete resistivity and polarisation resistance are needed to be performed in selected areas (the same zones where basic testing were done). These tests shall be done in different periods since the results are very much affected by the weather conditions and its effect in the concrete humidity. If the steel characteristics are not known from the design or from the in situ surface identification of the steel, samples should be taken to perform a tensile test. For steel old (more than 50 years) bridges steel samples shall be taken from suitable locations to perform tests on the chemical composition, tensile strength and ductility, energy dissipationIABSE Symposium - Rio de Janeiro - August 25-27, 1999 (Charpy) and fatigue resistance (of a vital importance for railway bridges). The use of x-rays may be required in special circumstances in order to detect defects in areas of difficult access. 32 Specials Tests to Assess the Structure Performance and Safety ‘The assessment of the structure response and safety may require the following works in a bridge inspection: - Topographic structure definition (deck levelling, column verticality, ...) This type of work shall be done in the early morning and the temperature registration is essential ~ Dynamic response to traffic excitation, through which the main modes and frequencies can be obtained and the results used to check the analytical 3D models. ~ Measurement of live loads acting in the bridge - Static or dynamic load tests measuring displacements, deformations and accelerations, which are used to assess the in situ response and to check the analytical models, - Strain/stress evaluation in stays (using a vibration method) or in concrete or steel elements (using strain gages or other devices). 4 Assessment ‘The objective of assessment is to understand the causes and effects of the mechanisms of deterioration or structure distress or to assess the structure safety levels. 4.1 Deterioration Process: Example of Reinforced Corrosion due to Chloride Contamination % 3s ‘9 Sores suite) | ™ T T Tis ras tere } | 2 : ‘Series? Serest2) | so + Bows feet Gees |O ry 3 o20 veins samate) | | ars} +swins —« seiets| |S" [~ cS | soo ~ Sei? aatats) | BE a “emt caer] [8 w A os T] sme ae] |B | | ETE, moe Bape ems Time (years) | Fig. 4a Chloride penetration near construction Fig. 4b Modelling of chloride penetration Joints in the girder ‘The assessment of the initial phase for a chloride penetration problem is illustrated in Fig. 4a, where the chloride concentration at different levels is presented (basic testing) for the Arrabida Bridge. These results were obtained after 35 years of service and from samples taken in the construction joints, the location where deterioration is more relevant. It is also important to stress the fact that this results will vary from element to element due to the heterogeneity of concrete, eventual use of different mixes, different compaction and curing, different exposure conditions,Structures for the Future - The Search for Quality From these results and assuming a diffusion of chlorides governed by the modified Fick’s law and considering the variation in time of the diffusion parameters it is possible to obtain an interpretation of the penetration process and a prediction of its evolution (3). In Fig. 4b the relation between depth and time needed for the chloride content to achieve a level of 0.05 % by weight of concrete is presented. The envelope between the two curves reflects the variability of the chloride penetration, From these curves itis possible to understand that for the average cover depth in the girders of 27 mm the time needed for the critical chloride content to be reached varies between 20 and 70 years, When depassivation occurs, corrosion may start and the corrosion rate variation can be assessed. 4.2 Structure Assessment ‘The structure assessment of existing bridges has to bear in mind the following aspects: ‘The existing codes and common practice suffered considerable changes in time: live loads had considerable variations, earthquake effects were not considered in bridges some years ago, .. In what concerns structural analysis the development of computers and software brought powerful 3D analytical tools reducing considerable the common use of experimental scale tests in design. The safety checks for strength resistance changed from conventional allowable stresses to ultimate limit state calculations. The effects of deterioration can be modelled in a simplified manner (reduction of steel section due to corrosion, reduction of concrete section due to delamination, reduction of bond) affecting both the reduction in the section properties (stiffness) used in the structure analysis, affecting the deformation and cracking and producing a reduction of ultimate capacities. 5 Examples 5.1 Arrabida Bridge ‘The Arrabida Bridge Over River Douro in Oporto has a total length of 493.2 m and an arch with 278.4 m span, 52 m height (Fig. 1). The bridge is located in an atmospheric marine environment and was designed and constructed with great care and quality for its period. A concrete cube strength of 40 MPa was specified (a design mix with w/c = 0.32 was used) and all concrete surfaces, were painted. However significant visible deterioration was found, after 30 years, underside the deck and in particular in the lower corner of the beams as shown in Fig. 2. Because the bridge has had no significant inspection or maintenance during its service life the Road Authority decided to promote a special detailed inspection and a detailed structure safety assessment according to the new codes and new service conditions, since the number of lanes were increased from 4 to 6. A complete visual inspection and all relevant tests were done in the selected zones shown in the Fig. 1. The topographic levelling of the deck, the geometry of the arches and verticality of the columns were obtained. In situ dynamic measurement of vibrations induced by traffic and wind actions was done and through it the modal characteristics obtained. Through the visual observation we found that the‘The deck is supported by 3 stays 390, 540 and 900 @ 5 mm $1600/1800 steel galvanised wires, spaced 30 m and is supported by fixed bearings in the mats and in the transition piers. The bridge has a simple supported central span of 30 m, which leads to a tensile reaction in the transition pier for the dead loads. The steel structure was painted with an epoxy system. This bridge is also located in an atmospheric marine environment. The reinforced concrete mat foundations are just near the riverbanks and subjected to the direct contact of the estuary water. ‘The visual inspection, Fig. 5, showed that the steel paint is destroyed and that corrosion is progressing, mainly in the areas adjacent to the concrete slab, which cracked and lead to water Teakage. The stays and deviators were open for inspection showing that the steel galvanised protection is still active. In the reinforced concrete elements corrosion and exposed bars are already visible in the ‘mats and piers. ‘A detailed inspection was performed and relevant tests done leading to the following conclusions: - Due to the insufficient concrete quality the carbonation depth reached 12 to 22 mm and the chloride penetration is very high in those elements with direct contact with water reaching the critical value at 3.cm and reaching 0.03 % by weight of concrete in the slab and piers at 2 to 3 cm deep. Depassivation is occurring in bars of low cover by a combination of carbonation a chloride penetration. - The steel painting showed thickness of 103 to 296 um with good bond in areas not yet affected. ~ Special tests were done to access the dynamic bridge behaviour (0.5 Hz for the Ist vertical mode, 0.87 Hz for the Ist transverse mode) and to obtain the stresses in the stays. ‘The structure safety assessment revealed: ~ A good agreement between measured and calculated stresses in stays (G/f,,= 0.48 to 0.58) - High deformability and unpleasant vibrations of the deck for pedestrians using the bridge - Inadequate seismic design associated with the fixing conditions of the deck in the towers and piers resulting there in insufficient safety levels.Structures for the Future - The Search for Quality Deterioration in steel connections Deterioration in the concrete/steel___Deterioration in the painting of steel ‘connection elements Deviators Exposed bars in the transverse beam Inspection inside one stay, showing ‘of mat foundation that the galvanised wire protection is sill active Fig. 5 Figueira da Foz. Main pathologies 6 References [1] Cardoso, E. -Projecto de Execugao da Ponte da Arrébida, JAE, 1955 [2] Cardoso, E - Projecto da Ponte da Figueira da Foz, JAE, 1977 [BB] Costa, A- Durabilidade de Estruturas de Betéio Armado em Ambiente Maritimo, Tese de Doutoramento, IST, 1997