Overview
The durability of transport infrastructure influences the traffic safety. Structures designed without respect to long-term performance deteriorate much faster and become dangerous for users. The project aims to remove selected problematic aspects of design of transport infrastructure. One of the solved areas is represented by the transition zones of bridges. The performance of road bridges is mainly influenced by the lacking durability expansion joints and bearings. These aspects can be removed by the design of integral bridges which are known for their bigger endurance and durability. Another solved area is the track-bridge interaction of railway bridges with the long-welded rail. The long-welded rail can remove problems with durability and maintenance of rail expansion joints and improve the safety of railways. The project is based on experimental measurements of the existing and newly built bridges. The experiments will be evaluated numerically- the results will lead into optimization of current design and construction procedures.
Funding
Results
- 1) BABAN 1.0 - New Software for Analysis of Buried Arch Bridge - concrete buried arch bridges in the proper design and implementation are highly efficient, safe, durable and elegant structures. BABAN software simplifies their design and assessment. For behaviour of buried structures, the effect of interaction of the structure and the backfill is crucial and resulting complications for static analysis. Modelling the structure in computer software that analyses this phenomena by FEM surface elements is very complicated and time consuming. Thus the software BABAN was created which is based on simple input parameters and automatically analyses the internal forces of the structure in various stages of construction and different configurations of standard loads (according to Eurocode). Interaction of reinforced concrete structures and the backfill is modelled by the method of dependent pressures, for which a new algorithm was created. An analytical model is made of 2D beam elements. Software including a detailed manual can be downloaded for free at http://concrete.fsv.cvut.cz/~kolinsky/Veda.htm.
- 2) Partial Factors for the Assessment of Load-Bearing Capacity of Existing Bridges - ever-increasing traffic actions, degradation of bridges and immense costs of their rehabilitations imply needs for the methods of reliability assessment that allow accounting for specific conditions of an existing bridge. The study clarifies the procedures of modifications of partial factors considering knowledge and uncertainties in materials and actions, selected target reliability and required remaining working life of the bridge. A case study indicates the applications of theoretical procedures.
- 3) The technical standard ČSN 73 6222 - Load-bearing capacity of road bridges - this standard is the technical revision of ČSN 73 6222:2009. Braking and centrifugal forces for determination of load-bearing capacity were added. Furthermore, loading patterns of exclusive and exceptional load-bearing capacity were changed due to the Amendement Z3 of ČSN EN 1991-2.