Methodology to Assess and Monitor the Condition of Concrete Components

EasyChair Preprint 5852

Abstract

The 5,000 bridges which are maintained by ASFiNAG (Austrian highway operator) are its main asset. Despite all maintenance efforts, these structures are still subjected to degradation, thus, leading to high expenses. Decisions for these maintenance actions are usually driven by the actual condition of the structure or deterministic (conservative) maintenance cycles proposed by guidelines. In order to provide high road net availability at moderate costs, the effectiveness of possible maintenance methods, as well as their maintenance intervals must be assessed. This force the asset management to decide which maintenance measure is the best for a certain condition at certain time. The aim of this paper is to present methods for efficient determination of condition and degradation (condition indices) by using objective indicators, like humidity, electrical resistivity and corrosion potential. For the purpose of objectivity and the demand of an exact as possible determination of the condition state, an overall performance index is derived from the condition indices by using an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Different levels of detail are introduced over a lifetime of a surveyed structure to assess the state of condition and to make the effort of an assessment as small and simple as possible. Additionally, longterm measurements from a monitored overpass situated in the vicinity of Vienna are available. The monitoring data allows to continuously determine the degradation, as well as show the methodology and the progress of the performance index over time.

Keyphrases: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Condition index, Performance Index, condition assessment, existing concrete structures, in-situ monitoring

@booklet{EasyChair:5852,
  author    = {Fritz Binder and Alfred Strauss},
  title     = {Methodology to Assess and Monitor the Condition of Concrete Components},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 5852},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2021}}