Bridge Management by Modelling, Monitoring and Experimental Research

The traffic intensity in the Netherlands has grown rapidly during the past decades. To effectively manage the infrastructural network, many existing constructions are reconsidered to check for structural safety and future capacity. Effective asset management requires insight in the short and long-term behaviour of civil structures.

The “Hollandse bridge” in the Dutch highway A6 was upgraded with a concrete overlay in 2008. Strukton Civiel performed, in association with Delft University of Technology, a research that investigated the effect of traffic induced vibrations on the hydration of early-age concrete. The motive lies in the uncertainty if vibrations cause degradation of young concrete versus conservative guidelines on civil works. As a consequence, these safe approaches result in temporary detours during maintenance, causing vast traffic disturbances. To investigate necessity, the research combines theoretical vibration analysis with monitored responses of the Hollandse bridge as input for laboratorial research on the degradation of concrete loaded with traffic induced vibrations.