Damage Quantification of Concrete Tied Arch Bridge Based on Step-forward Loading Method

A method of structural damage distribution and quantification on tied arch bridges is presented in this paper. The damage identification and quantification process is proposed, which includes: 1) moving the testing trucks load forward step by step from one end of the bridge to the other end and obtaining the deflection matrix along deck alignment; 2) creating a program connecting Finite Element (FE) and field testing deflection matrix and using the optimization method to control the model updating to satisfy the real rigidity distribution; 3) verifying the method by theoretical model and related computation results. This method was later applied to a 52m span concrete arch bridge, and its damage quantification is analysed using field deflection matrix after step-forward loading test. Compared with other studies, the method shown in this paper shows a damage identification method which can quantify the structural rigidity distribution. The testing data used is obtained from step-forward loading which collects the response reflecting each zone’s working condition of bridge. And data used in paper is based on static test to reduce the testing error and insure input accuracy.