Hinge Joints Performance Assessment of a PC Hollow Slab Bridge Based on Impact Vibration Testing

Hinge joint performance during the operation of prefabricated prestressed concrete (PC) hollow slab bridges is critical to ensure their lateral collaborative working condition and safe serviceability. Traditional performance identification of hinge joints mainly relies on manual inspection, which is inefficient and inaccurate. At the same time, existing indexes (such as acceleration and strain) can only qualitatively detect the damage to hinge joints. This study proposes a novelty detection method based on impact vibration testing to rapidly perform the quantitative assessment of the working condition of the hinge joints. The relationship between hinge joint performance and lateral load distribution (LLD) is first derived in detail by theoretical analysis. And then, the quantitative analysis of collaborative performance is converted to the identification of the LLD influence line, which is innovatively established by the lateral flexibility of the hollow slab bridge. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through a multibeam model using ABAQUS software, and the lateral collaborative working relationship between slabs is simulated using the connector elements. Furthermore, the LLD influence lines and hinge joints performance of a PC hollow slab Yanhu Bridge are evaluated based on the impact vibration testing with sensor lateral arrangement strategy. The detection results show that the proposed method can quickly and accurately identify the damage location and the stiffness loss of hinge joints.