Bridge Reliability Evaluation Using Load Tests

Abstract

The evaluation of existing bridges has received little attention in the structural reliability literature, yet probabilistic methods allow the evaluation of the adequacy of a structure better than deterministic analysis. Bridge test data can be used to improve the accuracy of load and resistance models. In this paper, available safety analysis procedures are reviewed. Bridge evaluation can be also carried out on the basis of tests, and various bridge test types are discussed. A discrepancy is observed between the analytical and test results. Measured member forces are consistently lower than calculated values. This indicates the importance of load sharing and redundancies. The hidden safety reserve‐can be revealed by use of system reliability methods. The reliability model can be significantly improved by use of test data to modify the load and resistance parameters. The approach is demonstrated on an example of a steel truss bridge.