Remaining Service Life Prediction of Aging Concrete Bridges Based on Multiple Relevant Explanatory Variables

Abstract

Concrete highway bridge remaining service life has been at the forefront of bridge owners’ concerns for several years in terms of growing bridge maintenance needs. Distresses in concrete bridge components occur due to physical, chemical, and mechanical factors that manifest as observable symptoms of deterioration. Deterioration models realistically link the observable defects to the several explanatory variables affecting the deterioration that aid in the planning of appropriate corrective actions. Only a limited number of explanatory variables have been considered in the published literature in the development of bridge component deterioration models. This study investigates the effect of multiple relevant explanatory variables affecting the bridge component condition including aging, loads and environmental conditions, and design characteristics using a multivariate regression analysis approach. Deterioration models for both superstructure and substructure of reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges are developed and validated in the present study. The proposed models will aid the bridge engineers to predict the concrete bridge component conditions based on bridge characteristics for planning preventive maintenance.