Evaluation of Load Carrying Capacity of Bridge Based on Ambient Acceleration Measurements

Abstract

Load carrying capacities of exciting bridges need to be properly assessed for the safe operation and efficient maintenance. The conventional methods require load tests with controlled vehicles to measure the static and dynamic responses, such as deflections or strains under known loading conditions. However, full or partial block of traffic during the tests may cause not only inconvenience to the traffic but also increase of the logistic cost and time. To overcome these difficulties, an alternative method is proposed using ambient acceleration data measured without traffic control. Validation was carried out on a steel plate-girder bridge on an expressway in Korea, and the estimated load carrying capacity is compared with the result by the conventional load test method.