Australia, like many countries, is grappling with the challenge of managing ageing bridge assets.
More than 70% of Australian bridges are beyond 50 years of age, a vast majority of them have now come to the end of their intended design life.
Assessment of these older structures is often based on simplified tools designed for new structures, leading to conservative evaluations. Consequently, many bridges reported as having capacity deficiencies may not exhibit any noticeable signs of distress, highlighting the need for a more nuanced approach. The AS ISO 13822 introduces a plausibility check framework for assessing and managing these aging assets, shedding light on their capacity and safety. These techniques rely on the bridge performance and monitoring data.
Aside from flood and scouring-related concerns, the primary risk to bridge integrity arises from heavy vehicles. Modern sensor technology, along with image recognition and advanced bridge analytics, allows for the classification of vehicles without invasive WiM hardware, extracting key features such as axle loading, axle spacing, and gross vehicle mass. Additionally, other critical parameters such as speed, lateral vehicle positioning and dynamic amplification factors can also be obtained. This technology has also enabled real-time assessment and updating of remaining fatigue life. The insights garnered from this information empower asset owners to adopt a risk-informed and data-driven approach to asset management, facilitating its use for compliance management as well.
The presentation highlights several case studies demonstrating successful implementation of Bridge and Traffic Monitoring. These case studies illustrate the insights gained through advanced bridge analytics and interactive user interfaces, transforming the way critical asset infrastructure are managed.
