• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.82-92
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• 2012

This study proposed a new non-destructive evaluation method for concrete bridge deck deterioration using ground penetrating radar (GPR). To calculate dielectric constant of the concrete bridge deck, an extended common mid-point (XCMP) method was developed for a two-layered structure using an air-coupled GPR antenna setup. The deterioration conditions of the concrete bridge deck such as deterioration depth was evaluated based on the dielectric constant and surface-to-average dielectric constant ratio of the concrete bridge deck. A GPR field test was conducted on an old concrete bridge with asphalt concrete surfacing to validate the new evaluation method. The test results showed that the newly proposed method estimated pavement thickness and deterioration depth of the concrete deck in a reasonable level.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.19-43
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• 2016

In the present study, a new methodology is presented to study the ride comfort and bridge responses of a long-span bridge-traffic-wind coupled vibration system considering stochastic characteristics of traffic flow and bridge surface progressive deterioration. A three-dimensional vehicle model with 24 degrees-of-freedoms (DOFs) including a three-dimensional non-linear suspension seat model and the longitudinal vibration of the vehicle is firstly presented to study the ride comfort. An improved cellular automaton (CA) model considering the influence of the next-nearest neighbor vehicles and a progressive deterioration model for bridge surface roughness are firstly introduced. Based on the equivalent dynamic vehicle model approach, the bridge-traffic-wind coupled equations are established by combining the equations of motion of both the bridge and vehicles in traffic using the displacement relationship and interaction force relationship at the patch contact. The numerical simulations show that the proposed method can simulate rationally the ride comfort and bridge responses of the bridge-traffic-wind coupled system; and the vertical, lateral, and longitudinal vibrations of the driver seat model can affect significantly the driver's comfort, as expected.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.531-543
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• 2023

The existing concrete bridges are time-varying working systems, where the maintenance strategy should be planned according to the time-varying performance of the bridge. This work proposes a time-dependent residual capacity assessment procedure, which considers the non-stationary bridge load effects under growing traffic and non-stationary structural deterioration owing to material degradations. Lifetime bridge load effects under traffic growth are predicated by the non-stationary peaks-over-threshold (POT) method using time-dependent generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) models. The non-stationary structural resistance owing to material degradation is modeled by incorporating the Gamma deterioration process and field inspection data. A three-span continuous box-girder bridge is illustrated as an example to demonstrate the application of the proposed procedure, and the time-varying reliability indexes of the bridge girder are calculated. The accuracy of the proposed non-stationary POT method is verified through numerical examples, where the shape parameter of the time-varying GPD model is constant but the threshold and scale parameters are polynomial functions increasing with time. The case study illustrates that the residual flexural capacities show a degradation trend from a slow decrease to an accelerated decrease under traffic growth and material degradation. The reliability index for the mid-span cross-section reduces from 4.91 to 4.55 after being in service for 100 years, and the value is from 4.96 to 4.75 for the mid-support cross-section. The studied bridge shows no safety risk under traffic growth and structural deterioration owing to its high design safety reserve. However, applying the proposed numerical approach to analyze the degradation of residual bearing capacity for bridge structures with low safety reserves is of great significance for management and maintenance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.649-673
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• 2012

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of accounting for aging and deterioration of bridges when estimating their seismic vulnerability. Effects of structural degradation of multiple bridge components, variations in bridge geometry, and comparison of different environmental exposure conditions have traditionally been ignored in the development of seismic fragility curves for aging concrete highway bridges. This study focuses on the degradation of multiple bridge components of a geometrically varying bridge class, as opposed to a single bridge sample, to arrive at time-dependent seismic bridge fragility curves. The effects of different exposure conditions are also explored to assess the impact of severity of the environment on bridge seismic vulnerability. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on a representative class of aging multi-span reinforced concrete girder bridges typical of the Central and Southeastern United States. The results reveal the importance of considering multiple deterioration mechanisms, including the significance of degrading elastomeric bearings along with the corroding reinforced concrete columns, in fragility modeling of aging bridge classes. Additionally, assessment of the relative severity of exposure to marine atmospheric, marine sea-splash and deicing salts, and shows 5%, 9% and 44% reduction, respectively, in the median value bridge fragility for the complete damage state relative to the as-built pristine structure.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.29-42
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• 2006

In this study, a novel education system for inspection of concrete bridges is presented. The new education approach uses virtual reality (VR) and three-dimensional computer graphics (3DCG) in training engineers to become bridge inspection specialists. The slow time-dependent deterioration of concrete bridges can be reproduced on the computer screen in any chosen time frame, thus providing the trainees with illustrative and educative insight into the deterioration problem. In the proposed VR/3DCG approach a three-dimensional model of concrete bridge, including surfaces, viewpoints and walkthrough paths is created. With the help of this virtual bridge model, an experienced bridge inspection specialist teaches the different deterioration phenomena of concrete bridges to the trainees. The new system was tested, and the inspection results from the case bridge showed that in comparison with the traditional Japanese bridge inspection education system, the new system gives better results. In addition to the improvement of quality of bridge inspections, the new VR/3DCG system-based education brings along some other, more intangible benefits.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.161-166
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• 2004

The impact factor of bridges is analyzed based on experimental data to examine the characteristics of the dynamic responses of bridges. The experimental impact factors are compared with the impact factor of Korean Highway Design Specification and Japan T-load in terms of the span length. According to the superstructural types of bridges, the variation of the impact factor is analyzed. When vehicles are passing on a bridge, the dynamic effect acts on the bridge impact factor more than at the time of design because of the velocity of vehicles, the surface roughness reduction due to the deterioration of the bridge deck pavement, and the disconnection of the bridge entrance and the expansion joint. Because the actual value is greater than the expected value at the time of design, the dynamic response of the bridge accelerates the deterioration of the bridge due to the accumulation of fatigue, and the bridge's life-time is shortened and can have an influence on the serviceability and safety of the bridge.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.5-14
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• 2024

Reinforced concrete bridge decks are the first to be damaged by vehicle loads and rain infiltration. Concrete deterioration primarily occurs owing to the corrosion of rebars and other metal components by chlorides used for snow and ice melting. The structural condition and concrete deterioration of the bridge decks within the pavement were evaluated using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey data. To evaluate concrete deterioration in bridges, it is necessary to develop GPR data analysis techniques to accurately identify deteriorated locations and rebar positions. GPR exploration involves the acquisition of reflection and diffraction wave signals due to differences in radar wave propagation velocity in geotechnical media. Therefore, a full-waveform inversion (FWI) method was developed to evaluate the deterioration of reinforced concrete bridge decks by estimating the radar wave propagation velocity in geotechnical media using GPR data. Numerical experiments using a GPR velocity model confirmed the deterioration phenomena of bridge decks, such as concrete delamination and rebar corrosion, verifying the applicability of the developed technology. Moreover, using the synthetic GPR data, FWI facilitates the determination of rebar positions and concrete deterioration locations using inverted velocity images.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.05b
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• pp.225-228
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• 2005

This paper was accomplished for analyzing the reason of the above deterioration happened on the deck of concrete bridge. The bridge was constructed at 660m above the sea level having more freezing and snowing days. Therefore, it is placed on the particular condition sprinkling $CaCl_2$ enough for keeping up with moderate traffic condition. When it is considered to the former condition, the bridge can be assumed to potentialities for combined deterioration with freezing-thawing under sprinkling deicing chemical. Core specimens were gathered from the concrete deck for clearing the reason of the above deterioration exactly, and it is used for various tests for measuring the compressive strength, elastic modulus, content of $Cl^-$, freezing-thawing at the fresh and salt water. As a result of freezing-thawing test, the specimen at the fresh water has over 90$\%$ of durability factor, but another specimen at 1$\%$ of salt water has 0$\%$ of durability factor at 140 cycles of the freezing-thawing. The result means that frost damage is sccelerated at the salt water. Therefore, the deterioration of the concrete deck is estimated to be occured by combined effects of freezing-thawing and chloride ion attack.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.59-66
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• 2008

Recently, the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, primarily due to corrosion of steel reinforcement, has become a major concern. Chloride-induced deterioration is the most important deterioration phenomenon in reinforced concrete structures in harsh environments. For the realistic prediction of chloride penetration into concrete, a mathematical model was developed in which the effects of diffusion, chloride binding and convection due to water movement can be taken into account. The aim of this research was to reach a better understanding on the physical mechanisms underlying the deterioration process of reinforced concrete associated with chloride-induced corrosion and to propose a reliable method for estimating these effects. Chloride concentrations coming from de-icing salts are significantly influenced by the exposure conditions such as salt usage, ambient temperature and repeated wet-dry cycles.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.69-78
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• 2023

Life-cycle performance analysis of a reinforced concrete box section bridge was generated. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulation with important sampling (IS) was used to simulate the bridge material and load uncertainties. The bridge deterioration model was generated with the basic probabilistic principles and updated according to the measurement data. A genetic algorithm (GA) with the response surface model (RSM) was used to determine the deterioration rate. The importance of health monitoring systems to sustain the bridge to give services economically and reliably and the advantages of fiber-optic sensors for SHM applications were discussed in detail. This study showed that the most effective loss of strength in reinforced concrete box section bridges is corrosion of the reinforcements. Due to reinforcement corrosion, the use of the bridge, which was examined, could not meet the desired strength performance in 25 years, and the need for reinforcement. In addition, it has been determined that long-term health monitoring systems are an essential approach for bridges to provide safe and economical service. Moreover the use of fiber optic sensors has many advantages because of the ability of the sensors to be resistant to environmental conditions and to make sensitive measurements.