Full-scale testing and analysis of 50-year old prestressed concrete bridge girders

This research covers the full-scale tests conducted on a 50-year old prestressed concrete girders. The girders were removed from an existing viaduct in Turin, Italy, and gave the possibility to setup a large experimental campaign as part of the research project named BRIDGE|50 (www.bridge 50.org). This study presents results of the experimental investigation of the behavior of precast prestressed concrete deck beams with approximately 19.2 m span length and I-shaped cross section. For each specimen, static tests were carried out monotonically or cyclically under service load and ultimate load, while monitoring strain profiles, deflection and crack opening. Several methods were used to test the effective prestress of the prestressing strands and for the detailed assessment of the condition, namely dynamic tests and ultrasonic tests. Load-deflection response and measured physical parameters were compared to that predicted by theoretical analysis. Results indicate the merit and promise of the study to support the assessment of residual structural performance of existing bridges exposed to deterioration processes.