Experimental evaluation of the structural response of a reinforced concrete bridge beam: preliminary results

Within the structural safety of existing infrastructures, an experimental campaign has been performed on a 25.90m long reinforced concrete beam built in 1960’s. Within the mentioned scope, the beam was selected during the demolition’s operations of the Mollere viaduct, along the Torino-Savona highway, in Italy. The experimental setup of the facility consisted in supporting the beam through two isolated foundations. The test was performed by applying loads in the middle of the beam by means of masses having the weight of 100 kN, following a force control approach. The level of force was specifically designed to reach up the collapse or near-collapse state at the end of the test. Specifically, this work summarizes the overall design steps behind the experimental cam-paign, and provides the reader with the experimental constitutive law of the beam in terms of force displacement curve.