Dynamic response of damaged precast bridge girders

This paper presents a comprehensive dynamic test campaign conducted on prestressed concrete bridge beams sourced from a 50-year-old decommissioned viaduct in Turin, Italy, as part of the BRIDGE 50 research project. Individual beams were subjected to dynamic testing to assess the impact of varying levels of damage on their dynamic properties. Vibration data was collected before applying static loads, after reaching the first cracking condition, and after reaching maximum load capacity, and analysed to identify principal modal components. The findings underscore the correlation between damage progression and dynamic response, demonstrating the effectiveness of vibration tests in detecting and tracking damage evolution. Specifically, this study presents the experimental results pertaining to the tested I-shape beams.