A NONLINEAR DETERIORATION MODEL FOR THE ESTIMATION OF BRIDGE DESIGN LIFE. FINAL REPORT

A comprehensive literature review was conducted, and a questionnaire was circulated, on the subjects of bridge deterioration and bridge life. Several relevant studies were identified, and selected methods were applied to Pennsylvania data. In general, the findings of the investigators were confirmed in the context of the Pennsylvania data. However, these studies were deficient in two significant ways: first, deterioration was assumed to occur linearly with time; second, no systematic effort was made to incorporate the effects of rehabilitation. A nonlinear deterioration model was developed that expresses condition rating as a function of age using an exponential decay function coupled with a rehabilitation "spike" to provide the sudden increase in rating that accompanies bridge rehabilitation. Several variations of the basic model were considered with the coefficients for each model determined through a nonlinear regression analysis. The model was applied to substructures, superstructures, and decks of steel girder-type, prestressed concrete, and reinforced concrete bridges. For each component of each bridge type, three separate ADT ranges were considered. The resulting deterioration models were assessed, limited conclusions were drawn regarding their applicability, and selected versions were applied to the problem of predicting bridge life.

• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Transportation Research Building
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  Bureau of Bridge and Roadway Technology, T&S Bldg, Room 1009
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • West, H H
  • McClure, R M
  • Gannon, E J
  • Riad, H L
  • Siverling, B E
• Publication Date: 1989-9

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 150 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Average daily traffic; Bridge decks; Bridge substructures; Bridge superstructures; Bridges; Deterioration; Forecasting; Girder bridges; Mathematical models; Nonlinear equations; Prestressed concrete; Regression analysis; Reinforced concrete bridges; Service life
• Old TRIS Terms: Bridge life
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00488749
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-PA-89-016+86-07, PTI 8935, Res Proj No. 86-07
• Contract Numbers: 258607
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 31 1989 12:00AM