Mini-Symposia
 


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 MS 1 Field Tests for Bridge Assessment
Ayaho Miyamoto
Yamaguchi University
Ube, Japan
miya818@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
Ilkka Hakola
VTT Technical Research Centre
Espoo, Finland
ilkka.hakola@vtt.fi

Bridge condition assessment is becoming one of the most important research topic for evaluating bridge performance in not only bridge management system, but also bridge health monitoring system. Following the Special Session on Bridge Condition Assessment organized at the IABMAS 2010 Conference, we propose a Mini-Symposium on field tests related to bridge condition assessment. Then the major concerns in the Mini-Symposium will focus on what kind of field test methods including sensors, measuring equipments, etc. are available to assess the deteriorating bridge performance from various points of view.

 
 MS 2 SmartEN ITN - Smart Management for Sustainable Built Environment Including Bridges and Structural Systems
Toula Onoufriou
Cyprus University of Technology
Lemesos, Cyprus
t.onoufriou@cut.ac.cy
Rosemarie Helmerich
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing
Berlin, Germany
rosemarie.helmerich@bam.de

The SmartEN Marie Curie Initial training Network (ITN) is an EU funded programme which aims to train the next generation of research leaders in the field of smart proactive management of the built and natural environment by effectively developing and integrating novel wireless sensor network and digital signal processing technologies with non-destructive evaluation and proactive management for the benefit of a sustainable built and natural environment. The research focus includes multi-disciplinary research programmes on bridges, structural systems, heritage and infrastructure, transportation infrastructure and urban micro-climate. The SmartEN consortium comprises of 15 leading organizations (universities, research institutes and companies) and 9 distinguished scientists from around the world. The project encompasses research and training programmes for 19 Marie Curie Fellows as well as horizontal integration multi-disciplinary research projects in key application areas. The mini-symposium will focus on research in a number of key areas from within the scope of SmartEN ITN including bridges and structural systems (http://www.smarten-itn.eu).

 
 MS 3 Research and Applications in Bridge Health Monitoring
F. Necati Catbas
University of Central Florida
Orlando, USA
catbas@ucf.edu
Joan R. Casas
Technical University of Catalonia
Barcelona, Spain
joan.ramon.casas@upc.edu
Hitoshi Furuta
Kansai University
Takatsuki, Japan
furuta@res.kutc.kansai-u.ac.jp
Dan Frangopol
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA, USA
dan.frangopol@lehigh.edu

This mini-symposium is the continuation of successful mini-symposia conducted in IABMAS 2008 in Seoul, Korea and 2010 in Philadelphia, USA. Bridge health monitoring (BHM) is typically used to track and evaluate performance, symptoms of operational incidents, anomalies due to deterioration and damage, as well as health during and after extreme events. It is possible to capture seasonal and environmental changes not readily apparent from intermittent tests. Bridge health monitoring, which is a special case of structural health monitoring, can be expected to integrate sensing technologies, analysis methods and information technology for infrastructure management.
There are numerous real-life BHM applications around the world. New advances in sensor and information technologies and the wide use of the Internet make BHM a promising technology for better management of bridges. Large-scale applications have been presented at a number of specialty conferences and workshops. In spite of the recent activity in this area and the successes achieved, this technology is not gaining acceptance by bridge owners and practicing engineers. We need to close the gap between theory and practice. There are many challenges remaining that must be overcome for successful BHM applications. As a result, there is still a lot of research to bee conducted and then demonstrated before routine applications of BHM can be expected to take place.
This mini-symposium if focusing particularly on the research needs for BHM systems and benchmark studies, and integration of BHM analysis methods for decision making. The mini-symposium covers the following topics and other related topics in the broad area of "Research and Application for Bridge health Monitoring":

  • Long term monitoring applications of bridges;
  • Management and maintenance oriented monitoring applications;
  • Research in reliability based bridge health monitoring;
  • Research in local and global monitoring for bridges;
  • Benchmark studies for collective research;
  • Research in novel technologies such as GPS, computer vision, novel materials.
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     MS 4 Risk Based Bridge Management
    Leo Klatter
    Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment
    Utrecht, The Netherlands
    leo.klatter@rws.nl

    This mini-symposium is organized by the technical committee on Bridge Management within IABMAS. The mini symposium addresses the introduction of elements of risk management in bridge management.
    Ageing and deteriorating bridge stock call for more intense inspections and maintenance. At the same time the use of the network intensifies, while demands of network performance increase. Means are scarce both money and staff. The introduction of (elements of) risk management will help to make bridge management more effective and efficient.
    The mini-symposium consists of three sessions, each addressing a field of bridge management.

     
     MS 5 Reliability Analysis of Bridge Structures
    Franck Schoefs
    University of Nantes
    Nantes, France
    Franck.Schoefs@univ-nantes.fr
    Francesca Lanata
    University of Nantes
    Nantes, France
    Francesca.Lanata@univ-nantes.fr

    Probability-based reliability methods have placed an increased emphasis on realistic simulation of structural behaviour in bridge engineering to investigate the critical effects of bridge deterioration over long periods and optimise the maintenance interventions. Aleatory uncertainties in the loading and load-carrying capacities and epistemic uncertainties in mathematical idealization of bridge systems are the major contributors to uncertain structural response and are associated to the changing environmental actions (temperature, extreme loads such as seismic, etc.). The objective of the mini-symposium is the critical review of the current methods of reliability analysis in bridge engineering and maintenance, and the proposal of new efficient methods for bridge components using existing concepts of probability, structural reliability, finite element analysis, and structural health monitoring (SHM).

     
     MS 6 Extreme Events of Long Span Bridges: Design, Assessment and Management
    Airong Chen
    Tongji University
    Shanghai, China
    a.chen@tongji.edu.cn

    Long span bridges are always key connections on highways. Therefore, it is greatly important and necessary to make sure that these bridges can survive and maintain good service performance during extreme events, such as hurricane, flood, and even terrorism attack, during their life time.
    This mini-symposium aims to provide an international platform to exchange experiences and the latest research achievements related to the extreme events of long span bridges. All research in this field is welcome in this mini-symposium, especially bridge design method and process against extreme events, quantitative assessment method of extreme events, management and maintenance strategy optimization of long span bridges considering extreme events and so on.

     
     MS 7 Smart SHM and Application to Bridge Condition Assessment and Maintenance
    Yunfeng Zhang
    University of Maryland
    College Park, MD, USA
    zyf@umd.edu
    Hoon Sohn
    KAIST
    Seoul, Korea
    hoonsohn@kaist.ac.kr
    Chunsheng Wang
    Chang'an University
    Xi'an, China
    wcs2000@chd.edu.cn
    Daniele Zonta
    University of Trento
    Trento, Italy
    daniele.zonta@unitn.it

    This mini-symposium focuses on smart structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies for bridge condition assessment and maintenance. Smart SHM technologies include smart sensors and sensor data processing for structural diagnosis and prognosis applications. The objective of this symposium is to provide a forum for presenting the current status of R&D activities in the smart SHM technologies for potential remote online bridge condition assessment and maintenance applications. Currently three sessions are under organization in this mini-symposium: Session (1) - Smart SHM for steel bridges, Session (2) - Smart SHM for concrete bridge applications, Session (3) - Sensors and supporting technologies for smart SHM.

     
     MS 8 Monitoring and Assessment of Bridges using Novel Techniques
    Alfred Strauss
    University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
    Vienna, Austria
    alfred.strauss@boku.ac.at
    Dan Frangopol
    Lehigh University
    Bethlehem, PA, USA
    dan.frangopol@lehigh.edu

    Assessment and monitoring concepts for bridges become more and more important in the intervention planning (e.g., maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement) for new and existing bridges. Nevertheless, there is still a strong demand for the development and efficient use of novel techniques for monitoring and assessment of bridges. These techniques affect intervention and maintenance strategies and in consequence cost optimization concepts. Therefore, the objective of this Mini-symposium is to highlight the recent developments in science and practice and to formulate the next necessary steps. This Mini-symposium provides the opportunity to disseminate and discuss novel techniques regarding assessment, monitoring and maintenance techniques of bridges.

     
     MS 9 Inverse Reliability Analyses Techniques for the Lifetime Assessment of Bridges
    Roman Wendner
    University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
    Vienna, Austria
    roman.wendner@boku.ac.at
    Alfred Strauss
    University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
    Vienna, Austria
    alfred.strauss@boku.ac.at
    Dan Frangopol
    Lehigh University
    Bethlehem, PA, USA
    dan.frangopol@lehigh.edu
    Konrad Bergmeister
    University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
    Vienna, Austria
    konrad.bergmeister@boku.ac.at

    This mini-symposium focuses on smart structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies for bridge condition assessment and maintenance. Smart SHM technologies include smart sensors and sensor data processing for structural diagnosis and prognosis applications. The objective of this symposium is to provide a forum for presenting the current status of R&D activities in the smart SHM technologies for potential remote online bridge condition assessment and maintenance applications. Currently three sessions are under organization in this mini-symposium: Session (1) - Smart SHM for steel bridges, Session (2) - Smart SHM for concrete bridge applications, Session (3) - Sensors and supporting technologies for smart SHM.

     
     MS 10 Advances on Structural Robustness and Redundancy of Bridges
    Fabio Biondini
    Politecnico di Milano
    Milan, Italy
    biondini@stru.polimi.it
    Dan Frangopol
    Lehigh University
    Bethlehem, PA, USA
    dan.frangopol@lehigh.edu

    Notable events of bridge collapses due to accidental loads, environmental aggressiveness and related phenomena, such as corrosion and fatigue, indicated structural robustness and redundancy as key factors for a rational approach to design of deteriorating bridges and infrastructure systems. However, the concept of robust structures, or damage-tolerant structures, is still an issue of controversy, since there are no well established and generally accepted criteria for a consistent definition and a quantitative measure of structural robustness. Moreover, it should be emphasized the role played by structural redundancy in avoiding disproportionate damage or progressive collapse. In fact, even though they are often used as synonymous, the terms robustness and redundancy denote different properties of the structural system. Structural robustness can be viewed as the ability of the system to suffer an amount of damage not disproportionate with respect to the causes of the damage itself. Structural redundancy can instead be defined as the ability of the system to redistribute among its members the load which can no longer be sustained by some other damaged members. The aim of this mini-symposium is to present advances on this subject and to provide conceptual and analytical design tools that can effectively be implemented in design practice for measuring and evaluating structural robustness and redundancy of bridges with respect to prescribed sources of damage.

     
     MS 11 Architectural and Engineering issues regarding Inspection and Maintenance of Historical Bridges
    Pier Giorgio Malerba
    Politecnico di Milano
    Milan, Italy
    malerba@stru.polimi.it
    Vladimir Kristek
    Czech Technical University
    Prague, Czech Republic
    VladimirKristek@seznam.cz

    Bridge inspection and maintenance aim mainly to the safety and to the efficiency of the bridge as an element of the infrastructural network. A modern bridge is designed for a given service life and it is destined to be substituted when it becomes no longer suitable for the traffic demand. However, a large number of the existing bridges are quite hold and, many of them, have historical relevance or for their intrinsic value, as engineering masterpieces, or why some particular event recall the historical role of that bridges. Obviously these bridges cannot be dealt as a modern construction and also the aims of refurbishment works cannot be limited to the usual ones concerning modern bridges. In fact, their building typologies, the technologies and the materials used for these bridges were very different from those used today, and so were the traffic loads considered for the structural checks.
    Dealing with old structures, we cannot avoid framing them into the context of their time, before assuming any sort of decision and/or to choosing any sort of intervention.
    The major aspects that must be taken in considered usually regard possible changes in the geo-morphology of the territory where the bridge is located, in the riverbed geometry, in the attitude of the bridge, and a deepen examination of the conservation or damaging states of the structural and of the finishing elements.
    Another relevant aspect to be dealt with is the strong differences among the traffic loads given by present codes and those assumed at the time of construction, when also the speed was lower and when usually two lanes only were sufficient.
    Aim of this Mini-Symposium is the stir contributions on this special topic, in order to overview the more relevant problems involved, the inspection procedures, the structural analysis criteria, the solutions explored until now and, mainly, the unique technical and human histories which the historical bridges represent.

     
     MS 12 Brick and Stone Masonry Bridge Safety and Durability
    Andrea Benedetti
    University of Bologna
    Bologna, Italy
    andrea.benedetti@unibo.it
    Lorenzo Jurina
    Politecnico di Milano
    Milan, Italy
    studio.jurina@jurina.it

    This mini-symposium is aimed to discuss criteria for the safety assessment and maintenance planning of a bridge typology which includes a huge number of structures mainly built shortly after the II World War or earlier, by using an impressive number of different materials, but with a principal structural economy based on the use of vaults and arches to pass over rivers or creeks. In general, bridges of this type present acceptable maintenance conditions due to the absence of steel elements; it is however to say that bricks and mortars can be damaged by weathering. The evaluation of seismic capacity of these structures and possible repair techniques based on innovative composite materials are other topics which are under debate in the scientific community. The establishment of evaluation and repair protocols is the goal of this mini-symposium.

     
     MS 13 Lifetime Design, Assessment, and Maintenance of Super Long-Span Bridges
    Hyun-Moo Koh
    Seoul National University
    Seoul, Korea
    hmkoh@snu.ac.kr
    Soobong Shin
    Inha University
    Incheon, Korea
    sbshin@inha.ac.kr
    Ho-Kyung Kim
    Seoul National University
    Seoul, Korea
    hokyungk@snu.ac.kr
    Nam-Sik Kim
    Pusan National University
    Busan, Korea
    nskim@pusan.ac.kr

    This mini-symposium is a continuation of a successful mini-symposium offered during IABMAS 2010 in Philadelphia. Super long-span bridges are expected to meet special requirements due to their socio-economic importance, harsh environment, structural complexity and uniqueness. Among these, the lifetime of long span bridges, which is demanded to be more than 150 years in typical, is a key issue in bridge engineering including design, material, construction, and maintenance. Recently diverse activities related to these topics have been introduced and carried out throughout the world. One of the R&D examples is the ?Super long-span bridge R&D Center? funded by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs of Korea working for upgrading the level of engineering technology in this area. This mini-symposium intends to review and discuss the current issues and the state-of-the-art technologies focusing on the lifetime design, assessment, and maintenance of cable supported long-span bridges.

    The mini-symposium covers the following topics and others related:

    • Lifetime design and analysis of long-span bridges
    • IT-based measurement techniques for long-span bridges
    • Assessment of wind-induced vibration of long-span bridges
    • Monitoring, assessment, and maintenance of long-span bridges
    • Related topics with laboratory or field experiments on cable-supported bridges
     
     
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