LifeExt -Prolonged life for existing steel bridges -Livslängdsförlängning av befintliga stålbroar Open report / Publik rapport

Report, 2020

Many bridges in the world have reached, or exceeded, their design fatigue life. It is a challenge for society to wisely manage this huge asset of old bridges. Replacing bridges because their theoretical life span is reached is not a sustainable solution, neither from societal nor economical point of view. Therefore, methods for accurate assessment and techniques for extending the service life of existing infrastructures are on top of priorities of all industrial countries. The LifeExt project reported here was created to address these issues, to enable substantial life extension for existing bridges by applying weld improvement techniques locally on selected (most critical) positions on a bridge. These areas receive faster damage accumulation and by improving these areas, the whole bridge life can be prolonged.