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.

TIG remelting

fracture mechanics

Steel structures

Fatigue

welded details

HFMI treatment

Author

Joakim Hedegård

Swerim AB

Mohammad al-Emrani

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering

Martin Edgren

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Asma Manai

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering

Hassan al-Karawi

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering

Zuheir Barsoum

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering

LifeExt - Livslängdsförlängning för befintliga stålbroar

VINNOVA (2017-02670), 2017-06-08 -- 2019-12-31.

Swedish Transport Administration (TRV 2018/27547), 2018-05-15 -- 2020-11-30.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Design

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified

Infrastructure

Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory

Areas of Advance

Materials Science

More information

Latest update

3/10/2022