ABSTRACT
Structures have more than one design life. Nowadays, modern structural engineers are advised to implement novel methods and technologies to provide a second service life for existing structures. Structural and fatigue safety of bridges shall be verified using data from in-situ long term structural monitoring to update traffic action effects. More realistic and precise data on structural behaviour allow for extending significantly the service life of fatigue prone structures. If strengthening interventions are necessary, their objective must be to effectively improve the structure. A novel technology is presented to improve bridges using Ultra-High Performance Fibre Reinforced Cement-based composite materials (UHPFRC). This technology is applied in Switzerland for more than 10 years because it is cost-effective while it significantly extends the service life and reduces maintenance of the improved bridges.
