ABSTRACT
Depending on the structural condition at the time a survey is conducted, it might seem that a limited assessment of the status is sufficient, but even when only local damages are visible, it can be necessary to investigate the entire structure. The decision to what extent the assessment has to be carried out will usually be made on the basis of a preliminary visual inspection, as well as the experience of the engineer. However, it can be necessary to adapt the scheduled investigations on site due to the results achieved during the survey. In all cases the assessment of the structure’s condition has to be done with high accuracy because the results are the basis for selecting the specific repair options as well as repair methods. Figure 3.1 shows an example of a time-consuming assessment in which the load-bearing capacity of the structure was severely impaired by chloride attack, which is the need for this complicated assessment. The complexity of the assessment was due not only to the size of the structure, but also to the location of the structure. The structure is located in the tidal zone on the German coast, so all investigations had to be done with large rigs instead of boats, which limited the possible times of assessment.
