Bridge load testing

Abstract

Bridge load testing is one of the tools engineers are using for the assessment of existing bridges, which is becoming increasingly important to manage the existing bridge stock in a sustainable manner. Over the past years, various research groups have worked on theoretical and practical research regarding load testing. Moreover, various international committee work on load testing recommendations. This paper provides an overview of recent research efforts in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The way in which recent research efforts are implemented in new committee reports and guidelines is highlighted. Overall, the efforts have focused on combining load testing with insights in structural behavior, applying improved instrumentation techniques, combining with numerical analyses, and providing a probabilistic substantiation. In conclusion: bridge load testing is a dynamic field of research that benefits from international collaboration. Further improvements to existing codes and guidelines will be forthcoming in the next years.