Repair programs development taking into account the presence of high-risk defects on bridges

Introduction. In recent years in Ukraine, the weight and traffic volume of vehicles on the roads have increased significantly. Most of the bridges that are operating on these roads were built according to norms, the design loadings of which are not corresponding to the modern loadings on transport facilities.Problem Statement. The issue of bridges operation with defects of the structure in the condition of limited funding of the road industry become particularly relevant at the present stage, as the age of bridges is constantly increasing, and the resource of their elements is being expiring.Due to limited funding, the economic and time components of the designed models have a significant impact on the quality of performed calculations and the determination of the optimal strategy for performing of repairing work in specified conditions. The choice of planned works is determined during repairing plans development, both for evaluation of the current state of bridges and for determination of predicted bridge repairing terms.Purpose. the purpose of the work is the development of further optimization of the mode of repairs plan development to eliminate existing defects of bridges.Materials and methods. During the determination of repairs cost in the Analytical Expert Bridge Management System (AESUM), the average norms of the work volume were used. This method was limited by the fact that cost calculations were constant and did not consider actual defects of the bridges. The experience of the constructed bridges operation over 40–50 years revealed a significant number of various defects of structure, mainly of spans and piers. The causes of defects are long-term operation without proper maintenance, as well as a number of shortcomings during the design and construction of bridges. In order to further mode optimization of repair plans development, the existing defects on the bridges were studied from the point of view of their impact on the further destruction of certain elements of the bridge, or the facility as a whole, on the acceleration of this process. Such defects have been identified as high risk defects.Results. Scientists of «DerzhdorNDI» SE have developed and applied the technique of repair cost determination by formation of works complex to eliminate existing defects at the inspected facilities. A module for bridge repair planning has been developed considering the need for priority elimination of high risk defects.Conclusions. The technique of repairs cost determination was developed, as well as the module for bridge repair planning considering the need for priority elimination of high risk defects.Keywords: highway bridge, Analytical Expert Bridge Management System (AESUM), repairs cost determination, defect on bridges.