Proof load testing of reinforced concrete slab bridges in the Netherlands

The bridges built during the development of the Dutch road network after the Second World War are reaching their originally devised service life. A large subset of the Dutch bridge stock consists of reinforced concrete slab bridges. This bridge type often rates insufficient according to the recently introduced Eurocodes. Therefore, more suitable...

Shear capacity of the Ruytenschildt bridge

In August 2014, the Ruytenschildt Bridge, a reinforced concrete solid slab bridge (reinforced with plain bars) in the Friesland province in the Netherlands was tested until failure. One of the goals of proof loading and testing this bridge to failure, was to study the failure mode of existing slab bridges. The combination of smaller shear...

Defining loading criteria for proof loading of existing reinforced concrete bridges

As the bridge stock in The Netherlands and Europe is ageing, various methods to analyse existing bridges are bemg studied. Proof loading of bridges is an option to study the capacity when crucial information about the structure is lacking. This information could be related to the material (for example, the effect of alkali-silica reaction on the...