Alkali-activated concrete (AAC) is a sustainable alternative to ordinary Portland cement concrete, but its large-scale structural performance remains insufficiently understood, particularly in terms of long-term durability. To ensure safe application, continuous monitoring of AAC structures is essential. This paper develops and validates ultrasonic-based damage indicators (DIs) intended to support future lifetime monitoring of precast AAC bridge members. Full-scale laboratory tests were performed on two prestressed AAC beams and a solid slab consisting of three beams with embedded piezoelectric sensors. Active ultrasonic measurements collected throughout loading were processed to derive two DIs: (1) reduction in waveform coherency using direct wave interferometry to indicate crack initiation, and (2) relative wave velocity obtained from an arrival-time picker to track crack propagation. The waveform coherency-based DI consistently identified the onset of cracking at or even before the first visible cracks appeared in digital image correlation (DIC) images, while the velocity-based DI provided a qualitative measure of crack propagation and orientation. Both indicators responded sensitively once degradation developed, enabling early warning of structural deterioration. The validated DIs are intended to inform the development of a lifetime monitoring scheme on a pilot precast AAC bridge on a Dutch national road. This study also provides a practical pathway toward risk-informed operation and broader adoption of AAC in bridge applications.

Proof load testing on bridges requires high magnitude loads. Stop criteria are used to avoid irreversible damage or failure during proof load testing. These stop criteria are thresholds to measurable parameters during the test. After reaching a stop criterion, the proof load test needs to be terminated. While in the past, stop criteria have been identified as a single level, this research proposes to use a traffic light system for stop criteria: green light (related to the serviceability limit state), yellow light (as an intermediate level) and red light (further testing is not permitted). The green light relates to the development of cracking, whereas the yellow and red light relate to the failure modes of flexure and shear. To develop stop criteria for the brittle failure mode of shear, thresholds are derived from mechanical models, based on strain measurements and crack widths, as well as using acoustic emission measurements. To validate the stop criteria, three series of experiments are analyzed: reinforced concrete slab strips, straight slabs, and skewed slabs. While field validation of the traffic light system is pending, the developed tool is a step forward to safely test concrete bridges without shear reinforcement.

This work presents a concrete-specific analytical framework for modelling body-wave scattering by explicitly tailoring multiple-scattering theory to the microstructural characteristics of concrete. Instead of treating scattering parameters as abstract statistical quantities, the framework parameterizes the key inputs of scattering theory in terms of physically measurable concrete attributes, including coarse aggregate size, volume fraction, and the material property contrast between the matrix and the dominant scattering phase, whether coarse aggregates or the interfacial transition zone. By embedding these microstructure-informed parameters into a two-phase spatial statistical formulation, closed-form expressions for total and transport scattering cross-sections are derived and directly linked to ultrasonic diffusivity through diffuse wave theory. Experimental validation using geopolymer concrete members and published data for ordinary concrete demonstrates consistent agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental measurements across a broad frequency range. The proposed framework therefore renders body-wave scattering in concrete quantitatively computable from material composition, providing a physically grounded basis for quantitative interpretation of diffuse wave transport, energy equilibration, and coda-wave velocity changes without reliance on ad hoc fitting parameters.

Bridges are among the most important infrastructure assets, especially reinforced concrete slab bridges. Many were built with a skew angle instead of straight due to the limited space available. The skewness affects the internal shear force distribution of the slabs and causes shear stress concentration at the obtuse corner. Most of the shear design methods are developed based on straight slabs. Whether these methods apply to skewed slabs is unclear. On the other hand, experiments on skewed slabs are quite limited. Therefore, an experimental programme of skewed slabs was conducted at Delft University of Technology. The slabs have a height of 300 mm, representing a half-scale model of representative solid slab bridges in the Netherlands. A concentrated load was applied close to the edge of the slabs to induce a one-way shear failure. Both the top and bottom surfaces of the slabs were measured using stereo Digital Image Correlation (DIC). This paper presents the design and the results of the experiment. By using the stereo DIC from both surfaces, the internal shear crack propagation is captured. All specimens failed in shear and the results demonstrate that the shear capacity of the slabs decreases as the skewness increases. Moreover, the experiment confirmed that the shear stress concentration is more significant in the obtuse corner than in the acute corner. An evaluation method is proposed to calculate the shear capacity of the skewed slab combined with the Linear Finite Element Analysis. The calculated shear capacity given by the proposed method shows a good alignment with the experimental results.

The next generation of acoustic emission (AE) applications in concrete structural health monitoring (SHM) relies upon a reliable and quantitative relationship between AE measurements and corresponding AE sources. To achieve this, it is a prerequisite to accurately model the whole AE process that is a multiscale coupling process between local material fracturing and induced elastic wave propagation at structural level. Such a complex process, however, cannot be well addressed in currently available modelling methods. To fill this research gap, this study proposes a lattice modelling approach that achieves for the first time the explicit simulation of complete waveforms of transient AE signals induced by concrete fracture. The proposed approach incorporates an explicit time integration technique with a novel proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm for reducing spurious oscillations and a Rayleigh damping-based calculation and calibration method for the attenuation of AE waves. In this paper, the proposed lattice modelling approach is implemented to simulate the concrete Mode-I fracturing process in a three-point bending test. Besides the mechanical behaviors and AE hit number, a comparison was conducted between numerically and experimentally obtained AE waveforms. The AE waveforms and their attenuation characteristics simulated by the proposed lattice modelling method turn out to be comparable to experimental results. The proposed approach is of significance for a deep understanding of AE-related fracture mechanisms and a more reliable application of AE technique.

Inverted T precast girders with a cast-in-situ topping layer, recognized as precast composite girders, are commonly used in Dutch bridge construction. Notably, the bridges built before 1974 often lacked sufficient shear reinforcement, raising concerns about their shear capacity under increasing traffic loads. However, how to assess these composite girders under the scope of the second-generation Eurocode remains challenging, as the shear formulations were originally developed for monolithic structural members. Consequently, their direct applicability to precast composite systems, due to the distinctive stress distribution in the web of the composite structural members, lacks theoretical substantiation and experimental validation. This study first presents the three alternative failure criteria equations based on the same theory, and after that, an experimental investigation of the shear behaviour of precast composite girders through two full-scale tests is discussed. The test data is later used to compare the alternative failure criteria.

This paper proposes a new mechanical model to describe the dowel action with the aim of using the model to gain a deeper understanding of the unstable dowel splitting cracking observed in shear experiments of beams without shear reinforcement. The model was developed by combining beam on elastic foundation (BEF) theory and fracture mechanics. The proposed model is able to predict the whole evolution process of dowel action until the propagation of the dowel splitting crack becomes unstable. The model theoretically proves that the development of a dowel splitting crack can become unstable under certain conditions, therefore leading to the unstable shear failure of the whole member. In addition to the derivation of the analytical model, the paper also validates the model using data from the literature. Finally, an analytical solution of the critical shear displacement that triggers the unstable dowel splitting crack is derived. It can be used to improve the failure criterion initially proposed in the Critical Shear Displacement Theory (CSDT).