Selective maintenance planning of a steel truss bridge based on the Markovian approach

摘要

Structures of strategic importance, such as bridges, require careful planning in terms of reliability, durability and safety, qualities which must be guaranteed throughout the entire life cycle of the structure. However, due to the ageing of materials and to aggressive environmental actions which cause deterioration, the response of these structures, just like others, changes over time, resulting in a loss of performance. Yet it is important to maintain a satisfactory level of performance in a bridge throughout its service. To ensure such a performance it is important to apply properly planned maintenance strategies. Appropriate maintenance strategies require knowledge of the process of deterioration and the consequent damages to be expected in order to schedule proper maintenance procedures. It would be fundamental to define a selective maintenance plan which may involve only some parts Of the structure, thus allowing bridge viability even during the maintenance activity.