Long-term performance monitoring and assessment of concrete beam bridges using neutral axis indicator

Long-term performance of existing bridge structures provides stakeholders with information that facilitates decision making for reasonable and optimal maintenance and management. The neutral axis (NA) is a potentially reliable and robust indicator to evaluate bridge performance since it depends on the loss of elastic modulus or effective sectional area. In this study, the NA indicator is defined and derived, and it is combined with the statistical characteristics of the NA distribution, to assess long-term structural performance. A systematic long-term performance assessment framework based on NA is also proposed. The NA is estimated from strain measurements and related practical signal processing methods. To validate the proposed framework, strain signals acquired from a preinstalled structural health monitoring system on an existing concrete beam bridge were analyzed. For the long-term performance assessment, an NA database was established. The statistical characteristics of the NA sample in the daily evaluation cycle were obtained to evaluate the performance. The results show that different cross sections have their own estimated NA; and during the monitoring period, the NA indicators fluctuate within a reasonable range. With the increase of monitoring data, these results can be continually updated. It can be concluded that the proposed NA indicator, along with the related framework, can be employed effectively in the condition assessment of concrete box girder bridges for long-term health monitoring.