Determination of loading protocol and stop criteria for proof loading with beam tests

At the fib symposium 2017, I presented a paper titled “Determination of loading protocol and stop criteria for proof loading with beam tests”. The abstract of the paper is as follows:

Proof loading of existing bridges is an interesting option when insufficient information about a bridge is available. To safely carry out a proof loading test, high loads are placed on the bridge. To avoid permanent damage to the structure, a controlled loading protocol needs to be described, and the measurements need to be closely monitored to identify the onset of distress. The criteria from existing codes and guidelines to evaluate the measurements, called stop criteria, are not universally applicable. To develop recommendations for proof loading of reinforced concrete solid slab bridges, beam experiments were analysed. The beams were heavily instrumented to evaluate the existing stop criteria, and possibly develop new stop criteria. The result of these experiments is the development of a standard loading protocol for the proof loading of reinforced concrete slab bridges. Recommendations for the use of the stop criteria are also formulated. These insights are used to develop a new guideline for the proof loading of reinforced concrete slab bridges in the Netherlands.

Here you can find the slides of the presentation: