An Integrated Framework for Seismic Retrofit Strategy Selection in Existing RC Road Bridges
Abstract
The accelerated deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) road bridges built in the second post-war period, combined with increasingly stringent seismic-performance requirements, calls for structured and scientifically grounded procedures for selecting retrofit strategies. This paper proposes an integrated four-phase methodology combining: (i) calculation of the Verified Safety Index (ISV) according to the VAL4 procedure; (ii) estimation of the discounted Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) over a 100-year horizon; (iii) GIS analysis of alternative traffic routes; and (iv) a two-level Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) multi-criteria analysis, supported by five deterministic weighting scenarios. The framework is applied to a three-span Gerber-type RC road bridge (L = 78 m), classified in the highest urgency category (Attention Class CdA 1) according to the Italian bridge-management guidelines, with an initial seismic safety index ISV = 0.06. Three intervention alternatives are compared: (A) in-situ structural upgrading with carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) and concrete jacketing; (B) partial demolition of the central span with FRP upgrading of the retained spans; and (C) full demolition and reconstruction. Alternative C obtains the highest base-case SAW score and remains first in all five weighting scenarios examined. At the base real discount rate of 2%, the 100-year LCC values are €3.98 M for C, €4.45 M for A and €5.84 M for B, preserving the same ranking as the undiscounted…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Current state and future directions for deep learning based automatic seismic fault interpretation: A systematic review
- Physics of Partially Saturated Porous Media: Residual Saturation and Seismic-Wave Propagation
- Modern Imaging Using Seismic Reflection Data
- Effects of marine seismic surveys on free-ranging fauna: a systematic literature review
- A review of the recent seismic activity in the southern part of egypt (upper egypt)
- A review of research on mechanism of seismic attenuation and energy compensation
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.