Title:
Developing Deterioration Models for Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Bridges
Author(s):
Morcous
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_S23_Morcous.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
4/2/2023
Abstract:
Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is commonly used decision-support approach for bridge management. Bridge management systems aim for assessing investment decisions and identifying the most cost-effective improvement alternatives to ensure the safety and serviceability of bridge networks. To achieve this goal, deterioration models and cost data of highway bridges are needed for conducting LCCA using deterministic and probabilistic approaches. Three example decisions are addressed in this presentation: bridge deck overlay decisions, expansion joint replacement decisions, and deck widening versus deck replacement decisions. For deck overlay decisions, silica fume overlay, epoxy polymer overlay, and polyester overlay are compared against bare deck with respect to life cycle cost and structural life. In expansion joint replacement decisions, two alternatives are compared: relocating abutment expansion joints at the grade beam; and replacing abutment expansion joints at the same place. Deck widening is compared with deck replacement in five different bridge conditions. Several deterioration models were developed to analyze these decisions. Analysis results indicated that applying epoxy polymer overlay on bare deck at condition rating 7 is the most cost effective deck overlay decision, replacing abutment expansion joint at the same place is more cost effective than relocating them at the grade beam, and deck widening is significantly more cost effective than deck replacement in most cases.