Title: Investigation, Assessment and Repair of Fire Damaged Pre-Stressed Concrete (PSC) Beams

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Publication: CIA

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Date: 2/13/2011

Abstract:
Fire damage to bridges is not a frequent occurrence compared to fire in domestic, commercial or industrial buildings or domestic houses. Whereas a fire in a building can be fuelled and maintained by an abundance of combustible materials, a fire on a bridge being an outdoor structure may be the result of a vehicle accident, particularly involving flammable materials or burning rubber tyres from overturned vehicles. Although the severity of fire damage on bridge components may not be as severe as in buildings, it can nevertheless cause significant disruption to the operation of a bridge and the travelling public, depending on the extent and severity of damage and whether pre-stressing steel is involved. Immediate safety measures may include totally or partially closing down a bridge in association with reduced speed limits as part of an overall traffic management response, posting a load limit or placing netting to collect fragments of spalling concrete. This paper presents the investigation, assessment and proposed repair of two large fire damaged pre-stressed concrete (PSC) beams on a significant multi-span bridge on a major freeway northeast of Melbourne.