Simulation of Forensic-Based Diagnostics of RC Beams for Bridge Girder Assessment

Abstract

Bridge inspection commonly involves numerous parameters and requires considerable time and resources. However, practical and rapid methods that reliably represent the structural performance of bridge girders remain limited. This study proposes a simplified inspection approach for evaluating the performance of reinforced concrete bridge girders based on crack length observations. The proposed parameter is correlated with beam performance through theoretical analysis, finite element method (FEM) simulations, and experimental testing. Reinforced concrete beam specimens were used to represent the flexural behaviour of bridge girders. The results show that initial cracking occurs when the tensile rupture stress of concrete is exceeded, corresponding to 11–20% of the ultimate capacity. With increasing load, cracks propagate until the steel reinforcement reaches its yield stress at 71–98% of the ultimate capacity. The crack length at ultimate capacity obtained from experimental testing agrees well with FEM results, with a ratio of 1.05, while a larger deviation is observed with theoretical predictions (ratio = 1.40). Based on these findings, this study introduces a novel crack-length-based structural performance classification. The proposed parameters provide a practical indicator for estimating bridge girder performance through visual crack inspection.

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