BRIDGE INSPECTION AND

MAINTENANCE

Dr Mohd Haziman B Wan Ibrahim

Why
Why We
We Inspect
Inspect Bridges
Bridges Bridge
Bridge Inspection
Inspection

*** TO ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY

Bridges are key element in the road

network. It is therefore necessary to manage
the bridges properly and systematically to
ensure that bridges are always in good
condition and bridge inspection plays an
important part in bridge management
system.
 Bridge Inspection

The main objective of bridge inspection:

 is to ensure that the bridge continues to perform its function
under acceptable conditions of safety and with a minimum
maintenance.
Bridge inspector/designer must understand and able to
identify the various type of defects, both on the materials
and the bridge components.
Several types of inspection that carried out by PWD
BRIDGE UNIT
Inventory inspection
Annual condition inspection
Confirmatory inspection
Detailed inspection
 Bridge Inspection

Inventory inspection
The first inspection carried out on a particular bridge to
collect data.
Inspection is done visually and systematically
Measurements, sketches and photographs are taken and
recorded onto the inventory card.
Annual condition inspection
Mandatory yearly inspection- by JKR district- to ensure that
bridges are safe, functional and well maintained.
Done once a year, preferably during the period after the
flood season.
 Bridge Inspection

Confirmatory inspection
This inspection follows the annual condition inspection, to ensure
reporting done by the tea, (district) are consistent with the
established rating criteria on those bridges which are reported to be
defective. This is carried out by inspection team from the bridge
unit.
The inspection enable the bridge unit to prepare the programme for
detailed inspection.
Detailed inspection
Will be carried out by engineers from bridge unit after confirmatory
inspection identified the need for bridge to be rehabilitated.
Defects inspection , testing samples of defective materials and partly
to assess the cause and extent of damage. Recommendations will
then be made on the most feasible rehabilitation methods.
Common problems for Malaysia Bridges

They are:
i. Problems in concrete members
ii. Problems in steel members
iii. Bearing problems
iv. Joint problems
v. Hydraulic problems
vi. Excessive vibrations
vii. Impact of vehicles
viii. Vegetation growth
PROBLEMS IN STEEL MEMBERS - Corrosion

Corrosion is the deterioration of steel by chemical or

electro-chemical reaction resulting from expose to air,
moisture, air-borne salts, industrial fumes and other
chemicals and contaminants in the environment.
If the damage process continues, it will resulted in
progressive loss of section.
Fig. 6 : Total loss of section of a steel girder bridge
PROBLEMS IN STEEL MEMBERS - Corrosion
In the case of steel truss bridges (Fig. 3) some
corrosion at the connection and damage from
vehicular impact.

Fig. 3 : Deformation of member of a steel truss bridge in

Sarawak due to vehicular impact
PROBLEMS IN STEEL MEMBERS - Corrosion
In the case of corrugated
multi-plate culverts CMPs,
the main problem is
corrosion.
The loss in capacity due to
the corrosion might have
been the cause of the
structural failure (Fig. 5).
No matter, the CMPs are
progressively being Fig. 5: Widespread corrosion
replaced with concrete at bottom half and joints of a
culverts. CMP
PROBLEMS IN STEEL MEMBERS - cracking

It is a linear fracture mainly due to fatique and

can, under certain conditions, lead to brittle
fracture.
Brittle fracture is a crack completely through the
component that usually occurs without warning or
plastic deformation. If the damage process
continues, it will resulted in progressive loss of
section.
PROBLEMS IN STEEL MEMBERS - Permanent
deformations

Permanent deformation of steel members can take

the form of bending, buckling, twisting or
elongation, or any combination of these.
This deformation may be caused by overloading,
vehicular collision, or inadequate or damage
intermediate lateral supports or bracing.
This type of damage may be critical to the integrity
of the member.
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS- direct chemical

Concrete may be
susceptible to direct
chemical or acid attack as
seen in Fig. 7 , but by and
large, cracking and
spalling of concrete are
most common in
Malaysia.
Fig. 7: Acid attack of lime stone
aggregates
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - cracking
It is a linear fracture in concrete which extends partly or
completely through the member.
It is occurs as a results of tensile stresses.
A great many cracks are caused in the early days after
construction by the tensile stresses that result from various
restraints to shrinkage.
The important distinction affecting repair is whether a
crack is dormant or active.
Severity
Hairline crack
Narrow crack
Medium cracks
Wide cracks
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - cracking
Some of the most common types of cracks are:

Plastic Shrinkage Cracks

Drying Shrinkage Cracks
Settlement/Subsidence Cracks
Temperature Induced Cracks
Flexural Cracks
Shear cracks
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - cracking
Plastic shrinkage cracks form in the deck when the
evaporation rate exceeds the bleed rate of newly
placed plastic concrete.
Extreme environmental conditions and high
concrete temperatures increase the surface
evaporation rate and thus increase the deck
vulnerability to plastic shrinkage cracks.
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - Flexural Cracks
Can form when the concrete is in it’s initial maturing
stage just after placement as well as in service.
If unshored, concrete in its plastic stage can develop
flexural cracks in the negative moment regions over
the interior supports of continuous spans due to the
dead weight of the girders plus the newly placed
concrete.
When the deck is in service, the addition of live
loads can also cause cracking in the negative
moment regions.
 LOAD INDUCED CRACK

Flexural problem in RC culvert Flexural and shear problem in beams

(note tension crack at the crown)
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - cracking
 CORROSION INDUCED
The steel reinforcement corrodes and expands causing the
concrete to crack, delaminate and spall (Fig. 8). This is known as
carbonation

Fig. 8: Cracks and spalling of concrete due to carbonation

 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - scalling
 Local flaking or peeling away of the near surface portion of
hardened concrete
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - cracking
 CORROSION INDUCED
The steel reinforcement corrodes and expands causing the
concrete to crack, delaminate and spall (Fig. 8). This is known as
carbonation
 PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - Spalling
Occurs when a segment of the concrete surface,
frequently a rough circular or oval shape, is missing.
Two common causes of spalling are:
Corrosion of the reinforcement
Improperly constructed or maintained joints
Spalling may also be caused by overloading of the
concrete in compression. This result in the breaking off
the concrete cover to the depth of the outer layer of
reinforcement.
It can be occur in areas of localized high compressive load
concentrations, such as at structure supports.
PROBLEMS IN CONCRETE MEMBERS - Spalling

Spalling of concrete piling Concrete spalling reveals severe

rebar corrosion
BRIDGE BEARING PROBLEMS
Problem of walking bearings is rather common in
Malaysian bridges (Fig. 13). Each case may be unique
but all happened in the situation when the bearing is
not uniformly loaded.
Many methods had been used to overcome the
problem but they largely involve provision of restraint
to the existing bearings.
Fig. 13: Walking of the diamond shape bearing
The problem of walking
bearing mainly involves
elastomeric (rubber)
bearings.
There were, however, some
bearing problems related
to mechanical bearings.
In Jambatan Ahmad Shah
Termeloh, the roller pins
of two of the HiLoad type
(a trade name) bearings Fig. 14: Roller pin of the mechanical
bearing for Ahmad Shah Bridge
were displaced
 HYDRAULIC PROBLEMS
Scour is the removal of material from the stream bed
or bank due to the erosive action of moving water in
the stream. It can be general or local.
General scour occur due to constriction to the general
flow created by the structure.
Local scour occurs as a result of an obstruction to the
flow such as, a pier, an abutment or accumulation of
debris such as timber log in the stream,
 HYDRAULIC PROBLEMS

Scouring of river bed, either general scour or local

scour around the piers causes instability of the bridge
(Fig. 16)

Fig. 16: General scouring of river bed at Sg. Jeniang

 Scour
SCOUR is loss of ground support

30
Scour

“Undermining”
is localized
scour under a
Substructure

31
Scour

Scour failure is
most common in
bridges that are
too short

32
 Scour

Scour failure is also common in areas

where the banks are weak and
unprotected by vegetation or riprap 33
 Scour

Is this substructure fully supported?

34
 HYDRAULIC PROBLEMS
Bridge that stretch of water need to be designed to
satisfy not only the structural, but also the hydraulic
requirement.
The hydraulic design includes consideration of both
the capacity of the flood peak through the bridge
opening as well as the ability of the bridge foundation
to withstand the loading imposed on the bridge.
The integrity of the bridges is often jeopardized when
scouring occurs at its foundation.
In Malaysia, bridge failure due to structural damage is
very rare.
The main cause of bridge failure is over-topping of the
bridge deck or washout of embankment during major
floods.
Hydraulic considerations are extremely important
(bridges and culverts). Practicing engineers should
consider the correlations between bridges failure and
hydraulic requirement in their design particularly
proper considerations of the fluid-sediment structure
interaction. This is the main cause of foundation
failure around the structure.
The design philosophy practiced in Public Works
Department build upon the considerations that
bridges may fail due to:
Inadequate flow capacity leading to over-topping of the
bridge deck or, the approach embankments,
Increased loading on the structure from water, sediment
or debris; and
Failure of the foundation or supports as a result of
bridge scouring.
Inadequate flow capacity leading to over-topping of
the bridge deck or, the approach embankments,

Solution for this problem involves the determination

of the design discharge and the flow capacity. The
design discharge can be calculated using either the
measured stream flow data or rainfall records.
Malaysia utilizes a 100-year storm for bridge design
and a 50-year storm for culvert design.
Increased loading on the structure from water,
sediment or debris;
PWD proposes the provision of a freeboard, which is the
vertical distance between the highest water level and the
soffit level of the bridge deck.
0.3 m to 1,0 m is used with the lower value for channels
that are not expected to have debris or floating logs.
If debris or floating logs are expected, the force exerted
by these objects on the piers must also be considered in
the design of the structure.
PWD and its collaborator have indentified many
‘hydraulic defects’ in Malaysian bridges as summarized
below;
Inadequate bridge opening
Inadequate slope protection around abutment
Unsuitable ridge sitting at sharp bends
Piers skewed to river flow;
Obstacles like old bridge piers remain under bridge
Floating logs or debris not removed; and
Rivers and mining activities near the bridge sites.
PWD has adopted the following recommendations
The bridge structure should cross the river
perpendicularly
Abutments should not protrude into the waterway
The number of piers in the river should e minimized
The shape of bridge piers should, as far as possible, be
oval; and
The pile caps should be buried at least 1.2m below the
expected scoured depth.
 Impact of vehicles
Damage of bridge components by impact of vehicles
is common for urban bridges. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show
some recent examples.

Fig. 1: Damage at underside of a beam Fig. 2: Damage at underside of beams of a

in K.L. due to vehicular impact bridge in Shah Alam due to vehicular
impact
 Vegetation growth
Vegetations growing in
bearing shelves of
abutments and piers is also
very common in Malaysian
bridges.
Their presence does not
actually cause any physical
damage to the bridge
component. However, the
roots tend to collect dirt
and retain water which can
cause long term durability Fig. 15: Vegetation growth at bridge abutment

problem.
 Joint problems
Loose Connections
Occur in bolted or riveted connections; and caused by corrosion
of the connector plates or fasteners, excessive vibration, over
stressing, cracking, or the failure of individual fasteners.
It may sometimes not be detectable by visual inspection.
The damage such as cracking, excessive corrosion of the
connector plates or fasteners, or permanent deformation of the
connection or members framing into it, may be indications of a
loose connection.
Tapping the connection with hammer is one method of
determining of the connection is loose.
Joint problems

Failure of welded joint popped up of piece of an

expansion joint.
 Types of damage Bridge Inspection

Water leak
The sign is indicated by dampers, fungus or mould growth and
sometimes vegetation growth.
It is also as a result of defective expansion joint, construction
joint, porous concrete, micro-crack within concrete itself and
inadequate drainage.
Periodic wetting and drying at the leak area will eventually lead
to material deterioration.
 Types of damage Bridge Inspection

Tilt/settlement
Tilt normally occurs due to uneven settlement of foundation,
displacement of pier (inclination) due to traffic impact or slip
circle failure.
The type of damage can be considered as serious and should be
reported immediately.
 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE
 Bridge maintenance avoids larger scale work .
 Bridge maintenance encompasses:
 Cleaning activities, including annual water flush of all decks, drains,
bearings, joints, pier caps, abutment seats, concrete rails, and
parapets.
 activities such as painting, coating and sealant applications and for
routine, minor deck patching and railing repairs.
 Technical and specialized repairs, including jacking up the
structures, crack repairs, epoxy injection, repairing or adjusting
bearing systems, repair and sealing of expansion joints, repair or
reinforcement of main structural members to include stringers,
beams, piers, pier and pile cap, abutments and footings, underwater
repairs, major deck repairs, and major applications of coatings and
sealants.
 Stream channel maintenance including debris removal, stabilizing
banks and correcting erosion problems
 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE Bridge
maintenance

In Malaysia, the Department of Work (JKR) issues an

illustrated guide to classify the type and severity of the
various defects in construction bridges.
It is important to get fuller information about the rates of
deterioration. If deterioration is neglected it will get
worse.
** It is invariably more economical to repair sooner rather
than later and before the need of replacement.
 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE Bridge maintenance

 The initial cost and maintenance cost over the life of the bridge govern
when comparing the economics of different bridge types.
 A general rule is that the bridge with the minimum number of spans, fewest
deck joints, and widest spacing of girders will be the most economical.
 For Example:
(1) By reducing the number of spans in a bridge layout by one span, the
construction cost of one pier is eliminated.
(2) Deck joints are a high maintenance cost item, so minimizing their
number will reduce the life cycle cost of the bridge.
(3) When using the empirical design of bridge decks in the AASHTO (1994)
LRFD Specifications, the same reinforcement is used for deck spans up to
4.1m. Therefore, there is little cost increase in the deck for wider spacing for
girders and fewer girders means less cost although at the “expense” of
deeper sections.
 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE Bridge maintenance

 Generally, concrete structures require less maintenance

than steel structure. The cost and hazard of maintenance
painting of steel structures should be considered in type
selection studies.
 One effective way to reduce the overall project cost is to
allow contractors to propose an alternative design or
designs.
 MEASURES TO IMPROVED DURABILITY
Better concrete covers to reinforcement
Bridge deck water proofing
Durability improvement by using high-strength concrete
or high-performance concrete (HSC/HPC) as well as new
durability designs for concrete bridges in harsh
environments - concrete bridges suffering corrosion in
coastal areas
BRIDGE REPAIR Bridge maintenance

Repairs Using Treated Wood Products:

If treated wood is to be used, ensure it has been treated
with a wood preservative appropriate for the project.
Certain wood treatments (e.g., creosote) must not be used
in or near freshwater.
If treated timber must be cut to size, ensure cutting takes
place away from the bridge and watercourse.
Treated sawdust is harmful to aquatic organisms and must
be prevented from entering any watercourse.
Wood preservatives should not be applied over water
BRIDGE REPAIR Bridge maintenance

Repairs Using Cement-based Products:

If cement-based products are used for repairs of structures in or
near water (i.e., bridge abutments) strict protocols must be
followed to prevent the introduction of raw product or wash
water to a watercourse.
The concrete works should be isolated from water with a
waterproof barrier (e.g., polyethylene sheets and wood forms or
sealed sandbag coffer dams) to prevent leachate generation and
contain leachate and raw materials for the duration of the
product curing period (a minimum of 72 hrs).
If your repair works are small and in areas away from the wetted
portion of the watercourse, isolation of the site is as simple as
ensuring that any wash water generated from the repaired area
is prevented from entering bridge drains and watercourses.
REPAIR TECHNIQUE Bridge maintenance

Deterioration of unwaterproofed bridge decks was more

obvious than the waterproofed bridge decks.
Repair technique grew from traditional building practice
using Portland cement mortar.
Epoxy resins – offer good strength, adhesion and
impermeability
Polyester resins
TREATMENT OF CRACKING Bridge maintenance

Before deciding whether or how to repair cracking, its

cause must first be determined. If monitoring shows that
a crack is widening or lengthening, the structural cause of
this has to be found and remedied.
Example of cracking treatments;
Injection to stabilized cracks.
The crack should be as clean as possible before filling. The pressure
injection usually done.
Epoxies were widely used in USA to inject cracks. From research, the
injecting crack with epoxy restored most of the structural
integrity.
TREATMENT OF CRACKING Bridge maintenance

Epoxy injection uses epoxy resin to penetrate concrete

cracks for the structural restoration of the concrete. Use
of the epoxy injection method for repair is sometimes an
alternative to building a new bridge – a considerable cost
savings – and it usually restores the original structural
integrity of the bridge.
PATCH REPAIRS REPAIR TECHNIQUE

Using
Polyester resin mortar
Epoxy resin mortar with bonding agent
Epoxy resin mortar without bonding agent
Ordinary portland cement mortar
SPRAYED CONCRETE REPAIR TECHNIQUE

Using
Polyester resin mortar
Epoxy resin mortar with bonding agent
Epoxy resin mortar without bonding agent
Ordinary portland cement mortar
 REPAIR TECHNIQUE

 Nature of Problem
Cracks were formed in structural members and spalling and
defective concrete were found on the concrete structures
due to severe corrosion of the steel reinforcement.
The Solution
Formwork grouting and patching were the major scope of
works to repair the defective concrete. Strengthening to
some of the beams was required to reinstate the original
capacity of the beams. Protective coating was applied on the
exposed concrete surface.