Condition and criticality-based predictive maintenance prioritisation for networks of bridges

Abstract

Numerous bridges are exposed to increasingly frequent and intense extreme events due to climate change, while serving more traffic than originally designed due to population growth. Thus, predictive maintenance of bridges is of paramount importance for securing structural safety and bridge network reliability. However, the application of predictive maintenance for networks of bridges, considering condition and criticality of bridges within the network, has not seen much attention in practice and literature. Presented herein is a maintenance prioritisation method for networks of bridges, based on: a deterioration model for individual components considering uncertainty; life-cycle cost analysis; grouping of components maintenance to reduce traffic interruption and setup cost; and criticality evaluation of bridges using a specifically tailored version of closeness vitality and traffic simulation. This method has been applied to a network of 21 bridges in Portugal, composed of several heterogeneous elements. It showed a substantial decrease in maintenance cost, compared to the Structures Investment Toolkit, and significant differences between criticality of bridges within a network. The proposed methodology can be applied to any networks of bridges or serve as the basis for updated maintenance decision support systems for infrastructure asset networks.