Measurement and testing techniques used in verifying the load-bearing capacity of a bridge over the Main-Danube Canal

The article describes the methods used which successfully demonstrated that the very expensive alternatives of a new replacement bridge or extensive repairs were unnecessary.

Damage found on the Baiersdorf Bridge over the Main-Danube Canal was the reason for verifying the load-bearing capacity of the roadway structure. This work was carried out within the scope of the EXTRA co-operative research project which was supported by the BMBF. The methods used were based on on-line measurement technology which supplied real-time information about the loading state and the reaction of the structure, and also on fail-safe loading equipment for the non-destructive application of the test limit-load.

By Marco Tschötschel, Rainer Ehmann, Heinz Opitz, Jochen Quade and Peter Schwesinger