A PROPOSED BRIDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR EGYPT: DEVELOPMENT OF THE DATABASE, STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, AND RATING MODULES

Abstract

In Egypt, a large number of existing bridges needs constant maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement. An appropriate bridge management system is necessary for maintenance of existing bridges, as well as for proposing construction of new bridges. The thesis investigates the bridge management subject, especially in Egypt. First, an introduction to bridge management systems is presented with a literature review of the bridge management systems present in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The status of bridges in Egypt is then discussed, with the most common distresses and repair systems highlighted. An integrated bridge management system for Egypt is proposed, taking into account the local status of funds, technologies, and experience. A detailed discussion of the proposed system and its main modules (Database, Inspection and Condition Assessment, Maintenance Process, and Cost modules) is included. Three modules of the proposed system are designed in details: Database module, Structural Analysis sub-module, and Condition Assessment (Rating) sub-module. The database module contains twenty four tables for saving and retrieving bridge inventory, geometric, structural, navigation, inspection, maintenance, and rating data. It also contains input forms for enhancing and simplifying the data-entry process. A bridge coding system is also proposed. The staictural analysis sub-module is developed using a commercial database software and structural analysis software. The d atabase software i s u sed to retrieve saved data for the required bridge and inspection, and then write the analysis input file. The structural analysis software is used to run the input file and obtain analysis results. One form of bridge deterioration is modeled: steel bridges corrosion. ECP truck and distributed live loads are used in the analysis process. Some assumptions are made to ease the bridge modeling process. Various options are available for each bridge item property. The two programming languages Visual Basic (VB) and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) arc used in preparing the analysis module.