Fiume Po Bridge (case study)

The Fiume Po Bridge is a prestressed reinforced continuous bridge, with alternated Gerger-hinges simply supported spans, located over the Po River, along the A21 Italian highway between Piacenza and Cremona cities. The total lenght of the bridge is 1673,50m. The portion of the structure under monitoring is the one crossing over the Po River and consists of 11 spans supported by 12 piers placed at a distance of 61.5m. Specifically, there are 6 continuous spans and 5 simply supported Gerber spans. The length of the monitored section described above is approximately 676.5 meters. The precast deck, 24m wide, has 6 longitudinal beams and transverse beams.


Object description

(No object description available.)

Civil engineering type
:
Road network Bridge
Year of construction
:
1970
Composed of materials
:
Location coordinates
:
45° 5' 56.89" N, 10° 1' 13.40" E
Country
:
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Object analysis

The structural assessment of the Fiume Po Bridge has been undertaken due to reliability checks required by the road operator, and reviewed by two independent international Engineering firms (as per Autovia Padana internal assessment procedure). As a result of the seismic assessment, the prestressed gerber deck will be replaced by a steel deck solution. The Fiume Po bridge has been subject to continuous monitoring since February 2020 as part of a consulting project (Sacertis Ingegneria srl), to control the structural behaviour over time and optimize the maintenance procedures until the deck replacement. A non-linear FE model has been calibrated using optimization algorithms based on the static load test and dynamic characterization of the structural response through long-term data analytics. The definition of the thresholds, for each sensor of the monitoring system, has been based on the simulation of significant damage scenarios causing a targeted reduction of the reliability levels.

Case type
:
Consulting

Object state

The Fiume Po Bridge experienced undermining of footings and exposed foundation piles in the piers located in the riverbed. In some of the beams, few strands of the prestressing cables were found corroded during the inspections. Concrete spalling and reinforcement steel corrosion were observed. A Sacertis continuous monitoring system is active on the structure since February 2020, with the aim to control the structural behaviour over time and optimize the maintenance procedures. It consists of 220 biaxial MEMS clinometers and 100 triaxial MEMS accelerometers, installed on the deck and the piers of the 11 monitored spans. In each sensor box are present a temperature and humidity detectors. Prior information available were: drawings, design documents, results of the proof load test. A calibrated non-linear FE model based on the static load test and dynamic characterization of the structural response through long-term data analytics has been used to determine the warning and alarm thresholds levels.

Observed deterioration processes
:
Observed damage types
:
Performance indicators
:
Deformation, Displacement, Dynamic response (acceleration/damping/frequencies), Material mechanical properties

Images

Fiume Po Bridge 1.jpeg
Fiume Po Bridge 2.jpeg
Fiume Po Bridge 3.jpg

Documents

(No documents available for this case study.)



This case study was contributed by Paola Darò of SafeCertifiedStructure Ingegneria S.r.l.. Last edited by technical staff.