Highway bridges in the United States are experiencing the problems of aging, corrosion, and excessive cracking of concrete. It is important to evaluate these deficiencies in terms of the remaining strength of the bridge structure. The problem of determining the current capacity and remaining life of the bridge is very complex because of the many and varied factors involved. This project will investigate the development of a computer program which will take into account the various defects and aging parameters of the material estimate its strength and rate of decay. The study will concentrate on the behavior of a scale model bridge with various intentional defects added to it to develop an appropriate methodology for future full-scale use by bridge engineers.
