Condition assessment of concrete structures and bridges using vibration monitoring in comparison to changes in their static properties

The thesis deals with the non-destructive condition assessment of civil engineering structures made of reinforced and prestressed concrete as well as bridges and concentrates on a comparison of static and dynamic investigation methods. The main questions discuss the sensitivity of changes in static as well as in dynamic properties during the mechanical lifetime of those types of structures under laboratory conditions, the sensitivity of these changes when testing in-situ and the dimension of undesired environmental influences on the dynamic properties. Therefore, a gradually loaded laboratory reinforced concrete beam (cp. chapter 7) and a reinforced as well as a prestressed concrete slab (cp. chapter 8) are investigated for changes in their static and dynamic parameters until reaching their ultimate loads. Furthermore, a successively damaged and stepwise loaded laboratory reinforced concrete slab and a prestressed concrete slab (cp. also chapter 8) are under investigation and also compared in changes in their static as well as in dynamic properties during their lifetimes. By means of static and dynamic tests on a successively damaged and stepwise loaded prestressed concrete bridge (cp. chapter 9) it was possible to investigate the amount of changes in static and dynamic properties for a real in-situ object. A long-term measurement of a composite bridge (cp. chapter 10) demonstrates the environmental influences on the static and dynamic properties of a system which have to be considered when conducting comparative non-destructive condition assessment techniques on real objects. All tests are calculated respectively simulated by the method of the integration of stress (cp. chapter 6) or the finite element method by using the softwares ANSYS and SOFISTIK. Furthermore, measured eigenfrequencies and modeshapes are used to adapt finite element models with the aim to improve the model or to locate and quantify damaged areas. The work is a contribution to the application of non-destructive static and dynamic condition assessment methods on civil engineering structures made of concrete in the sector of civil engineering.