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La infraestructura, particularment els ponts, és essencial perquè el món modern funcioni sense problemes. Aquestes estructures són crucials per al transport, el comerç i les interaccions socials, i la seva gestió adequada és vital per a garantir la seva longevitat i seguretat. Per tant, és necessari aplicar sistemes de gestió com el Modelatge d'Informació d'Edificacions (BIM, per les seves sigles en anglès) i els Sistemes de Gestió d'Edificacions (BMS, per les seves sigles en anglès). Aquesta tesi té com a objectiu demostrar l'eficàcia d'un BMS basat en BIM per a la gestió de ponts. Les dades de BIM i BMS s'integren mitjançant el desenvolupament d'un esquema de dades, que serveix com a base per a crear elements estructurals detallats. El model paramètric desenvolupat amb el modelatge basat en algorismes i l'alineament en algorismes permet adequar qualsevol projecte de manera més ràpida i eficient. La metodologia desenvolupada per a aquest propòsit garanteix que la informació continguda en l'esquema de dades es tradueixi en elements estructurals precisos i exactes en el model. Aquests elements estructurals detallats s'utilitzen després per a crear el BMS, que proporciona monitoratge en temps real, control i recomanacions de manteniment per als ponts. El BMS desenvolupat en aquesta tesi s'aplica a un sistema pilot de gestió de ponts per a demostrar la seva importància i usabilitat. Els resultats mostren que el BMS pot ajudar a gestionar la infraestructura de manera més eficient, especialment en el cas dels ponts. Pot detectar problemes potencials abans que es tornin greus i permetre que es prenguin accions correctives oportunes, millorant la vida útil i la seguretat. La infraestructura, particularmente los puentes, es esencial para que el mundo moderno funcione sin problemas. Estas estructuras son cruciales para el transporte, el comercio y las interacciones sociales, y su gestión adecuada es vital para garantizar su longevidad y seguridad. Por lo tanto, es necesario aplicar sistemas de gestión como el Modelado de Información de Edificaciones (BIM, por sus siglas en inglés) y los Sistemas de Gestión de Edificaciones (BMS, por sus siglas en inglés). Esta tesis tiene como objetivo demostrar la eficacia de un BMS basado en BIM para la gestión de puentes. Los datos de BIM y BMS se integran mediante el desarrollo de un esquema de datos, que sirve como base para crear elementos estructurales detallados. El modelo paramétrico desarrollado con el modelado basado en algoritmos y el alineamiento en algoritmos permite adecuar cualquier proyecto de manera más rápida y eficiente. La metodología desarrollada para este propósito garantiza que la información contenida en el esquema de datos se traduzca en elementos estructurales precisos y exactos en el modelo. Estos elementos estructurales detallados se utilizan luego para crear el BMS, que proporciona monitoreo en tiempo real, control y recomendaciones de mantenimiento para los puentes. El BMS desarrollado en esta tesis se aplica a un sistema piloto de gestión de puentes para demostrar su importancia y usabilidad. Los resultados muestran que el BMS puede ayudar a gestionar la infraestructura de manera más eficiente, especialmente en el caso de los puentes. Puede detectar problemas potenciales antes de que se vuelvan graves y permitir que se tomen acciones correctivas oportunas, mejorando la vida útil y la seguridad. Infrastructure, particularly bridges, is essential for the modern world to function smoothly. These structures are crucial for transportation, commerce, and social interactions, and their proper management is vital to ensure their longevity and safety. Therefore, it is needed to apply management systems such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Management Systems (BMS) are needed. This thesis aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a BMS based on BIM for managing bridges. BIM and BMS data are integrated by developing a data schema, which serves as the foundation for creating detailed structural elements. The parametric model developed with the algorithm-based modeling and the alignment-based algorithm allows adequating any project faster and more efficiently. The methodology developed for this purpose ensures that the information contained in the data schema is translated into accurate and precise structural elements on the model. These detailed structural elements are then utilized to create the BMS, which provides real-time monitoring, control, and maintenance recommendations for bridges. The BMS developed in this thesis is applied to a pilot bridge management system to demonstrate its usability. The results show that the BMS can help manage infrastructure more efficiently, particularly in the case of bridges. It can detect potential problems before they become severe and enable timely corrective actions to be taken, improving the lifespan and safety.

A hybrid girder bridge adopts a steel segment at the mid-span of the main span of a continuous concrete girder bridge. The critical point of the hybrid solution is the transition zone, connecting the steel and concrete segments of the beam. Although many girder tests revealing the structural behavior of hybrid girders have been conducted by previous studies, few specimens took the full section of a steel–concrete joint due to the large size of prototype hybrid bridges. In this study, a static load test on a composite segment to bridge the joint between the concrete and steel parts of a hybrid bridge with full section was conducted. A finite element model replicating the tested specimen results was established through Abaqus, while parametric studies were also conducted. The test and numerical results revealed that the concrete filling in the composite solution prevented the steel flange from extensive buckling, which significantly improved the load-carrying capacity of the steel–concrete joint. Meanwhile, strengthening the interaction between the steel and concrete helps to prevent the interlayer slip and simultaneously contributes to a higher flexural stiffness. These results are an important basis for establishing a rational design scheme for the steel–concrete joint of hybrid girder bridges. This research was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant number PID2021-126405OB-C31), Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (grant number 20XD1432400) and Guangdong Yejian Construction Drawing Review Center Co., Ltd. (grant number GDYJ-RD-17).

This material may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the American Society of Civil Engineers. This material may be found at https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/JBENF2.BEENG-5955. A partial connection–prestressing (PCP) method is proposed in this paper to decrease the prestress that was transferred to steel girders in the negative moment region of steel–concrete composite bridges. The partial connection is achieved by the application of rubber-sleeved studs (RSS) in the prestressed concrete slab in the negative moment region. Since there is no experimental research on the PCP method in continuous composite girders, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, two continuous composite girders were tested under a four-point static load to evaluate their mechanical performance. The test results showed that without decreasing the ultimate strength and overall stiffness of the steel–concrete composite girders, the PCP method enhanced the cracking load (Pcr) 3.1 times. In addition, 12.5% of the prestressing force was transferred into the steel girder at the internal support section with the PCP method, and the girder without the PCP reached 25.9%. Then, to elucidate the partial interaction effect and prestressing effect on continuous girders’ mechanical behavior, numerical models were developed and calibrated with the test results. From the numerical analysis, compared with normal composite girders, the application of RSS or prestressing could improve Pcr by 11.8% and 157.0%, respectively, and the value increases to 234.3% when RSS and prestressing are applied at the same time. The results indicate that the application of RSS in the negative moment region could effectively increase the prestressing efficiency in the concrete slab and enhance the bridge's durability. This research is sponsored by the National Natural Science Foun-dation of China (No. 51978501) and the Major Research and De-velopment Project of Jiangxi Province (No. 20165ABC2800).

Este Anteproyecto tiene por objeto definir una solución para la ejecución de una nueva pasarela peatonal de conexión entre el nuevo barrio de La Catalana y el barrio de Sant Joan Baptista de Sant Adrià de Besós. Uno de los objetivos principales es estableces un recorrido cívico y directo entre la futura zona residencial y la zona de equipamientos docentes actuales en el barrio de Sant Joan Baptista. La propuesta debe convertir el camino escolar en un recorrido amable y cómodo, al mismo tiempo que genere un espacio público de calidad. Es por ello que se plantean diversas soluciones alternativas de pasarelas teniendo en cuenta el valor estético, que se integren en el entorno y que sean lo mas económicas posibles. Se realiza un estudio de alternativas con seis propuestas diferentes justificando la solución adoptada.

Pre-stressed concrete with post-tensioned (PT) cables historically represented an attractive alternative to ordinary reinforced concrete (RC). A wide portion of the world-wide existing concrete bridges was PT. As the nominal service life of those structures expires, several collapses occurred, highlighting the problem of the inspection. The main issue is that PT cables may be affected by relevant corrosion phenomena related to the presence of air or water inside the duets: such 'hidden' defects need to be determined through reliable testing methodologies. This paper presents the in-progress research aiming to quantify the influence of the damage of the single cable on the entire structure. The case study is an ltalian viaduct composed of simply supported beams connected by an upper slab. An extensive investigation campaign was carried out to locate and quantify the damage. Starting from the data collected on-site a series of damage conditions of cables can be simulated.

Nowadays, researchers are paying close attention to using inclinometers for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applications. Moreover, the applications based on using inclinometers can detect the magnitude and location of bridge pathologies. However, as these applications are based on expensive commercial inclinometers, their use is typically exclusive to the SHM of structures with a high monitoring budget. There is a gap in the literature with the development and validation of low-cost accurate angular-meters for decreasing the monitoring cost of inclinometer-based damage detection applications. This work aims to develop low-cost IoT-based inclinometers for detecting damage in bridge structures. The Low-cost Adaptable Reliable Angle-meter (LARA) is a novel inclinometer that accurately measures an induced inclination by combining the measurements of five gyroscopes and five accelerometers. The accuracy, resolution, Allan variance, and standard deviation of LARA are examined through laboratory experiments and are compared with those obtained by numerical slope calculations and a commercial inclinometer (HI-INC). For further experimental validation, a robotic vehicle model is designed and developed to simulate a moving load over a bridge model. The vehicle model integrates IoT technology and can be utilized in different damage detection experiments. The outcomes of a load test experiment using a simple beam model demonstrate the high accuracy (0.003 degrees) of LARA measurements. LARA may be used for structural damage identification and location in bridges utilizing inclinometers because of its low cost and high accuracy.

Les aplicacions de monitorització de la salut estructural (SHM) estan rebent cada vegada més atenció, això és perquè mitjançant la seva aplicació es pot aconseguir la detecció i caracterització dels danys en una fase de prevenció. A més, SHM és un procés dissenyat per proporcionar informació precisa i exacta relacionada amb l'estat i rendiment d'una estructura al llarg del temps. Cal destacar que aquest monitoratge també pot ajudar en els processos de prendre de decisions per optimitzar el funcionament, proporcionar manteniment, reparar i, possiblement, substituir elements estructurals. Un sistema de monitoratge típic comprèn una xarxa de sensors encarregats de mesurar diferents paràmetres rellevants. Tot i això, l'elevat cost dels sensors comercials representa una limitació crítica per a la seva implantació. Per superar el cost elevat de la instrumentació, es poden desenvolupar i validar sensors de baix cost per a aplicacions de SHM. En aquest treball de fi de màster es fa una campanya experimental per a l'Anàlisi Modal Operativa (OMA) d'un pont de carretera utilitzant dos acceleròmetres: un prototip de baix cost (LARA: Low-cost Adaptable Reliable Accelerometer) i un de comercial (PCB 907A61). Amb la finalitat d'avaluar la fiabilitat de les dades adquirides per LARA i validar-les com a acceleròmetres de baix cost per a la monitorització de la salut estructural, es van instal·lar aquests sensors en un pont de carretera ubicat a Andoain, País Basc. Els resultats obtinguts per a cada tipus d'acceleròmetre es van comparar amb el Criteri de Garantia Modal (MAC) i es va avaluar la diferència entre les freqüències pròpies calculades. A més, els paràmetres modals obtinguts durant la campanya experimental es van fer servir per calibrar un model d'elements finits del pont en estudi. Aquest procés es va fer per obtenir una representació més propera a l'estat real de l'estructura. Las aplicaciones de monitorización de la salud estructural (SHM) están recibiendo cada vez más atención, esto se debe a que mediante su aplicación se puede lograr la detección y caracterización de los daños en una fase de prevención. Además, SHM es un proceso diseñado para proporcionar información precisa y exacta relacionada con el estado y el rendimiento de una estructura a lo largo del tiempo. Cabe destacar que esta monitorización también puede ayudar en los procesos de toma de decisiones para optimizar el funcionamiento, proporcionar mantenimiento, reparar y, posiblemente, sustituir elementos estructurales. Un sistema de monitorización típico comprende una red de sensores encargados de medir diferentes parámetros relevantes. Sin embargo, el elevado coste de los sensores comerciales representa una limitación crítica para su implantación. Para superar el elevado coste de la instrumentación, se pueden desarrollar y validar sensores de bajo coste para aplicaciones de SHM. En este trabajo de fin de máster se realiza una campaña experimental para el Análisis Modal Operativo (OMA) de un puente de carretera utilizando dos acelerómetros: un prototipo de bajo coste (LARA: Low-cost Adaptable Reliable Accelerometer) y uno comercial (PCB 907A61). Con la finalidad de evaluar la fiabilidad de los datos adquiridos por LARA y validarlos como acelerómetros de bajo coste para la monitorización de la salud estructural, se instalaron estos sensores en un puente de carretera ubicado en Andoain, País Vasco. Los resultados obtenidos para cada tipo de acelerómetro se compararon bajo el Criterio de Garantía Modal (MAC) y se evaluó la diferencia entre las frecuencias propias calculadas. Además, los parámetros modales obtenidos durante la campaña experimental se utilizaron para calibrar un modelo de elementos finitos del puente en estudio. Este proceso se realizó a fin de obtener una representación más cercana al estado real de la estructura. Structural health monitoring (SHM) applications are increasingly getting more attention. It is due to the fact that through their implementation, the detection and characterization of damage during a prevention phase can be achieved. Furthermore, SHM is a process designed to provide precise and accurate information associated with the condition and performance of a structure over time. It should be noted that SHM can also help with decision-making processes to optimize the operation, provide maintenance, repair, and possibly replace structural elements. A typical monitoring system comprises a network of sensors in charge of measuring different relevant parameters. However, the high cost of commercial sensors can be a critical limitation for their implementation. To overcome the high cost of instrumentation, low-cost sensors can be developed and validated for SHM applications. This Master's thesis carries out an experimental campaign for the Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) of a highway bridge using two accelerometers: a low-cost prototype (LARA: Low-cost Adaptable Reliable Accelerometer) and a commercial one (PCB 907A61). In order to evaluate the reliability of the data acquired by LARA and to validate it as a low-cost accelerometer for structural health monitoring, these accelerometers were mounted on a highway bridge located in Andoain, Basque Country. The results obtained for each type of accelerometer are compared by using the Modal Assurance Criteria (MAC) and assessing the difference between the analyzed eigenfrequencies. Moreover, the modal parameters obtained during the experimental campaign are used to calibrate a finite element model of this bridge. This analytical model is calibrated to have a closer representation of the real state of the structure.

Outgoing

Nowadays, low-cost accelerometers are getting more attention from civil engineers to make Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applications affordable and applicable to a broader range of structures. The present accelerometers based on Arduino or Raspberry Pi technologies in the literature share some of the following drawbacks: (1) high Noise Density (ND), (2) low sampling frequency, (3) not having the Internet’s timestamp with microsecond resolution, (4) not being used in experimental eigenfrequency analysis of a flexible and a less-flexible bridge, and (5) synchronization issues. To solve these problems, a new low-cost triaxial accelerometer based on Arduino technology is presented in this work (Low-cost Adaptable Reliable Accelerometer—LARA). Laboratory test results show that LARA has a ND of 51 µg/vHz, and a frequency sampling speed of 333 Hz. In addition, LARA has been applied to the eigenfrequency analysis of a short-span footbridge and its results are compared with those of a high-precision commercial sensor. The authors are indebted to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the funding provided through the research project BIA2017-86811-C2-1-R directed by José Turmo and BIA2017-86811-C2-2-R. All these projects are funded with FEDER funds. The authors are also indebted to the Secretaria d’ Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalunya, Spain, for the funding provided through Agaur (2017 SGR 1482). It is also to be noted that funding for this research has been provided for the Seyedmilad Komarizadehasl by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades grant and the Fondo Social Europeo grant (PRE2018-083238).

L'opció més factible per a l'encreuament de l'estret de Messina és un pont penjant amb 1 obertura de 3,3 km de longitud. En diverses ocasions ha estat aprovada la factibilitat estructural d'aquesta mena de pont, mentre que la culpa de la no construcció sempre s'ha donat a la rendibilitat econòmica negativa. Per tant, en aquest treball s'avaluarà la mateixa des del punt de vista financer per a l'empresa constructora i econòmic per a la població seguint les guies d'ACB vigents en els següents països: Anàlisi de sensibilitat, Itàlia, Catalunya, Espanya, Unió Europea i Estat Units. La opción más factible para el cruce del estrecho de Mesina es un puente colgante con 1 vano de 3,3 km de longitud. En varias ocasiones ha sido aprobada la factibilidad estructural de este tipo de puente, mientras que la culpa de la no construcción siempre se ha dado a la rentabilidad económica negativa. Por lo tanto, en este trabajo se evaluará la misma desde el punto de vista financiero para la empresa constructora y económico para la población siguiendo las guías de ACB vigentes en los siguientes países: Análisis de sensibilidad, Italia, Cataluña, España, Unión Europea y Estado Unidos. The most feasible option to crossing the Strait of Messina is a suspension bridge with one span of 3.3 km in length. On several occasions the structural feasibility of this type of bridge has been approved, while the blame of the non-construction has always been given to negative economic profitability. So, in this work it will be evaluated from the financial point of view for the construction company and economically for the population according to the guidelines of the ACB in force in the following countries: Sensitivity analysis, Italy, Catalonia, Spain, European Union and Stat Units.

This paper shows the developments on the digital twinning of a set of new High speed Railway bridges located in South Western Spain. The aim of this digitization is the generation of a twin-driven maintenance planning. This research is performed within the frame of a H2020 European project called ASHVIN, related to the use of Digital Twins for Design, Construction and Maintenance purposes within the AEC sector. The project provides a series of demo cases for all stages. One of the demo cases is a series of new bridges belonging to a high speed train network in Extremadura, Spain. The demo case is aimed at establishing sensor-based and image-based requirements, procedures and examples for the generation of realistic virtual replica of the physical bridges. The twins are deemed to as living assets that can be updated during operation. The paper depicts actions and deployments undertaken during the routine static load tests. The efforts related to sensoring, simulation, modelling, assessment and validation can be wrapped up systematically for further use during regular operation of the asset. All authors acknowledge the funding of Ashvin, “Assistants for Healthy, Safe, and Productive Virtual Construction Design, Operation & Maintenance using a Digital Twin” a H2020 project under agreement 958161. Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i Infraestructura

De nombreux projets de ponts traversant le Détroit de Kertch ont été conçus dans le passé, avant le pont actuel mis en service en 2018. On s’intéresse aux décisions qui ont conduit successivement les protagonistes successifs de cette histoire à lancer (ou à renoncer à) des projets entre 1903 et 2014, et aux facteurs de géographie économique et de géopolitique qui ont orienté ces décisions au fil du temps. En conclusion, on imagine quel effet pourrait avoir une normalisation du statut juridique international de la Crimée sur le trafic du pont d’aujourd’hui. Numerous projects for bridges across the Kerch Strait were conceived in the past, prior to the current bridge commissioned in 2018. The focus is on the decisions that successively led successive protagonists in this history to launch (or abandon) projects between 1903 and 2014, and the factors of economic geography and geopolitics that guided these decisions over time. In conclusion, one can imagine what effect a normalization of Crimea’s international legal status might have on today’s bridge traffic. Numerosos fueron los proyectos antes de la puesta en servicio en 2018 del actual puente que cruza el estrecho de Kerch. Interesa conocer cuáles fueron las decisiones que promovieron (o abandonaron) estos proyectos entre 1903 y 2014, y los factores geopolíticos y geoconómicos que han guiado estas decisiones a lo largo de la historia. Como conclusión habría que pensar qué efectos tendría la normalización del estatus jurídico internacional de Crimea sobre el tráfico actual que cruza el puente.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Delgadillo, RM, Casas, JR. Bridge damage detection via improved completed ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise and machine learning algorithms. Struct Control Health Monit. 2022; 29( 8):e2966. doi:10.1002/stc.2966 , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.2966. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Structural health monitoring field is growing in the use of more modern techniques and tools in order to identify damages in civil structures. The improvements in signal processing techniques and data mining have, recently, been employed due to their powerful computational ability to detect damage in bridges. Despite the majority of researchers have been studying laboratory-scale implementations and theoretical developments, the limited data to identify structural faults in real bridges are still a problem. The current study presents a novel approach for damage identification by using two improved methods such as decomposition techniques and machine learning algorithms. Since the data obtained from the traffic vibration in real bridges are non-linear and time varying, the Hilbert–Huang transform is used to process the vibration data. Additionally, a phenomenon of mode mixing is presented in the current decomposition methods, such as empirical mode decomposition (EMD). Therefore, a novel improved completed ensemble EMD with adaptive noise (ICEEMDAN) was adopted. After the signal decomposition and identification of the damage parameter, a symbolic data analysis and clustering-based approach were developed. Additionally, an unsupervised machine learning algorithm was used to group substructures with similar behavior and then detect damages. This learning method was used for automatically classifying the damages using a moving windows process sequentially applied to the structural response of the bridge. The validity of the approach is demonstrated using real data collected from a truss bridge. The results show that the proposed mixed method was effective and can endow better results in bridge health monitoring. The first author would like to thank Ministry of Education of Peru with the Educational Credit Program PRONABEC – Bicentennial Generation Scholarship for the great support as part of the work on his PhD diploma thesis. The authors also wish to thank the Prof Chul-Woo Kim, Department of Civil and Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan for giving us the data as well as documentation from the steel truss bridge utilized in this research work.

During the last decades the use of ¿ber reinforced concrete (FRC) has been increasing and extending to different areas where structural responsibility was required, being the latest research focused on sus-pended slabs only made of FRC. This could suggest that more ¿elds of concrete structures could bene¿t from this material, including bridges. This paper presents the research about a bridge design considering FRC. An assess-ment on how the material can in¿uence both design strength and expected service response is given (sectional strength and crack width). The existing Line 2 Metrorrey’s viaduct is used as reference to perform the structural analysis and design, where both conventional and ¿ber reinforced concretes are evaluated. The bridge is modeled and analyzed by means of standard numerical analysis and current code regulations are used to obtain preliminary ultimate and serviceability design loads. The assessment of the bridge is mainly based on the veri¿cation of the bottom slab of the girder, as it is one of the major elements where FRC can provide an increase in the element performance (compared to a conventional solution). Considering the Metrorrey transverse prestressing, FRC can effectively replace the required reinforcement to ful¿ll ultimate load case while the prestress itself provides decompression in serviceability load levels. This is possible as the internal load levels require for little amount of rebar reinforcement, which can be structurally comparable to FRC mechanical contribution, similarly to previous applications of the material, such as suspended slabs. Due to higher internal forces, in terms of ULS load-bearing capacity the transversal cross-section near the pier do not bene¿t from FRC as much as the mid-span slab although its minimum serviceability reinforcement can be reduced up to 56%, as the contribution of FRC to reduce the crack width is considerable. This could turn FRC into an attractive solution for tight crack requirements as durabil-ity demand increases. The first author would like to acknowledge the funding support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Universities through the PhD grant program FPU (Formación de Profesorado Universitario). Additionally, all the authors are indebted to the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the funding provided through AGAUR (2017 SGR 1481) and to the Spanish Min-stry of Economy and Competitiveness and the FEDER for the funding provided through the project BIA2017-86811-C2-1-R.

This paper depicts the deployment of Ground-Based Interferometer Synthetic Aperture Radars for obtaining displacements and accelerations of El Tajo and Almonte Viaducts during their routine load tests. These Viaducts belong to the Highspeed Railway Network between Madrid and Badajoz, which represents a strategic infrastructure in Spain. Both Viaducts are concrete arches whose size as well as whose height over the reservoir posed a tremendous challenge for obtaining proper field data using traditional devices. The paper shows the gathered experience on the use of this technique for subsequent routine load tests. Jose Vicente Fuente Acknowledges the support ot the program Torres y Quevedo (PTQ). R. Chacón and C. Ramonell acknowledge the funding of Ashvin, “Assistants for Healthy, Safe, and Productive Virtual Construction Design, Operation & Maintenance using a Digital Twin” a H2020 project under agreement 958161. All authors are grateful to ADIF for the invaluable collaboration and openness during the execution of the load tests vis-à-vis all research performed within the railway network premises. Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i Infraestructura

El diseño y la materialización del proceso constructivo es uno de los aspectos más complicados en proyecto de los puentes atirantados. En la mayoría de las estructuras este proceso se define en base únicamente a la experiencia del proyectista sin optimizar el comportamiento estructural de ningún elemento del puente. En este artículo se propone la optimización del proceso de tesado de puentes atirantados mediante la utilización de algoritmos heurísticos. Uno de los principales inconvenientes de este tipo de herramientas es el hecho de que la solución depende, en mayor o menor medida, de los parámetros del algoritmo. Para determinar estos parámetros, tradicionalmente se realizan numerosas combinaciones aleatorias de estos parámetros. Sin embargo, y pese a su elevado coste computacional, este procedimiento no permite garantizar que se haya encontrado la combinación óptima de estos parámetros. Para solucionar este problema, el presente artículo propone la aplicación de las técnicas de diseño de experimentos para calibrar los parámetros de las herramientas de optimización heurística con un reducido coste computacional. La metodología propuesta se valida mediante la optimización del proceso de tesado de un puente atirantado. Los autores desean agradecer el apoyo proporcionado por el Ministerio de Economía y competitividad, por los proyectos de investigación BIA2013-47290-R, BIA2017-86811-C2-1-R y BIA2017-86811-C2-2-R financiados con fondos FEDER.

Numerous projects for bridges across the Kerch Strait were conceived in the past, prior to the current bridge commissioned in 2018. The focus is on the decisions that successively led successive protagonists in this history to launch (or abandon) projects between 1903 and 2014, and the factors of economic geography and geopolitics that guided these decisions over time. In conclusion, one can imagine what effect a normalization of Crimea's international legal status might have on today's bridge traffic., De nombreux projets de ponts traversant le Détroit de Kertch ont été conçus dans le passé, avant le pont actuel mis en service en 2018. On s'intéresse aux décisions qui ont conduit successivement les protagonistes successifs de cette histoire à lancer (ou à renoncer à) des projets entre 1903 et 2014, et aux facteurs de géographie économique et de géopolitique qui ont orienté ces décisions au fil du temps. En conclusion, on imagine quel effet pourrait avoir une normalisation du statut juridique international de la Crimée sur le trafic du pont d'aujourd'hui., В статье рассмотрены все известные проекты постройки мостов через Керченский пролив до открытия ныне действующего в 2018 г. Раскрыты особенности принятия соответствующих решений о строительстве между 1903 и 2014 гг. и выявлены экономико-географические и геополитические факторы, которые обусловили их принятие в соответствующую историческую эпоху. Завершает исследование возможное виденье будущего использования Крымского моста в контексте нормализации международного правового статуса Крымского полуострова., У статті розглянуто всі відомі проєкти побудови мостів через Керченську протоку до відткриття сучасного мосту, що функціонує від 2018 р. Розкрито особливості прийняття відповідних рішень про будівництво між 1903 і 2014 рр. та виявлено економіко-географічні й геополітичні чинники, що обумовили їх прийняття у відповідну історичну епоху. Завершує дослідження ймовірне бачення майбутнього використання Кримського мосту в контексті нормалізації міжнародного

In the last decade, Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) has allowed engineers to enhance the performance of different structural concrete members. From previous experiences in building flat slabs, it has been found that FRC members are capable of withstanding loads with either none or very reduced amounts of reinforcement. It has been proven that FRC enhances the resistance capabilities of flat elements under common internal forces (bending moment, one-way shear, punching, etc.). Given the compressive behavior of top slabs in bridge decks, the amount of minimum reinforcement placed in it might be higher than required by structural analysis. Considering the use of FRC in top slabs, an increased durability and/or an important reduction of reinforcement quantities could be achieved. In this research the results of the structural behavior of a top slab for a beam-and-slab deck considering the use of FRC are presented. It has been accounted for specific bridge loads and geometry layouts not found in other structural elements, such as building slabs. The structural analysis is done by means of global numerical model of the bridge, which has led to a combined transversal flexure and compressions in the longitudinal direction of the slab. The results show that minimum reinforcement at ultimate load can be slightly reduced (ranging from 12 to 18%) while providing an enhanced cracking control, which would turn into a durability performance increase of the slab. The first author would like to acknowledge the funding support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Uni-versities through the PhD grant program FPU (Formación de Profesorado Universitario). Additionally, all the authors are indebted to the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the funding provided through AGAUR (2017 SGR 1481) and to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the FEDER for the funding provided through the project BIA2017-86811-C2-1-R.

S'ha projectat una passarel·la per a vianants i bicicletes entre el municipi de Llinars del Valls i el parc natural del Montnegre i el Corredor. L'accés actual discorre per la rotonda habilitada als vehicles generant situacions perilloses. L'estructura projectada de 380 metres de llarg s'ha realitzat mitjançant bigues arteses prefabricades pretesas. Aquesta estructura facilita un pas segur entre Llinars del Valls i el parc natural passant per sobre del riu Mogent, de l'autopista AP-7, de la via de l'AVE Barcelona - Figueres i de la carretera C-35. Se ha proyectado una pasarela para peatones y bicicletas entre el municipio de Llinars del Valles y el parque natural del Montnegre y el Corredor. El acceso actual discurre por la rotonda habilitada a los vehículos generando situaciones peligrosas. La estructura proyectada de 380 metros de largo se ha realizado mediante vigas artesas prefabricadas pretesadas. Esta estructura facilita un paso seguro entre Llinars del Valles y el parque natural pasando por encima del río Mogent, de la autopista AP-7, de la vía del AVE Barcelona - Figueres y de la carretera C-35. A walkway for pedestrians and bicycles has been designed between the municipality of Llinars del Valles and the "Montnegre i el Corredor" natural park. The current access runs through the road enabled for vehicles, generating dangerous situations. The 380 meter long projected structure has been made using prestressed prefabricated U shaped beams. This structure provides a safe passage between Llinars del Valles and the natural park, passing over the Mogent river, the AP-7 highway, the AVE Barcelona - Figueres and the C-35 road.

In this paper, the project case of Qiwu bridge in Jiangxi Province using link slab action between simply sup-ported spans is introduced. The structural system of Qiwu Bridge consists of a series of 3 simply supported steel-concrete composite spans connected at the pier supports by a link slab, so at this point only continuity through the concrete slab is achieved (semi-continuous bridge). This solution has both advantages of smooth driving condition of continuous bridge and enhancement of durability by removing expansion joints and clear structural behavior as simply supported spans. A non-linear finite element model of Qiwu Bridge was estab-lished through ABAQUS to simulate and predict the mechanical response and structural performance of this semi-continuous solution. Numerical results showed that the removal of the shear connection between steel beams and concrete slab close to the supports magnificently increased the stress level in the shear stiffness mutation region and made it easier to crack. A monitoring plan is also introduced to follow the actual structural response of Qiwu bridge during construction and along the service life to check the long-term performance of the proposed solution. The monitoring system is also described in the paper and the preliminary results during the early construction stages are also presented.

Nowadays, the seismic study of corroded reinforced concrete elements is a matter of increasing concern, in particular as regards links such as bridges in infrastructural networks. As the first step in an ongoing research, a prestressed concrete bridge overpass (continuous two spans with one central pier between the bents) was selected to perform response spectrum seismic analyses considering corrosion degradation. This was based on the development of a finite element model of the structure and allowed the assessment of the degrading seismic capacity of the reinforced concrete bridge pier at different periods caused by general and pitting corrosion. For this purpose, corrosion models from existing literature were used. An unchecked factor of this first research step is that corrosion can also affect bonding between the longitudinal reinforcing bars and concrete, thus increasingly reducing ductility and safety performance. Moreover, in a corroded structure bond strength and confinement capacity can also decrease due to the transverse reinforcement area loss, and concrete cover cracking and spalling. The new step developed in this work focuses on the bonding failure effects due to corrosion processes and how this affects the seismic performance of the deteriorated pier. The analysis is based on the introduction and validation of an empirical model for the assessment of the remaining bonding in corroded concrete elements with respect to experimental results.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of bridges is getting special attention of infrastructure management agencies, due to its success in minimizing maintenance costs. The acquisition of structural behaviour data and its analysis to assess the structural condition are critical tasks of SHM. In this paper both are addressed. A cost - effective measurement equipment based on triaxial accelerometers is developed. It is coupled with an operational modal analysis tool that allows extracting natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping under operational loads. Both, hardware and software, are tested in a case study of a railway bridge of the Madrid Metro network. Other measurement equipments are deployed to compare results. Natural frequencies are calculated, showing a good correlation between the different systems. The obtained results provide relevant information about the global behaviour of the structure. Therefore, the proposed cost - effective solution could be used in a SHM system for continuous bridge monitoring. The first author would like to acknowledge the funding support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Uni-versities through the PhD grant program FPU (Formación de Profesorado Universitario). Additionally, all the authors are indebted to the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the funding provided through AGAUR (2017 SGR 1481) and to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the FEDER for the funding provided through the project BIA2017-86811-C2-1-R.

Twin-I girder bridge systems are representative structures used in bridge industrialization construction. They have advantages including structure simplification, material save and accelerated construction, but the system using two main girders limits the span and makes the lateral effect more significantly. The general suitable spans range from 25m to 45m, which limits the use of twin-girder bridges. To increase the span limit, the use of tube as top flange and high strength steel can improve structure behavior and increase bridge spans. In the paper, parametrical study and structure optimization were conducted to investigate the behavior of tubular flange girder bridges using high strength steel. Parameters including cross-beam arrangement, stiffeners, tube size were studied. Comparisons between the systems using ordinary steel and that using high strength steel were conducted.

Load tests in bridges are essential to determine if these structures are suitable for the service state. Being fundamental to know if the bidges have a behavior as the one stipulated in the desing phase, following all of the requirements stipulated in the standars for the testing and approval of the structure. Therefore, it is important to add technological advances in the tests to determine in a faster and efficiently way if it has the necessary characteristics, thus giving the specialists in charge of the tests a short-term visión of how is the structure behaves when a load its applied oni t during the load test. Now a days there are many measurement and análisis methods for this kind of test, for this research aims to unify the theoretical part with the experimental part in the same interface, being this extremely useful for specialists since they Will be able to have a better management and visualization of the information in diferents phases (before,during,after), the load tests carried out on the structure. This proyect Will be carried out using the software Rhinoceros7 and the Grasshopper application that the software has. Which Will link the aforementioned, using different plugins that Will allow the reception of user data and and the measurement instruments used. This sustem Will allow to know, using a finite element análisis, the theoretical variables of interest for the load test, and Will also automatically receive the data generated by the measurement equipment. Thus being able to quickly make comparison of what is happening during the test. Also allowing to have a parameterized system, in order to have a simple way to make changes to the model and calculations as needed by specialists. Les proves de càrrega en ponts, són primordials per determinar si aquestes estructures són aptes per a la seva posada en servei. Sent aquestes fonamentals per conèixer si els ponts tenen un comportament que correspongui a l'estipulat en la fase de disseny, respectant tots els estàndards estipulats en la norma corresponent per a la proves i aprovació del mateix. Pel que és important afegir avenços tecnològics en les proves per determinar de manera més ràpida i eficaç si el mateix compta amb les característiques necessàries, donant així als especialistes encarregats de les proves una visió a curt temps de com es comporta aquesta estructura quan es porta a terme la prova. En l'actualitat existeixen molts mètodes de mesurament i anàlisi per a aquestes proves, però aquesta investigació pretén unificar la part teòrica amb la part experimental en una mateixa interfície, sent això de gran utilitat per als especialistes ja que podran tenir un millor maneig i visualització de la informació abans, durant i després de les proves que se li facin a l'estructura. El present projecte es realitzarà utilitzant el programari Rhinoceros7 i fent ús de l'aplicació Grasshopper, que permetrà enllaçar les abans esmentades, utilitzant diferents plugins que permetran tenir la recepció de dades de l'usuari i dels instruments de mesura utilitzats. Aquest sistema permetrà conèixer mitjançant una anàlisi d'elements finits, les variables teòriques d'interès per a la prova de càrrega, i a més rebrà de manera automàtica les dades generades pels equips de mesurament. Podent així realitzar una comparació de manera ràpida del que està succeint durant la prova. Permetent a més de tenir el sistema parametritzat, per poder tenir una manera senzilla de realitzar canvis sobre el model i càlculs segons ho necessitin els especialistes. Las pruebas de carga en puentes, son primordiales para determinar si dichas estructuras son aptas para su puesta en servicio. Siendo estas fundamentales para conocer si los puentes tienen un comportamiento que corresponda al estipulado en la fase de diseño, respetando todos los estándares estipulados en la norma correspondiente para la pruebas y aprobación del mismo. Por lo que es importante añadir avances tecnológicos en las pruebas para determinar de manera más rápida y eficaz si el mismo cuenta con las características necesarias, dando así a los especialistas encargados de las pruebas una visión a corto tiempo de cómo se comporta dicha estructura cuando se lleva a cabo la prueba. En la actualidad existen muchos métodos de medición y análisis para dichas pruebas, pero esta investigación pretende unificar la parte teórica con la parte experimental en una misma interfase, siendo esto de suma utilidad para los especialistas ya que podrán tener un mejor manejo y visualización de la información antes, durante y después de las pruebas que se le realicen a la estructura. El presente proyecto se realizará utilizando el software Rhinoceros7 y haciendo uso de la aplicación Grasshopper, que permitirá enlazar las antes mencionadas, utilizando diferentes plugins que permitirán tener la recepción de datos del usuario y de los instrumentos de medición utilizados. Este sistema permitirá conocer utilizando un análisis de elementos finitos, las variables teóricas de interés para la prueba de carga, y además recibirá de manera automática los datos generados por los equipos de medición. Pudiendo así realizar una comparación de manera rápida de lo que está sucediendo durante la prueba. Permitiendo además tener el sistema parametrizado, para poder tener una manera sencilla de realizar cambios sobre el modelo y cálculos según lo necesiten los especialistas.

Bridges and critical transport infrastructure are primary assets and systems that underpin human mobility and activities. Loss of bridge functionality has consequences on entire transport networks, which are also interconnected with other networks. Cascading events then unfold in the entire system of systems, leading to significant economic losses and societal disruption to business and society. Recent natural disasters have revealed the vulnerabilities of bridges and critical assets to diverse hazards (e.g. floods, blasts, earthquakes), some of which are exacerbated due to climate change. The assessment of bridge and network vulnerabilities by quantifying their capacity and functionality loss and adaptation to new requirements and stressors is thus of paramount importance. The aim of this work was try to understand the main compound hazards, stressors and threats that have short- and long-term impacts on the structural capacity and functionality of bridges and the impact of bridge closures on network operability. The main drivers of bridge restoration and reinstatement were also considered. Loss of performance, driven by redundancy and robustness of a bridge, is the first step to be considered in the overall process of resilience quantification. Resourcefulness is the other main component of resilience analysed in this work. Peer Reviewed Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i Infraestructura

El uso de métdos numéricos avanzados, capaces de captar el comportamiento no lineal del hormigón armado, es una herramienta muy útil para la evaluación de estructuras antiguas y/o deterioradas, para las que las normativas de nuevo diseño no son adecuadas. En este trabajo se realiza una simulación de los ensayos que se realizarán para evaluar la resistencia a cortante y punzonamiento del tablero de un Puente en Gelida sobre el Río Anoia, en la carretera BV-2249, construido en 1932.

La cité des Convènes, qui succéda aux populations déplacées par Pompée au débouché de la vallée de la Garonne dans la plaine, fut un point d'ancrage de la réorganisation augustéenne des territoires en Aquitaine méridionale. Les aventures militaires du ier s. av. n. è. et la construction des cités et des provinces, à la charnière de notre ère, la dotèrent d'un réseau de grands axes de communication. Les deux itinéraires nord-sud qui aboutissaient à Lugdunum, depuis Tolosa et depuis Aginnum, se poursuivaient par le Val d’Aran en direction d’Ilerda, suivant la vallée de la Noguera Pallaresa. Malgré l'absence de mention de ce tracé dans les Itineraires antiques, des données épigraphiques et archéologiques en rendent l'existence évidente. La construction de ce réseau et de celui des voies secondaires qui le complétèrent s'inscrivit dans la durée, comme l'illustre un certain nombre d'observations de terrain. The city of the Convenae, which succeeded the populations displaced by Pompey at the opening of Garonne valley onto the plain served as an anchorage in the Augustean reshaping of the lands in southern Aquitania. The military ventures of the Ist c. B.C. and the building of the cities and provinces, at the turn of our era, endowed it with a network of big arterial roads. The two northsouth roads which reached Lugdunum from Tolosa and Aginnum went on through the Val d’Aran towards Ilerda, following the valley of the Noguera Pallaresa. Although there is no mention of that layout in the antique Itineraries, epigraphic and archeological data make its existence obvious. The building of that network along that of the by-ways that was to complete it was a matter of time as a fair number of ground observations illustrate it.

El trabajo realizado ha consistido en el estudio de sostenibilidad de diferentes tipologías de puentes: puente extradosado, puente arco Network y puente viga. La información disponible para la resolución del estudio y la posterior comparativa de las alternativas presentes se ha llevado a cabo a partir de la documentación de tres proyectos constructivos, uno real (puente viga) y otros dos académicos alternativos a este. Los proyectos son correspondientes a la ejecución del viaducto Fluviá, correspondiente a la línea ferroviaria de alta velocidad “Madrid- Zaragoza-Barcelona-Frontera francesa” y al viaducto de mayor longitud entre Barcelona y Francia de dicho tramo. En primer lugar, previo al desarrollo del caso de estudio, se hace un breve repaso del concepto de sostenibilidad y la integración de este, en forma de desarrollo sostenible, en el sector de la construcción. Además, se exponen algunas normativas sostenibles de referencia ligadas a la construcción. Seguidamente, para el estudio de sostenibilidad, se contempla CEEQUAL como una certificación sostenible de aplicación en la ingeniería civil, como herramienta de evaluación de la sostenibilidad de los proyectos. Sin embargo, la documentación e información disponible, exclusiva de fase de diseño, no es suficiente para llevar a cabo tal metodología. Así pues, la evaluación de la sostenibilidad de los proyectos se ha llevado a cabo mediante la metodología de análisis multicriterio MIVES, mediante la cual se ha elaborado un árbol de toma de decisión multicriterio, basado en unos requerimientos acordes a los tres pilares básicos de la sostenibilidad (económico, medioambiental y social) y a criterios e indicadores subyacentes a estos. A raíz del estudio de sostenibilidad llevado a cabo mediante MIVES, se determina que la alternativa que se ejecutó en la realidad, el puente viga, es sustancialmente más sostenible que las otras dos alternativas planteadas. Este aspecto era de esperar, dado que las alternativas académicas basaban su proyección en, principalmente, salvar el cauce del río sin interferir en el mismo. Por otro lado, se identifica la solución resuelta mediante arco Network como ligeramente más sostenible que la del puente extradosado, fundamentalmente por el bajo riesgo que presenta su ejecución. The work carried out has consisted of the sustainability study of different types of bridges: extradosed bridge, Network arch bridge and beam bridge. The information available for the resolution of the study and the subsequent comparison of the alternatives has been carried out from the documentation of three construction projects, one real (beam bridge) and two other academic alternatives to this one. The projects correspond to the execution of the Fluviá viaduct, corresponding to the high-speed railway line “Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona-French border” and as well to the longest viaduct between Barcelona and France of this section. First, prior to the development of the case study, a brief review of the concept of sustainability and its integration, in the form of sustainable development, in the construction sector, has been made. In addition, some sustainable reference regulations related to construction are exposed. Next, for the sustainability study, CEEQUAL has been considered, as a sustainable certification for application in civil engineering, as a tool for evaluating the sustainability of the projects. However, the available documentation and information, exclusively related to the design phase, is not sufficient to carry out such a methodology. Thus, the sustainability assessment of the projects has been carried out using the MIVES multi-criteria analysis methodology, through which a multi-criteria decision-making tree has been prepared, based on requirements in accordance with the three basic pillars of the sustainability (economical, environmental and social) and criteria and indicators underlying them. As a result of the sustainability study carried out through MIVES, it has been determined that the alternative that was implemented in reality, the beam bridge type, is substantially more sustainable than the other two proposed alternatives. This aspect was to be expected, given that the academic alternatives based their projection mainly on saving the river channel without interfering in it. On the other hand, the solution resolved by means of the Network arch is identified as slightly more sustainable than the one of the extradosed bridge, mainly due to the low risk that its execution presents.

Au XVIIIe siècle, les États de Languedoc mènent une ambitieuse politique de travaux. Cet article met en lumière les actions et l’apport réel de l’entrepreneur, Jean Chauvet, dans la construction du pont de Lavaur (Tarn) en s’appuyant sur les nombreux documents, inédits, qu’il a rédigés et dessinés. Loin d’être un simple exécutant, il se révèle capable de concevoir une structure complexe, faisant montre d’une intelligence technique indispensable à la construction de grands ouvrages., In the eighteenth century, the states of Languedoc had an ambitious public works policy. This article highlights the actions and the real contribution of the contractor Jean Chauvet in the construction of the Lavaur Bridge (Tarn) by drawing upon numerous unpublished documents that he compiled and devised. Far from being a simple executor, he was able to design a complex structure, showing a technical intelligence essential for the construction of large works.

En diversos llocs tenen encreuaments on les tecnologies actuals de ponts no són viables per proporcionar una solució. Aquest projecte estudia diferents solucions a aquest problema i, com a resultat, proporciona uns criteris orientatius sobre el disseny de ponts singulars per a aquests encreuaments en localitzacions singulars. S’ha fet una revisió de l’estat de l’art de les novetats tant en enginyeria de ponts com en enginyeria offshore amb l’objectiu de combinar aquests dos camps per proporcionar una solució que consisteixi en un pont flotant per a grans encreuaments i amb aigües profundes. La bibliografia en aquest camp és escassa i per això es va decidir fer un estudi en profunditat d’aquest tema. Es va decidir no només estudiar la combinació d’aquestes dues tecnologies sinó a més a més determinar si aquest tipus de ponts eren necessaris i si hi ha llocs que aprofitarien les possibilitats que ofereixen. D’aquest estudi es va deduir que hi ha llocs en els quals la solució estudiada en aquest projecte és l’única que proporciona una solució viable. Amb l’objectiu d’estudiar la viabilitat dels ponts flotants de gran llum s’ha decidit estudiar una solució per al Sognefjord en Noruega, un fiord amb profunditats de fins a 1250 metres i una distància entre costes de més de 3700 metres. Per a aquest cas s’han estudiat dotze alternatives distintes comparant l’ús de diferents tipus de ponts, materials per a les torres i tecnologies als pontons amb l’objectiu de comparar el seu efecte al cost final de l’estructura. S’ha desenvolupat un estudi final de les alternatives valorant els seus avantatges i inconvenients respecte al cost final de la construcció. Finalment, s’ha proporcionat un conjunt de criteris de disseny per a ponts flotants de gran llum. Diversos lugares tienen cruces donde las tecnologías de puentes actuales no son viables para proporcionar una solución. Este proyecto estudia diferentes soluciones a este problema y, como resultado, proporciona unos criterios orientativos sobre el diseño de puentes singulares para estos cruces en localizaciones especiales. Se ha hecho una revisión del estado del arte de las novedades tanto en ingeniería de puentes como en ingeniería offshore con el objetivo de combinar estos dos campos para proporcionar una solución que consista en un puente flotante para cruces largos y con aguas profundas. La bibliografía en este campo es escasa y por ello se decidió hacer un estudio en profundidad de este tema. Se decidió no solo estudiar la combinación de estas dos tecnologías sino además determinar si este tipo de puentes eran necesarios y si hay lugares que aprovecharían las posibilidades que ofrecen. De este estudio se dedujo que hay lugares en los cuales la solución estudiada en este proyecto es la única que proporciona una solución viable. Con el objetivo de estudiar la viabilidad de los puentes flotantes de gran luz se ha decidido estudiar una solución para el Sognefjord en Noruega, un fiordo con profundidades de hasta 1250 metros y una distancia entre costas de más de 3700 metros. Para este caso se han estudiado doce alternativas distintas comparando el uso de distintos tipos de puentes, materiales para las torres y tecnologías en los pontones con el objetivo de comparar su efecto en el coste final de la estructura. Se ha desarrollado un estudio final de las alternativas valorando sus ventajas y desventajas respecto el coste final de la construcción. Finalmente, se ha proporcionado un conjunto de criterios de diseño para puentes flotantes de gran luz. Several places have crossings where the current bridge technologies are not suitable to provide feasible solutions. This project has studied different solutions to this problem and, as a result, provides some guidance criteria on how to design singular bridges for those special crossing locations. A state-of-the-art review of the innovations in bridge and offshore engineering has been carried out with the objective to combine this two fields to provide a floating bridge solution for large and deep water-crossings. Little literature on the topic was available and it was decided to carry out an in-depth study of this topic. Not only the combination of both technologies to find a proper solution was studied but also the necessity of this kind of bridges, and it was found that there are singular places where only this technology is able to provide a solution. With the objective of studying the feasibility of long-span floating bridges, a solution for the Sognefjord in Norway, a fiord with water depths up to 1250 metres and a coast to coast distance of more than 3700 metres, has been studied comparing different bridge and pontoon technologies. Twelve different alternatives were studied to compare different technologies and materials, and the effects of those in final cost of the structure. A final study of the different alternatives and their advantages and disadvantages based on the total construction cost is carried out. Finally, a set of design criteria for long-span floating bridges is obtained.

Dentro de España y Europa en general, existe un gran número de infraestructura antigua que continúa en uso en la actualidad, algunas pudiendo llegar a tener alrededor de los 100 años. La metodología de cálculo, la tecnología de los materiales y métodos constructivos utilizados en la época, así como la demanda de cargas para los que fueron diseñados no es nada parecida a lo que se hace hoy en día. Todos estos factores hacen necesario evaluar su capacidad resistente mediante ensayos en laboratorios o modelos teóricos, que se ajusten lo mejor posible al comportamiento de dichas estructuras. Los métodos de cálculo planteados en las actuales normativas (EHE-08 y EC-02) son de uso exclusivo para el proyecto de estructuras nuevas. Algunas de las expresiones de diseño propuestas en los códigos tienen un origen empírico, acotando su aplicación únicamente a ciertos elementos estructurales de características similares. Lo anterior obliga a buscar un enfoque diferente para la evaluación de estructuras antiguas, que se basen meramente en el equilibrio estático de la sección y la mecánica racional. Este trabajo es un análisis preliminar de la campaña experimentar para obtener la resistencia a cortante del tablero del Puente de Gelida sobre el Río Anoia, ubicado en la carretera BV-2249 y construido en el año 1932. En este trabajo, se hace una investigación a fondo el desarrollo del proyecto del puente y de los materiales utilizados a inicio del siglo XX. Después, propone la metodología que se debe seguir para la futura campaña experimental, planteando la caracterización de los materiales, la instrumentación necesaria y el esquema estático del ensayo. Finalmente, se hace una predicción de la carga de agotamiento a cortante de los tramos de tablero de puente a ensayar, comparando los resultados obtenidos siguiendo la metodología de las normativas actuales y el “Compression Chord Capacity Model” con el valor obtenido de un modelo de elementos finitos en el software Abaqus.

Dirt, no access to electricity nor to clean tap water, dangerous materials, are some of the characteristics of the environments where unfortunately many indian kids grow up. In the face of the incredibly large ratio of poverty that strikes the country, many families live in unbelievable harsh conditions, mostly being slums located in the surroundings of cities. Even if parents work extremely hard to be able to pursue a better life for their family, in many cases they have to leave their children unattended during long day hours in such hazardous circumstances. Luckily, more and more, enterprises and NGOs are putting their efforts towards granting all kids access to education. Last February, I had the opportunity to travel to Bangalore to participate in a social innovation camp, which intended to improve education conditions in bridge schools. These infrastructures built by Selco foundation, are portable units that are installed in slums for children to have the opportunity to learn, but also to access a solid meal and hygiene conditions. Seeing that in many cases the fear of leaving their kids in an unknown place to be taken care by exterior teachers, scared parents away taking away with them the opportunity of the youngest ones. As a result, a method to raise awareness about education had to be found so as to familiarize the community of its importance, and that’s when this project was born. After getting to know the context and the nature of the problem, a modular board was designed to tackle this issue. Some research confirms that personalized spaces increases the sense of achievement and belonging as well as the recognition and value of external people. Knowing this, the idea was to build a board, that could be used both in interior and exterior environments, to showcase students’ work all along the week. The object has a system that allows hanging the work but there is also a foldable blackboard that serves as a teaching surface as well as an informational panel. There is also a cover that stops the content from getting damaged, and thanks to its lightness and simple method of use it can be rolled-up for easy transportation and storage. Nevertheless, after a first prototype design many technical aspects needed to be worked on. For this reason, this project contains a material research that finds out that the most suitable components are bamboo, PVC and a combination of cellulose and polyethylene to form the bars, the cover and the main surface respectively. Moreover, to prove that the object met the stiffness and resistance requirements, a stress study is carried out which determines the key dimensions the board needs, to be able to sustain the most extreme situation in which a kid could hang himself from the bar. Finally, since many things had changed from the initial model, the design needed to be optimized and new measurements have been established to better adapt the object to the beneficiaries and the environments conditions. Safety parameters, simple local manufacture, low cost, lightness and minimization of the environmental impact are the main points of study that project entails. All in all, this report contains the all the information regarding this technical thorough research, which has met all the set objectives. The final result leaves us with a practical object that could be implemented in a near future to make communities realize the importance of education.