When human operator is in the control loop of a robotic system, which operates in unstructured, complex and dynamic environments such as those in construction and steel bridge maintenance, human factors will have significant effect on the operational performance and control of the robot. This paper aims to investigate this effect and develop efficient methods for operational performance improve...

Recent experimental research has shown that ordinary unbounded steel reinforced elastomeric bearings (SREBs) can be considered as an attractive cost-effective option for the seismic isolation of highway bridges. To further investigate its benefits, the current study is focused on the seismic risk assessment of an optimally designed highway bridge isolated by SREB system. A typical three-span hi...

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is a major factor in the deterioration of highway and bridge infrastructure. A survey of the condition of a reinforced concrete structure is the first step towards its rehabilitation. A rapid, cost-effective and non-destructive condition survey offers key information on the evaluation of corrosion, and aids in the quality assurance of concrete repair and rehabil...

The project of building a bridge is a canonical example of what John Law (1987) has termed ‘heterogeneous engineering’, involving the arrangement of human and nonhuman elements into a stable artifact. This paper reports ethnographic research on the work of civil engineers engaged in designing a bridge scheduled for completion by the year 2004. My emphasis is on a view of bridge-building as pers...

This research studies the structural behaviour of bridge deck slabs under static patch loads in steel–concrete composite bridges and investigates compressive membrane action (CMA) in concrete bridge decks slabs,which governs the structural behaviour. A non-linear 3D finite element analysismodels was developed using ABAQUS 6.5 software packages. Experimental data from one-span composite bridge s...

This paper presents a highly efficient method for recognizing the existence of bridge coating rust defects by using color image processing. The detection of defects on steel bridge surfaces during the operation and maintenance of bridge structures is important to ensure the safety and reliability of them. More advanced techniques such as digital image processing have been studied for better mon...

Infrastructures are a key factor for economy. Among them, transportation infrastructures are vital for human life and economy. And within the transportation networks, bridges are key elements for connecting people anddelivering goods. For this reason, bridges have been built sincemany centuries ago, in some way, and the advances (and sometimes geographical expansions!!) of ancient cultures all ...

This paper investigates the elastic-plastic seismic behavior of long span cable-stayed steel bridges through the plane finite-element model. Both geometric and material nonlinearities are involved in the analysis. The geometric nonlinearities come from the stay cable sag effect, axial force-bending moment interaction, and large displacements. Material nonlinearity arises when the stiffening ste...