Técnicas para recuperação de ponte de concreto armado: estudo de caso

Abstract

Reinforced concrete bridges that suffer with the presence of pathologies are a recurrent problem in Brazil, which causes these structures to have a decrease in their service life, entering into a process of deterioration over time. Finding techniques to identify these pathologies and methods for their recovery is an effective alternative for this scenario to be modified. This study presented an analysis of a bridge located at southwest of the State of Paraná, Brazil, diagnosing its pathologies and presenting techniques for its recovery. The matter of this case study is reasoned due to the significant number of reinforced concrete bridges built since the sixties in the state of Paraná that wasn’t monitored over time, propitiating the emergence of pathologies. The selected structure was the bridge over Xagú River, a mixed structure of reinforced concrete and metallic elements, diagnosed by a visual inspection. Its diagnosis showed that the failure of the expansion joints allowed water to pass through the concrete portico to the bottom of the slab, and the presence of the water caused other pathologies in the structure, such as leaching, carbonation, corrosion of reinforcement and displacement of concrete. This review concludes that pathologies didn’t occur in isolation, it isn’t enough that the recovering of the pathologies occurs individually, but the source of the problem must be considered so that the bridge can be completely restored.