Korean guideline for performance-based assessment of existing bridges

Abstract

A series of researches for the assessment of existing infrastructures have been intensively carried out for more than 10 years in Korea. The products will be eventually related to a new guideline or code. Some of them are the results obtained from a joint work between Korean Concrete Institute (KCI) and Japan Concrete Institute (JCI). The results have been contributed to ISO standards of ISO/FDIS 16311-2. KCI implemented the concept into a revised 'Design Code for Concrete Structures' published in 2012 and JCI also developed a new 'Guideline for Performance-based Evaluation of Existing Concrete Structures' in 2012. In addition, Korea Expressway Co., as a governmental organization to plan for design and maintenance of highway bridges, is developing a performance-based guideline for the safety assessment of highway bridges. The paper summarizes such activities and research outcomes together with the fundamental approach to the assessment of bridges in Korea. The proposed approach is examined through a field application to an existing highway bridge.