2 3This paper discusses the role of visual inspections in the UK highways bridge inspection regime, and how current practice results in inspection data that are less reliable than they could, and should, be. Evidence that visual inspections in general are not totally reliable is discussed. Similar problems have been overcome in other areas, such as pavement inspection, by using technological aids during the data collection and inspection process. It is hoped that better bridge condition data could be obtained by making use of technology to assist the visual inspection process on bridges. Some of the ways in which images could be recorded to make the inspection process more reliable and reproducible are discussed, and a prototype system that has been developed with the aim of providing a full, highresolution image record of the visual condition of a bridge, which is suitable for use, is presented.
Budget restrictions often limits the number of possible maintenance activities in a road network each year. To effectively allocate resources, the rate of road pavement deterioration is of great importance. If two maintenance candidate segments have equivalent condition, it is reasonable to maintain the segment with the highest deterioration rate first. To identify such segments, finite mixture models were applied to road condition data from a part of the M4 highway in England. Assuming that data originates from two different normal distributions-a "change" distribution and an "unchanged" distribution-all road segments were classified into either of these groups. Comparisons with known measurment errors and maintenance records showed that segments in the unchanged group were similar to segments having a stationary road condition, and that the change group consisted of segments with a rapid deterioration, improvement in condition due to previous maintenance or unusual mesurement errors. Finite mixture models can effectively find segments whose road condition have changed considerably. Together with additional information from maintenance records it is possible to identify segments with the most rapid deterioration rate, and hence make more efficient maintenance decisions.
The use of diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy to monitor the oxidation of UV irradiated and naturally aged bitumen and asphalt. Road Materials and Pavement Design.
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